M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!!

2013 has been a year of travels.  We started the year with a wonderful visit from Jeanne from Paris, who spent 10 days with us as part of her US tour.  We visited San Francisco, and made a whirlwind tour of Monterey and Carmel with Susan’s mother Marge, plus a bonus visit to Muir Woods and Point Reyes. 

Our first international adventure was a trip to Russia, with a stop in Paris on the way back.  We spent 12 jam-packed days in Moscow and St. Petersburg with Road Scholar tours.  We had prepared for the usual cold temperatures, but were rewarded with a heat wave! Susan took hundreds of photos, including many of the amazing chandeliers. 

After the exhausting Russia tour we stopped in Paris for two weeks, the first three days of which were spent sleeping and resting.  As soon as we emerged, we entered another whirl of activity, visiting friends and enjoying the activities they had planned for us.  We so enjoyed the local neighborhood tours, a trip to Chantilly, the visits with Jeanne, Francoise, Suzy, Anne, Berengere, Claudine and even more.  Thanks to all for making it such a terrific visit.

In the fall we also prepared for yet another epic 2 month trip to France and Turkey.  It started with a tranquil week in the French countryside with Jeanne and her sisters Ann and Claire, and friend Anne.  We talked and ate, and drank in Jeanne’s warm hospitality.  

The Turkey leg of the trip started with another excellent Road Scholar tour, 17 days long.  We wanted to see many of the sites in the interior that we had missed on our first trip 15 years ago.  It was an experience of a lifetime, capped off with an extra 8 days in Istanbul on our own.  

After Turkey we returned to Paris for four weeks.  Again we were overwhelmed by the hospitality from our wonderful French friends who toured us and hosted us and joined us all over town.  It was a very special visit, and we are very grateful for their friendship. 

We were no sooner back from Paris than we took a long weekend to visit Stacy and her boys in Reno, then left again for our annual Maui Thanksgiving.  That left a few days to get all the photos organized and our Christmas letter written! 

 

For the first time in years we start 2014 with no plans or schedules, so the year will surprise us.  We wish you a year filled with surprises as well, after a Mele Kalikimaka, Joyeux Noel, Mutlur Noeller, С Рождеством, and Merry Christmas! 

Another Maui Thanksgiving

One of the things we are thankful for is  our annual Maui Thanksgiving.  We figure we have been celebrating Thanksgiving in Maui for at least 30 years.  When we first went, they had no turkeys, and no restaurant knew how to cook them.  Over the years we got to know friends and neighbors and our little Maui family grew.  Now it is easy to find a turkey, as long as it is in November or December, and you aren't too picky about its provenance.  It is also reasonably easy to cook one in a condo kitchen.  So even after giving up that lovely kitchen we had in our Maui house, we can entertain whole twos and threes for Turkey Day. 

As soon as we arrived we resumed our old habit of pupus and wine with Alfie and Ginny, even though it is at a restaurant, not at our own home. 

 And then there are pupus with Bill, Cindy and Barbara, ditto restaurant. 

 There are not so many photos of Thanksgiving since we were busy prepping and eating, but the whole gang was there! 

 Alfie's Cataleya orchids.  Yup, they just grow like that in Maui. 

 Alfie and Ginny's house, complete with murals of Petra...

 The arctic (to make the room feel cooler!). 

 And a kitchen inspired by bamboo forests giving way to walled cities. 

 There is a dishwasher there someplace. 

 And a microwave! 

We enjoyed our traditional gift exchange, even though we missed Debbie and it was waay earlier in December than we are used to! 

And we finished up with a terrific lunch with Bill, Cindy and Barbara. 

 I love the reflection in Barbara's glasses! 

Then it was back to California for Christmas.  Mahalo nui loa to all our Maui family and friends....

Reno

No sooner had we returned from the two month epic journey to France and Turkey but we packed up an entirely different set of clothes for a long weekend in Reno to visit Stacy and her boys Joe and Nick. 

Our hotel was the Grand Sierra Resort, 2000 rooms, large anough to be seen from space.  We had worried about finding it.  Umm, no worries, it is larger than life.

 We had a great time visiting with Stacy, Joe and Nick, including a drive to Lake Tahoe...

...and a trip to Virginia City.  Joe and Tom tried their hands at the indoor rifle range. 

 BBQ ribs were obligatory. 

 The scenery was lovely. 

And just like that it was over and time to say goodby...

and head back to the bay area. 

PARIS WEEK THREE

Suzy and Jean-Marie planned a very special day for us, a visit to Chateau Ecouen outside Paris.  It is related by history to Chateau Chantilly which we saw last spring with Claudine and Claudette.  We did not realize it until the trip was underway, but it is associated with the Cluny Museum in Paris, and houses much of the museum's collection. 

Part of the museum is set up to show how early renaissance royalty lived, starting with the chapel.  Featured in the chapel is a painting of the last supper done by a student of daVinci and considered by some to be better preserved and a better example of the artist's intentions. 

 The chateau in it's heyday. 

 The real thing today. 

 This is a perfume holder, each segment a different scent.  Two are still labeled and readable, but not in the photo. 

The most outstanding object in the chateau is the Nef, a model ship about 2.5 feet long.  It appears to be a very good model ship, with figures and rigging.  A video nearby shows that in fact it is a clock.  When the hour is struck, it moves on hidden wheels, the figures on the deck move, blowing horns and beating drums.  Figures emerge from the ship's cabin and move around the king who waves his scepter as they pass.  The figures in the crow's nests beat bells against the rails.  The whole event lasts about 15 minutes. 

Wonderful!  We thought the Chateau visit would be about three hours, but we had barely finished the ground floor when the upper floor was closed for lunch.  So we enjoyed croque monsieur's in the cafe and finished the tour after lunch. 

We looked down from the chateau to the village and decided to take a look at the church. 

Then it was back to Suzy and Jean-Marie's home for a lovely and lively dinner.  Merci! 

Claudine invited us for a tour of St. Sulpice, the church made famous in the DaVinci Code.  We have visited before, but this was a tour by a docent.  We were unaware at the time that a concert would follow the tour --bonus! 

 The tour got us into the vestry...

After enjoying the concert, Claudine led us on a tour of the immediate neighborhood, pointing out historical sites along the way.  She mapped out a walk for later in the day and we stopped at a cafe for coffee and tea.  It began to rain.  Hard. We began to reorganize our afternoon walk.  The. Rain. Came. Down. In. Buckets.  We rearranged again.  Lightening, thunder.  So we bagged the afternoon and scurried to the metro and back to the apartment. 

We were delighted to spend an afternoon with Jeanne at the Petit Palais.  It featured an exhibit of Jordaens, a Dutch painter who rivaled Vermeer and van Dyke in his time.  No photos permitted of the exhibit of course, but after that we enjoyed coffees and tea in the cafe, and visited some of the permanent collection.  

 As usual, the building itself is at least as interesting and beautiful as the objects in it. 

We spent one afternoon with Francoise's English class talking about life in the US compared to France.  Afterward we sped across the hill to meet with Claudine, Suzy and Jean-Marie at the Zadkine Museum.  On the way we realized we were at the beginning of the pilgrimage of St. Jacques de Compostelle, the pilgrimage route seen throughout France, leading to the cathedral in Spain. 

And then we were off to the museum. 

 It is a fascinating place.  We had known little about the artist, who left his collection and his home and studio intact. 

 The sculpture in the gardens were particularly delightful. 

After our visit we walked a few short blocks to the Luxembourg Gardens for coffee and hot chocolate. 

The bee hives were off limits. 

 It was cool, but some rays were still available for basking. 

 Guess which one is mine. 

Our trip was drawing to a close, and Francoise planned a perfect celebratory lunch for us, with Charles, Francoise P and Paul, and France. 

 After an excellent lunch Francoise and France walked with us through the neighborhood. 

We said our goodbyes until next time.  Merci a tous! 

We had planned to spend our last day packing and resting up, but an opportunity to lunch with Paul  and his new family Laurence and Alix presented itself.  The Musee de la Marine was near the restaurant, so of course...

 A table support; these ladies are described as of the Americas. 

We walked through the rain to the restaurant. 

 Passing the Bridge Club of the exclusive St. Honore neighborhood. 

 The tables were not in use, but ready to go! 

 A charming lunch with delightful company....

 then back to Montmartre, and the next day, home.