I normally do not make my first entry of a new trip about the travel day. I mean for the most part you are just on an airplane, train, etc. This trip is different because we splurged on Business Class. We could not get the United Direct flight out of Newark to Rome because the cost was more per person than we ended up paying for both of us combined. So instead, we had a short layover in Montreal and flew from there to Rome on Air Canada. Having never flown any class higher than economy plus internationally before, we were not prepared for the experience. The leg to Montreal was uneventful as it only had one class of service and that was economy. It was only 90 minutes so no big deal. Well there was ... read more

On tap for today was a cooking class. I have made a few creole dishes but really wanted to get the basics down with this class. The class is a Roux class, the foundation of all good Cajun and creole cooking. I booked the class several months before the trip. I was a little concerned when I never heard back from them to confirm. I e-mailed two times after making the reservation and finally did get an e-mail confirmation and then they called the week before. I now understand why they didn’t confirm right away. Chef Bond the founder and instructor died suddenly of a heart attack a couple months ago, so they clearly had more important things on their mind than my cooking class. It all still turned out really well, Chef Aaron, was very ... read more

Today started the same as all days. I get up go down to the lobby and buy the morning coffee. For a Waldorf it is pretty amazing that they don’t have coffee service in the room, so daily coffee is an unplanned expense. At least it isn’t Starbucks. Not a great deal on the agenda for today, brunch some more antiques and ending the day with a Jazz club. Commander’s Palace Since it is Sunday that must mean Brunch. Our brunch choice was Commander’s Palace in the heart of the Garden District and across from Lafayette Cemetery. This is one of several restaurants owned by the Brennan family of New Orleans. I had brunch here over 20 years ago and it was very good, so am looking forward to the repeat trip. We took ... read more

Today did not begin until lunch. This was planned. After 15 years of traveling together we have discovered that the day after you arrive, you need to work into the experience. In other words, let yourself sleep in. Sleeping in for me lately means 8:30 as opposed to 6:00. Jerry is the better sleep in person. The schedule was not jam packed. Lunch in the Garden District, then The French Market in the French Quarter with a stop at the 1850 House. The day would end with Dinner at Antoine’s (celebrating its 175th year). Clang, Clang went the trolley, The St. Charles Street line was the mode of transportation to and from lunch. We stopped at Walgreens and got our 3-day Jazzy pass, unlimited transportation for 3 days. The line starts and ends one block from ... read more

There were no major trips this year until New Orleans, which is a separate blog entry. We did take several long weekend trips beginning with Baltimore Maryland and ending with Washington DC for Jerry's birthday. The following entries are mostly pictures of where we have been this year. We also took a trip to Northern California of which there are no pictures. That trip was to visit Jerry's mom AJ and to remember what the west coast is like. It was good to put my feet in the Pacific Ocean again.... read more