Ladee's Travels

Season greetings from our family to yours!  This is my favorite spokesmodel.

Merry Christmas to all. Phoenix is sunny and 70 degrees, without a cloud in the sky.  I'm glad that I had snow earlier this month in Paris! 

The short answer is "NO", not as tasty as it was in Rome. But it has traveled quite a distance, so I am not surprised that it is dried. The funny note:  It took me about 1/2 hour to select and buy this. I went to DeFalco's Italian Deli and had to discuss the purchase and listen to all of the local Italian stories.  The consensus is that "my Mom used to toast/make french toast/butter and fry (select your favorite) this on Christmas Day".  Well, no wonder! It was dried.  So while I can't eat this with lush butter, as we did in Rome, it is good buttered and lightly fried.  I think that the Italian moms make these changes to overcome the dryness.

Today is a beautiful day for a game. I can't believe how awesome the new field is. Kalen started playing here in 1999-2000, not on this field, but as a player in a sport new to Arizona.  The sport has come a long way. It was a great game.

Equal opportunity protests?  This happened on the Thursday that I stayed at the apartment in Rome. I am going to have to depend on the others to comment as to what they saw take place during the day. I saw this sign as we were going home one night.  The more I research, the more I realize that I have no idea what was going on.  Sara! Kalen! Karl! help! AHHHH: there is a Facebook page: http://zh-hk.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10244402653 And a website http://www.domusweb.it/ From the sign: domus. la nuova utopia Ettore sottsass, scritto di notte Peter Cook, il futuro visto dal passato Oled, la nuova luce From an online translator domus.  the new utopia, Ettore Sottsass,written at night, Peter Cook, the future seen from the past Oled, the new light Source: http://www.interieur.be/nl/exposanten/0/detail/domus/ Established in 1928 by Gio Ponti, Domus is a highly reputed international magazine dedicated to contemporary architecture, interior de...

This is one of the three churches that is in the area of the Pantheon.  Unassuming on the outside, they hold beauty and treasures within.  Sign as you enter the Church.  Consider yourself informed. Sign as you enter the Church Sign as you enter the Church Preparing for a wedding Preparing for a wedding The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio Fichier: Great organ San Luigi dei Francesi Fichier: Great organ San Luigi dei Francesi We walked on to Piazza Navona. I had to get a photo of these donuts.  This is some treat!   Grande Ciambella Romana Grande Ciambella Romana

Today was wonderful.  No specific route planned, just an exploration of the side streets in the neighborhood. If you have a Paris map, you can follow me.  Otherwise, just enjoy the tour.  My journey starts at the apartment location: Intersection of Rue Montmartre and Rue Etienne Marcel.  Etienne Marcel is the dividing line between 1 Arrondisement and 2 Arrondisement.  As I left the apartment, I thought that I would take a little walk and then return to one of the boulangeries (bakeries) and get a sandwich.  I started off going south on Rue Montmartre past Eglise Saint-Eustache. I walked through  (on the edge of) the park towards the Les Halles Metro station and continued on to Rue Rambuteau.  I turned right on Rue Saint-Denis. I had bearly walked past two stores when I could smell something cooking.  I saw a crepe stand. My stomach rumbled and mentioned that I hadn't tried one of these, so now was a great time to do so.  I selec...

Tried a new restaurant close to the apartment. It was about 8PM when we left to go and eat. I've been in Europe tooooo long!! We both had yummy onion soup. (Onion and emmental cheese gratinée -  7€)  I had a sausage dish called "Saucisse Morteau" that was on the daily special menu for 13€, and Karl had prime grilled steak with french fries. (Faux-filet de boeuf grillé, frites -  14€) Tasty, but too much food after having the onion soup. YET...I had room for desert.  Moelleux Chocolat 6€.  Little cake with a warm fudgy center and vanilla ice cream on top.  Yummy...of course! Meolleux Chocolat with Vanilla Ice Cream on top Back to the apartment at 11 PM.  Long day. Good conference info. La Grille Montorgueil http://www.paris-restaurant-grillemontorgueil.com/ 50 Rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris, France Phone: 01 42 33 21 21 Subway: Châtelet

Interesting topics.

The story of the blizzard is told in the post just prior to this one, but I wanted to show you more photos of what it was like before and after the "wish candle" that was lit inside of Sacre Coeur. We are at street level looking up at the basilica.

The day started off innocent enough. We decided that we were going to Sacre Coeur as neither of us had seen it. We strategized our Metro route, enjoyed breakfast and coffee at the apartment, bundled up and off we went.  The weather was a light freezing rain, so up went the umbrellas to keep us somewhat dry. The Metro ride went off without a hitch, changing staions, hiking up and down steps (oops, wrong side of the tracks) but we arrived in Montmartre in good spirits.  We walked up the little hill to the bottom of Sacre Coeur steps and looked up.  Nope, not going to "Rocky" tackle these steps today, so we decided to ride the Funicular (Pittsburgh folks, think incline).  We had bought a bundle of ten Metro tickets earlier so we skipped the purchase line and queued for the ride. Only one was running, because they were blowing the leaves off of the other track.  Sun City must have brought a multi-lingual bus tour because all of the little old ladies were pushing a...

There was one more Church in the area that we needed to see. I had to add this picture of the street and the parking.  It's all to scale.  Little streets lined with little cars.  SUVs just wouldn't make it down the street. This is an interesting example of what happens to a project when the money runs out. Little streets and little cars...jammed in.

This was inside one of the three Churches that we visited on Saturday, December 4.  This Christ with a Cross is done by Michelangelo.  The thing that looks like a scarf blew up from the street and caught on his leg was added later by others.  I've also included some photos of the Church.  As Ginan had told me, every church has some great work of art, and there are over 400 Churches in Rome. Christ by Michelangelo Christ by Michelangelo The ceiling View of the Altar from the back of the Church Sign about the Church.

We found the restaurant on the last day in Rome...go figure.  We were walking around the city, looking for a new undiscovered place to eat lunch.  The street we were on had restaurants with the waiters at street side, inviting you in, giving you deals and discounts. We read (Rick Steves) to avoid these places and look for the ones filled with locals.  Trattoria Antonio was it.  We think that we were the only non-Italians in this crowded little restaurant. The food was incredible.  I didn't get an itemized bill, but the total came to 86 € plus tip, so we spent about 21,50 € each. The entrance...no one standing outside begging us to enter. Ristorante Antonio Garbini S.a.S Via Dei Pastini, 12 Roma Tel: 06/67.90.798 Penne Bologna. Yes, also wine and bread. (Ladee) Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Kalen and Karl) Pasta Carbonara (Sara) Wide pasta noodles with meat slices and yummy sauce. (Kalen and Karl) It was a good meal in a small family owned...

From December 4, Saturday in Rome This is a true coffee bar in Rome.  We had finished a nice lunch and Kalen/Sara/Karl headed to this place (they found it the day before).  You pay for your order and get a receipt, then go to the barrista and he makes the beverage. It was crowded and wonderful! Pannatone wrapped to go Kalen pays for the drinks We move to the stand up bar for the drinks Espressos all around Tazza D'Oro - the front of the coffee bar

December 2010 - I was delighted to be able to see the fountains and grounds in the winter.  The air was crisp and the snow slightly slushy. We took the train from Paris to Versailles.  The chateau is fairly close and an easy walk through town.  This is the wide street leading up to the front grounds.

Today's plan: take the train to Versailled to photograph the gardens in the winter. My Prayer: Please cover the gardens with a dusting of snow. The result: SNOW!!!  Yea!!! The morning started with this scene outside the apartment balcony window.  I was so giggly excited because I figured if it was snowing (and melting) in the city, the outskirts would have a nice dusting.  (See the video below.) We stopped by the boulangerie (note that the shop has been renovated and has a 3 week new owner...yes, I quizzed him on all of this) to buy some nice pastries for the train ride, then went to the Metro station and bought two tickets each, one to go to Versailles and the other to return (6 euros total).  We had no issues with the ticket vending machine and didn't have to step out of line to let others pass once. Woo hoo!! Getting better at this all the time.  We took the #4 line to Saint Michel station, then found the train "RER B" and we were off.  We ate choc...

This was thick and tasty. The whipped cream floated on top. There was enough in the pitcher for us to have two cups each. What a treat.

Today was a strolling and eating day. What a better way to spend the day in Paris? Angelina's on rue du Rivoli Angelina's on rue du Rivoli We started the day by heading to rue du Rivoli.  It is the street that runs next to the Louvre and is filled with shops, hotels and restaurants.  We checked out all of the fun stuff, scarves, aprons, hats, French gloves, comparing prices and deciding what to buy.   French Onion Soup My target spot was Angelina's so that we could have the hot chocolate. I have a video with the hot chocolate in a seperate blog.  Angelina's is very fancy on the ground floor, with floor to ceiling mirrors and fancy dressed people.  The tourists were sent to the 1st level.  We had a great seat around a balcony so I could watch all of the patrons.  I started with the French Onion Soup (Gratinee 12,50 €) . It had a lighter, almost chicken base, not the usual dark beef base.  I need to check out recipes on the inter...