Yesterday we concluded our 11-week odyssey to Italy and France when we departed Paris for Orlando (via Dublin, Ireland). As friends of ours (Cindy and John Vogt) recently observed, after they had traveled from Florida to stay with us in Sorrento, "international travel ain't for sissies anymore." After our experiences during this trip, we could not agree more with their assessment! Our return journey went about as well as we could have hoped, but it was still a stressful and exhausting ordeal. It began when our friend and taxi driver arrived outside our apartment at 6:15 AM for the drive to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy-en-France, 14 miles northeast of Paris. As the busiest airport within the European Union, it can be an intimidating venue for travelers, not only for the sheer volume of ... read more
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
The weather in Paris has gradually become warmer during our stay, with the high temperature climbing to 87 degrees Fahrenheit today. We definitely felt the difference as we walked around in the afternoon, but it was tolerable in the shade with the help of some cool breezes. We decided to take a river cruise on the Seine, an experience we have enjoyed on several occasions in the past (most recently with our granddaughter Ashley back in 2017). In order to save some wear and tear on Dee, we opted for a taxi ride from our cottage in Malakoff to the Pont Neuf, a bridge that spans the river Seine, at the western end of the Île de la Cité, in the center of Paris. The Vedettes du Pont Neuf, a company that offers one-hour river cruises, ... 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
Yesterday we took a breather, relaxing in our peaceful garden cottage the entire day. We both felt the need to recharge our batteries, so to speak, as we enter the home stretch of our 77-day odyssey. Late in the afternoon, we had a very interesting and enjoyable tête-à-tête with our charming hostess, Dominique, as she sat on the back porch of her home. Her English-speaking ability is far better than she's willing to admit, and it soon became clear to us that she is a well-educated, independent and gracious woman who has led a very full and active life. As it turns out, she is 82-years-old, worked as an architect before she retired, while her deceased husband was an artist; in fact, the guest cottage in which we are staying was originally designed and built as ... 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 was our first full day in Paris/Malakoff, and it would turn out to be magnifique! Both of us managed to sleep pretty well last night, considering we were in a strange, new place. We were awake by 6:00 AM, and our tentative plan was to visit the local produce market on the town square, Place du 11 Novembre, that opens for business three days each week. After Dee made eggs, sausage and toast for breakfast (and I downed several cups of Nespresso-brewed coffee!), we were ready to leave the cottage around 11:00 AM. As we were passing thru the corridor of Madame Dominique's house, which we must do to exit the property, we encountered her at the front door. When she discovered that we were heading to the market, she graciously offered to give us ... 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
Today will be our last day in Sorrento, as we depart for Paris early tomorrow morning, when Francesco (or one of his surrogates) takes us to the airport in Napoli. Our easyJet flight from Napoli arrives at the Paris/Orly airport around noon, when a long-time friend and taxi driver, Serge Molho, will transport us to the cottage we have rented in the tiny Paris suburb of Malakoff, about 3 miles from the center of the city. By the time we depart tomorrow, we will have stayed 45 days in Sorrento, and in the same apartment on the Via degli Aranci. In all our travels over the past 20+ years, we have never remained in one location for such an extended period of time; the only time we came close was during our visit to Aix-en-Provence, where ... 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