Odyssey Trip Blogs

Our 77-day odyssey is rapidly coming to a close, as we begin to prepare for our return to the states in a couple days. We'll probably maintain a low profile in our little garden cottage until then, while packing our suitcases for the last time on this trip, and attending to other sundry tasks in preparation for our departure on Thursday. Our taxi driver will meet us here at 6:00 AM for the ride to the Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris. We'll fly via Aer Lingus to Dublin; then connect with a transatlantic Aer Lingus flight to Orlando, where we're scheduled to arrive around 6:30 PM local time. Yesterday we enjoyed a visit from our charming French friend, Sophie Lamarre, who lives in Tours, a city in the châteaux region of the Loire River valley. ... read more

Today we took an excursion outside of Paris to visit the château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Baroque French château located 34 miles southeast of Paris, in the Seine-et-Marne department of the Île-de-France. We had made arrangements with Serge, our friend who operates a chauffeur service, to transport us to the château in the late morning, and then retrieve us around 3:00 PM for the return ride to Paris. Over the years, we have engaged his services for excursions to the palace and gardens of Versailles (2014), the Château de Sceaux (2017), and Monet’s former home and gardens in Giverny (2019). The château de Vaux-le-Vicomte was built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances for Louis XIV, and was an influential work of architecture in 17th-century Europe. Fouquet spent enormous sums, over a period ... read more

This morning we embarked on a kind of reconnaissance mission to locate the nearest bus stop from our cottage. Unlike previous visits, when we rented apartments close to the center of the city, this time we are staying in the southwestern outskirts of Paris (in the suburb of Malakoff). Some research revealed that there are two bus lines that would be helpful for us, both of which use the same stop, so we wanted to verify where that bus stop is located. We also needed to purchase some tickets, available from automated dispensing machines inside metro stations, which are valid for both buses and the metro (subway) lines throughout the city. In the past, buses have always been our preferred means of transportation in Paris, and even more so this year because of Dee's reduced mobility; ... read more

Today we arrived in Paris for the 11th time since our first visit twenty-two years ago. Yet for us, Paris has become a never-ending story, with each visit adding a fresh chapter to that narrative. Still, even after all these years and the number of visits, you could rightly say that our sentiments are aptly expressed in the immortal words of Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman, in the film Casablanca, that "We'll always have Paris"; or those of Audrey Hepburn, in the movie Sabrina, that “Paris is always a good idea.” People have frequently asked us what is so special about Paris that makes us want to return, time and time again? Is it the centuries of history, art, culture or the French joie de vivre? Or perhaps it's the baguettes, crème brûlée--and the rest of ... read more

Yesterday morning, at around 8:30 AM, we said farewell to our dear friends Peter and Rosita, who departed for their visit to Napoli. As we waved good-bye to them from our balcony, it began to dawn upon us that we, too, would be leaving in just a few days. Whereas our friends carried with them a single suitcase and backpack, we would need several large trunks and a pack mule in order to bring home the many memories we've accumulated during our time in Sorrento. One of the items on our agenda for our last few days, apart from packing and tidying the apartment, was to say our good-byes to some of the special people with whom we've developed some rapport. So today we decided to pay a final visit to Nello and La Maison Douce ... read more