Heidi cocoa for comfort

Post trip blues are rough. Two weeks ago we were [fill in the blank here with special trip memory]. Now it’s, well, it’s just life. But it’s fall, and cold and rainy, and what’s better for a little irritability than a homemade cup of sugar and chocolate, hot, unless it’s said hot cocoa + [...]

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L’Epi Dupin

I came across a brief entry about this bistro in a 2001 Gourmet Magazine special Paris issue and added it to my shortlist of Paris restaurants I wanted to try. After satisfactory results from a Google of the bistro, it went on my reservation list I sent off to my concierge in Paris a few [...]

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Les saveurs de Flora, restaurant gastronomique à Paris

Thus begin my series of restaurant write-ups.
It’s our tradition – Brian and me – to have a splurgey last night dinner to celebrate the trip. For this trip I chose Les saveurs de Flora, owned and cheffed by Alain Passard-trained Flora Mikula. This pink frilly gem was located near our hotel, on George V in [...]

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Lie to your shuttle driver, lie lie!

Time for the airport drama story.
Do you watch the Amazing Race? Do you know the dramatic suspenseful scenes where the contestants are poking along in a taxi desperately trying to reach the airport/pit stop/next clue location? Well that was us Sunday morning. Only we weren’t plodding along in a slow taxi in India. We were [...]

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One day moi talks real bon French

I really wanted to improve my French on this trip.  I’ve been intimidated on previous trips and always lapsed back into English when my halting attempts were met with quizzical looks, laughter or English.
But with eight days straight in France I really wanted to practice. So without the aid of a dictionary, relying only on [...]

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The loot

The most shopping fun we had was a La Bovida, a restaurant supply store in Paris. Brian’s big treat was two copper pots – these things are heavy and should last forever! I ran around like a delirious kid in a candy store snapping up adorable teeny white dishes (65 euro cents each, load up!), [...]

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I see London I see France

I see we took more than 1500 pictures. For your viewing pleasure we cut it down to about 500 for the truly interested or those with nothing better on their hands, and 100 favorites for the busy or otherwise disinclined.
I see London I see France (500)
 
You see London you see France (100)

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How to consternate your French waitress

So I grew up not with wine or mineral water in crystal stemware but whole milk with dinner. Probably in a plastic cup and maybe when I got older in one of those glasses you can get at Arby’s at Christmas time.
Now I drink wine with dinner but from an all-purpose glass from Pottery Barn or [...]

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Can’t we just forget about the Pig in the Poke itinerary?

From Chevy Chase’s National Lampoon European Vacation:
Ellen Griswold: Clark, why don’t we just forget the “Pig-in-a-Poke” itinerary, and just play it by ear, like normal people?
Clark Griswold: Honey, we’re not normal people. We’re the Griswolds.
Well we’re the Traveling McMahans and despite my best intentions to slow down and play it by ear, without fail when [...]

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4053.3 miles before we sleep

According to webflyer anyway.
I woke up an hour before the alarm went off and struggled with the urge to get up and do things, lots of things, things I have to do before I Fly To London Tonight! But in the end the sheer pleasure of lying prone in my comfy bed won out. I [...]

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