Tuesday, December 29, 2009
~ On To Bon France ~
Bonjour!
France was a new territory for us.
We traveled by train and through the north of Italy and along the coastline through the border and down the French Riviera, The Cote D'Azur.
Our first stop was Antibes, a beautiful city along the Mediterranean Sea.
We stayed at a small hotel near the city center, overlooking a children's park and carousel.
It seems that in France there are carousels in every park for the children. It is so sweet, and they are so beautifully painted.
There are so many beautiful places in Antibes. The streets wind around this ancient port.There is a Fort overlooking this old port. The marina is now filled with multimillion dollar yachts. The ancient buildings are occupied as homes and shops and restaurants and bars.
There is a Marche' Provencial, which is open daily with flowers, produce and Provencal products, and on Thursday and Sunday afternoons, this same market turns into an antique and craft and arts market. In the evenings it is an out door dining area to the restaurants that line the street around the market.
The market was a colorful splash of spices, herbs,flowers,soaps,meats,vegetables,cheeses,and olives. People hustling and bustling purchasing their foods and Staples and others sampling wares and smelling the fragrant hand made soaps.
Around the corner is the Picasso Museum, housed along the shore in a castle once the home of the royals of the area.
How wonderful to be an a place where the artist lived and worked for four months in 1946.
The art was inspirational and having been there it gives me the desire to read about Picsso' life.
I wandered Antibe's streets and tasted the famous crepes with Nutella and Cafe' au lait sitting
at a table watching the tourists and families of this sweet city interact and go about their daily duties. What a fantastic experience. You cannot get this feeling from the deck of a cruise ship, where one must rush to capture all the sights before it is time to return on board and sail off into the sunset and places fade into each other.
When we arrived we were completely turned around, and could not navigate the map. We had to ask for directions, and we chose a "little old lady" , who was very happy to deliver us exactly to our destination, our little hotel. We ran into her one of the other days we were walking down the street, and said hello and thanked her once again for her kindness and took a picture of her.
I will name her my french Grand-mer in the pictures posted.
I found my way to the flea market but alas, I was only able to shop with my camera and capture
the beautiful items through my lens. I found a darling out door cafe'. A most beautiful spot.
Near the flea market, there was an Organ Grinder, yet, instead of a monkey to collect the money as he passed, he had his pet cat perched atop the organ. I snapped a photo, and he instantly wanted $$$ ,so after dropping a Euro in his cup, I snapped more.
Hope you enjoy Antibes! Au revoir~
France was a new territory for us.
We traveled by train and through the north of Italy and along the coastline through the border and down the French Riviera, The Cote D'Azur.
Our first stop was Antibes, a beautiful city along the Mediterranean Sea.
We stayed at a small hotel near the city center, overlooking a children's park and carousel.
It seems that in France there are carousels in every park for the children. It is so sweet, and they are so beautifully painted.
There are so many beautiful places in Antibes. The streets wind around this ancient port.There is a Fort overlooking this old port. The marina is now filled with multimillion dollar yachts. The ancient buildings are occupied as homes and shops and restaurants and bars.
There is a Marche' Provencial, which is open daily with flowers, produce and Provencal products, and on Thursday and Sunday afternoons, this same market turns into an antique and craft and arts market. In the evenings it is an out door dining area to the restaurants that line the street around the market.
The market was a colorful splash of spices, herbs,flowers,soaps,meats,vegetables,cheeses,and olives. People hustling and bustling purchasing their foods and Staples and others sampling wares and smelling the fragrant hand made soaps.
Around the corner is the Picasso Museum, housed along the shore in a castle once the home of the royals of the area.
How wonderful to be an a place where the artist lived and worked for four months in 1946.
The art was inspirational and having been there it gives me the desire to read about Picsso' life.
I wandered Antibe's streets and tasted the famous crepes with Nutella and Cafe' au lait sitting
at a table watching the tourists and families of this sweet city interact and go about their daily duties. What a fantastic experience. You cannot get this feeling from the deck of a cruise ship, where one must rush to capture all the sights before it is time to return on board and sail off into the sunset and places fade into each other.
When we arrived we were completely turned around, and could not navigate the map. We had to ask for directions, and we chose a "little old lady" , who was very happy to deliver us exactly to our destination, our little hotel. We ran into her one of the other days we were walking down the street, and said hello and thanked her once again for her kindness and took a picture of her.
I will name her my french Grand-mer in the pictures posted.
I found my way to the flea market but alas, I was only able to shop with my camera and capture
the beautiful items through my lens. I found a darling out door cafe'. A most beautiful spot.
Near the flea market, there was an Organ Grinder, yet, instead of a monkey to collect the money as he passed, he had his pet cat perched atop the organ. I snapped a photo, and he instantly wanted $$$ ,so after dropping a Euro in his cup, I snapped more.
Hope you enjoy Antibes! Au revoir~
Thursday, December 24, 2009
~ Ethan's Wish List ~ (notice the door)
Yesterday Ethan and I discussed what was on his wish list for Santa.
This is his list~
1. an i-phone
2. a tunnel
3. Up (the movie)
4. earth
I had talked with him earlier about this one and found one on Costco.com I think that it has 6 tubes that you crawl through into different areas to play. I am excited to see him open it!
He wants an i-phone so that he can play games anytime he wants.
He wants an i-phone so that he can play games anytime he wants.
I can't even get one for myself !!!!!
Now, Earth...... that is another story. We sat down and talked about it.
It seems as if he might have had a dream about this.
This is a quote from my 5 year old grandson....
It is a round circle with a door that you can open and go inside. If you go in side at night time, you will see the prettiest sunset. If you go in it at day, you see the prettiest world.
If you go in at night time you are certainly not going to hear anything- not even wind.
This is going to be a tough order for Santa.
I'll let you know if he gets it.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christmas Time Is Here
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
The cards have been mailed, we have Christmas caroled, made a Gingerbread House, decorated handmade ornaments partied on the boat in the harbor,under the Coronado Bridge, made cookies and now the turkey is thawing to be cooked Christmas Eve.
Presents are wrapped and under the tree, waiting for little hands to find the surprise of the gift of giving.
Family will arrive at Beverly Cottage, Christmas Eve to gather and enjoy each other's company and enjoy a tasty dinner, then, if the children have been good, kind and nice to each other, Santa may make an appearance !
Gifts will be exchanged, and we will all be thankful for our family, friends and blessings from our dear Lord.
The tinsel tree is garnished with my antique ornaments, Christmas music is softly playing in the background, and the Christmas spirit is filling the air along with the smell of the fragrant candles amongst the decorations.
Sending Holiday greetings to each one of you and I am blessed by your stopping in for a visit.
The cards have been mailed, we have Christmas caroled, made a Gingerbread House, decorated handmade ornaments partied on the boat in the harbor,under the Coronado Bridge, made cookies and now the turkey is thawing to be cooked Christmas Eve.
Presents are wrapped and under the tree, waiting for little hands to find the surprise of the gift of giving.
Family will arrive at Beverly Cottage, Christmas Eve to gather and enjoy each other's company and enjoy a tasty dinner, then, if the children have been good, kind and nice to each other, Santa may make an appearance !
Gifts will be exchanged, and we will all be thankful for our family, friends and blessings from our dear Lord.
The tinsel tree is garnished with my antique ornaments, Christmas music is softly playing in the background, and the Christmas spirit is filling the air along with the smell of the fragrant candles amongst the decorations.
Sending Holiday greetings to each one of you and I am blessed by your stopping in for a visit.
Monday, December 14, 2009
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