Paris

Well, there really is no place better than Paris at Christmas time. Exactly 6 years ago, on the same weekend, my loveliest Gillybum and I were there. And it was just as grand this time around!

It snowed the first morning we woke up there, and we went outside to a dreamy wonderland. Snow makes every city look enchanting, but it especially does the trick for Paris.

Also, our B&B was booked too full, so our dear host Domingo sent us to his friend's place - which ended up being a private apartment decorated in with tons of antiques and paintings (apparently a famous French painter lives there in the summer). And I got to practice my Spanish with our new host, Gerardo.

Old favorites:

The Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

Musee d'Orsay

Sacre Coure (we got in just in time for late night Mass!)

New favorites:

Musee l'Orangerie (full of Monet's huge water lilies and tons of Impressionist works)

Musee l'Armee (well, Dougbee's new favorite, at least)

the Ferris Wheel @ the end of the Champs d'Elysees

New and delicious foods were eaten. We had enough duck to last us a while, in pate, grilled and roasted form. And wonderful plates of potatoes, cream sauces, steak and frites.

London

After Germany, we decided to pop over to London for the weekend, since we had some time. It was a delightful time to be there.

We visited the British Museum (Doug had never been!) and my favorite, the Tate Modern.

Walked around Westminster to take pictures at Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

And ate LOTS of Indian food, which we've been craving. Hot Stuff, in Lambeth was delicious. And Tayyab's in Aldgate was a wonderful, festive restaurant.

Of course, we had to do some Christmas shopping with the crowds! So we hit up Oxford Circus, full of lights and music and people. And also ventured into Harrod's for a bit, which really is the most insane department store in the world.

Love London. Will be back soon.

German Thanksgiving

We got to spend Thanksgiving in Germany this year, which was a CHILLY treat. Our friends Angie and Andrew live there, as Andrew is stationed there for the Army. They are expecting a baby any day now, so we were very excited to get to see them. (And cuddle their pup, Autumn....we miss Pips!)

We had Thanksgiving day with a bunch of their friends, and got to cuddle a bunch of cute, fat babies. All of my friends with babies live too far away!

The Christmas Market was gorgeous and snowy, but we drank some mulled wine to keep the chill out!

Truffle Festival

Went to a Truffle Festival today in San Miniato! And we got a little overexcited. By that I mean we accidentally sort of bought the following:

- truffle cheese

- A truffle salami

- 3 different truffle sauces

- 2 types of truffle pasta

- truffle salt

- truffle

Time to Read, Pt 2

And the reading continues! We love our local Paperback Exchange (which actually buys them back at a reasonable rate) so we keep going back for more.

Currently on Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (thanks, Aunt Suzi!).

Also bought The Glass Palace by Amitav Gosh.

Looking forward to more reading (AND a rugby game this weekend!).

Fall Foliage in Florence

This weekend we stayed in Florence! Our first weekend at home. We got to see the David at the Galleria dell'Academia, and amazingly there was no line. Such good luck. In addition, Doug's law school pass (and my partner pass) got us in for free. The David is incredible in person - huge and fascinating. We plan to go again before we leave.

We also did a 13km (8 mile) hike through the hills of Florence with some friends from the European University Institute. The weather was drizzly, but the leaves were beautiful and the vine yards delightful. We saw several families out harvesting the last of the olives, and quite a few duck hunters in full gear.

Roman Holiday

Went to Rome this weekend - for touring and the Marine Corps Birthday Ball (our first one!).

Amazing. I really couldn't get enough of St. Peter's at night. Such a gorgeous view.

We got to see the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, the Cupola of St. Peter's, the Villa Borghese and many gorgeous churches. This, my friends, makes for a busy weekend.

The Marine Corps Birthday Ball was delightful. Only Marines from the US Embassy or retirees were there, but there were also lots of interesting foreign dignitaries. The ambassador to the Holy See! It was hosted at a gorgeous villa - with a terrific view of the city at night.

The Sistine Chapel and Raphael's were amazing, but packed with people! Even standing in line in the rain for two hours could not deter them nor us.

Loved the view from the Cupola (good tip, Gpa!). We found a B&B just around the corner from the Vatican, which was incredible. Such a wonderful hostess and great place to stay.

Glad to be home - no big trips planned until Paris! But lots to see still in Florence.

Sicily

Beautiful salt flats and wind mills in northwestern Sicily! It is one of the most intriguing things about Sicily - this crazy culture mesh happening everywhere.

Hiked around the Greek ruins - some are really well preserved. It reminded me of Turkey, and the wonderful journey I got to take with Gma and Gpa!

Found this cute Italian dude, so I brought him home. Don't tell Dougbee.

Gorgeous Norman church in Monreale - full of gold mosaics just like Florence's Baptistry!

Too cold to swim, but we will HAVE to come back sometime when it is warm. The beaches are gorgeous!

We had such a wonderful time on this trip! We lucked out and found an amazing place to stay (Sunrise B & B in Marsala). Our host, Daniele (a man, confusing!) made us a delicious breakfast every day, and put us up in the "family room" of his apartments. Read - huge, luxurious space for the weekend. He greeted us with delicious Marsala wine, gave terrific advice, charged us 55 euro / night and offered us the last night free! Too bad we were headed to Palermo and couldn't stay another night. He has offered to take us through the famous tuna fishing runs if we come back in the spring. Such a wonderful host.

Sailing in Elba

Spent the last few days sailing around Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. We went with three friends from EUI (including Aaron and Renee from our trip to Nice) and were hosted by Will, a former EUI student who is now finishing his PhD in law. His boat was very similar to that of Mimz + Greg, and was a very nice break from the city. We had great weather both days, and all jumped into the water - still warm even in October! Too bad we didn't have snorkels, because the water was full of pretty fish. Day two was a bit rougher, and yours truly did some heaving off of the side of the boat. But it was still a great way to spend the weekend.

Also ate some squid ink risotto - see below!

A couple of pics:

Perugia, the Chocolate Festival

Doug and I took in Perugia's Chocolate Festival recently, a short trip from Florence.

We liked the idea of the ChocoKebab, but were a little scared to try it!

The Bon-bons, Tobleron, Milka, Lindt, and various homemade chocolates were another story entirely. We tried LOTS of those!

And the city of Perugia was nice, too!

In Florence

Some of the most wonderful art to see in Italy is right here in Florence! Last Friday morning, since Doug had the day off and NY was still asleep, we went to see some of it.

Best known pieces: Michaelangelo's "Holy Family," Botticelli's "Spring" and "Birth of Venus," (it is a bit bigger than the print in Gma's upstairs bathroom) as well as a beautiful Caravaggio exhibit.

Unfortunately, no pics inside.

We also made it to the beautiful Palazzo Vecchio last week.

It was the home of the Medici, and is still used today for some government offices.

The ceilings are incredible, as is the town hall - still functional!. There are marvelous statues of Ulysses' trials all around the hall.

Venice

We went to the watery world of Venice this weekend! And since it was raining, we got doubly wet.

The city is lovely, if smaller/more expensive/more touristy than Florence. It is always startling to look out and see a door that opens right into the river. It is rather eerie, actually. Like a big flood came in and then stayed.

We enjoyed the train ride up and back, which lent itself to great views of the green fall hillsides. The olives and grapes are all in harvest mode still, which means there is a sense of busyness in the fields. Frequently, you can see or smell fires as areas are harvested and cleared.

In Venice, we managed to accidentally catch the Mass at St. Mark's - we were in line and were wondering what all the fuss was about, then were ushered into chairs and heard the choir start up! It was very surprising, but a beautiful service. The inside of the church is gold mosaics - similar to the Baptistery in Florence. Quite full of locals and visitors.

We wandered around St. Mark's, toured several Museums and the Duke's Palace. Our favorite was probably the Leonardo daVinci exhibit set up in an empty church. There are replicas of many of his designs, and copies of his sketch book.

We also found a nice tea room to escape the rain in (delicious biscotti here, much better than most of Italy) and went to Harry's Bar - originator of the terrific Bellini.

All in all, a great weekend away.

Time to Read

We are headed to Venice for the weekend on a train (yay, I love trains) so I went to the English bookstore today to search out some new reads.

Sadly, no new Michael Cunningham or Great House by Nicole Strauss - but I managed to come away with a lovely little collection.

Purchased:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

I couldn't resist, even though I don't like his other books.

Engleby by Sebastian Faulks

I was looking for Birdsong, but they didn't have a copy.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

I adore everything by David Sedaris. It is just laugh out loud catharsis.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Because I am working through the Times 100 best books list.

Last time I purchased:

Carmelo by Sandra Cisneros

If you like delightful, narrative crazy family romps this book is a treat.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

A beautiful and well loved story of an English butler post- WWII.

The Witch of Portabello by Paulo Coelho

Not my favorite Coelho, but his writing will make you remember why you love to read.

I am trying to avoid:

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Which my lovely friend Renee lent me, but for solidarity purposes I am trying to keep shelved.

Recommendations are welcome, reader friends!

Monaco + Nice

Went to the French Riviera this weekend! Which really means Monaco and Nice... but that other name sounds fancier. So we left on Friday night and drove up with two new friends, Renee (who also goes to NYU Law) and Aaron (who is a TFA '05 and is at U Wisconsin Law).

Highlights included:

Hiking up to a waterfall / overlook of Nice.

Visiting an open air market and buying yummy snacks.

Visiting the fancy Monte Carlo casino in Monaco.

Eating delicious seafood + French pastries.

And, best of all, listening to the Nice community orchestra in the square in front of the church. They played a Les Miserable medley, as well as a lovely French traditional tunes. All of the little old ladies around (in their sweet scarves) hummed and sang along. So nice in Nice!