Trip to Paris

Just spent a very inspirational week over Thanksgiving in Paris with Eric and both daughters. We stayed at a small luxury hotel called the Hotel St. James near the Arc de Triomphe that was perfect for us. Our suite was big with two bathrooms and it was located right near a metro stop. It was low season so the only things we had to stand in line for were the Monet show for about 45 minutes and the Eiffel Tower for about 20 minutes. It was colder than D.C. but with our coats we were fine, it was never bitter cold.

We saw many of the main attractions: The Louvre, Tuileries Gardens, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Pompidou Center, Champs-Elysees, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Bon Marche (famous department store), Rue Cler (really cute open market street) and fortunately for us the huge Monet show at the Grand Palais.

It was really amazing to distill the imagery that we saw in the Louvre with most women bare-breasted no matter what else was going on in the painting and they were either touching themselves or another woman. If there was a child they were either sucking on their mother's breast or they had their hand there. There were many dead hares, raw meat and we lost count of how many dogs there were sniffing, licking, fighting and just hanging around. Oh, and I think we saw a baby Jesus with a mohawk. Of course we saw the Mona Lisa, but you can't really get an up-close look at her because she is glassed-in and roped-off. It was an overwhelming and mind-opening experience because everything was so beautiful and nothing seemed off-limits. My favorite sculpture was Psyche and Cupid by A. Canova. The Musee d'Orsay was the favorite gallery of the trip with so many impressionist paintings but I was excited to see a huge very intense Bouguereau painting called Dante et Virgile and happy to see an Antonio Mancini painting in person.

In addition to the in-town attractions, we took a day trip out to Versailles and went through the palace and gardens. There was a Murakami show going on and the sculptures provided a striking contrast to the centuries old rooms in which they were displayed. I wish we had allowed more time to wander around. It is so huge and we didn't have enough time to see Marie Antoinette's Estate where she would go to get privacy. The grounds went on and on. What a treat it would be to have time to wander around different parts of the garden each day.

We also had a very creepy trip to the catacombs. In 1785, the council of state issued a decree requiring the removal of all human remains from the cemeteries because of a public-health issue and they decided to store all the remains in the disused limestone quarries. This went on until 1860. It is a 45 minute walk through endless tunnels of human bones and skulls arranged in different patterns, very dark and sometimes wet with water dripping on your clothes, but totally fascinating.

On a miscellaneous note, we ate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Joe Allen restaurant which is the Paris branch of the restaurant we go to in New York near Broadway. It was fun and very relaxing to celebrate an American holiday in Paris. We had some really excellent food in Paris, but our favorite restaurant (recommended by the Lukeman family) was Chez Janou. It was crowded and lively with old tiles on the walls and just felt very French and not touristy.

Trip to California

I just got back from a trip with my husband and youngest daughter to San Diego and Laguna Beach. We stayed in La Jolla at the Valencia Hotel for the first few days and then the Laguna Cliffs hotel at Dana Point. It was a great trip because we had a variety of experiences.

In La Jolla we really enjoyed walking along the beautiful rocky beach. There is a seal beach and we saw many fat baby seals (pups?). We had great weather so we hung out by the pool.

The picture is from the day we took the ferry over to Catalina Island. We took the bus up to the airport on the top of the island and walked back to town. It was a beautiful walk, but we were afraid we were going to miss the ferry back so we didn't slow down. Every time I stopped to take a picture I had to run to catch up! Apparently they brought over 14 buffalo in the 1920's for a movie and then let them stay. Now there are over 400 and they roam all over the island.

Trip to Italy

I went to Italy in August with my husband and daughters for about 10 days. We started by staying outside of Florence in the Raffaello Family suite at the Villa Poggo Merili. It was so beautiful. There was a pool right up the hill from our patio that was surrounded by olive trees. We went into Florence usually twice each day and parked outside one of the main walls. We saw the Duomo (see photo of the ceiling), Uffizi, Boboli Gardens and Ponte Vecchio Bridge. I loved seeing the Birth of Venus by Botticelli in the Uffizi.

One day we went to Cinque Terre which is five coastal towns linked by a walking path and a train. We started in Monterosso al Mare and walked to the next town of Vernazza. It was a stunning view. We ate lunch there, swam for a few hours and then took the train back.

We spent the last part of the trip in Rome. We stayed at the Kolbe Hotel in Rome which had a contemporary interior and was located in the heart of ancient Rome. People can tell you about Rome, but you just have to go and see it yourself. There is no way to describe how enriched you feel after seeing all of the history and art. My favorite day was when we went over to the Vatican. In the Vatican musuem we went through the Raphael rooms and saw the School of Athens. Then we saw Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel which was for me the best part of the trip. Afterwards we walked over to St. Peter's Square and then over to the Castel St. Angelo. When we walked across the bridge with all of the angels on it, Ponte S'Angelo, they were filming a movie so we had to walk through all of the paparazzi to get across. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by the Pantheon and we just sat inside for a while.