I like Paris in the Sunshine!

November 29, 2006

It’s hard to believe that today was my last full day in Paris. On one hand, it feels like I’ve been traveling and living out of a suitcase forever. On the other hand, it feels like Karen and I saw George Michael yesterday and that was our first day in Paris over 7 weeks ago!

Today was a perfect day. I woke up this morning to find clear, sunny skies, which was quite a surprise considering the forecast was for rain all day. It was quite cold outside and I was glad I picked up a pair of gloves at the airport yesterday.

I got up pretty early and headed into the city, as Versailles is about 30 minutes away by train. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the train station. It was brisk and cold, but I had my umbrella just in case the weather turned. I really had no agenda for the day, which was great. I just planned to wander, go where I felt and see what my day turned out like.

I decided to get off at the Metro stop right outside the Louvre and just walked and walked and walked. I stopped in stores when they struck my fancy and make right and left turns when it felt right.

I ended up at Galeries Lafayette, which is Paris’s equivalent to Harrod’s. The store is beautiful with a huge stained glass dome in the middle. The windows outside are all decorated for Christmas and there are tons of people just staring at these windows. I spent quite a bit of time here gathering up a few more Christmas gifts, as well as some things for myself, of course!

I then went down to Avenue Montagne, which is where the triple crown of Paris fashion lives – Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior. I, of course, wandered through all of them, breathing in the new cruise collection items, chatting to the staff I met before and saying so long, but never, ever goodbye!

By that time it was already 6PM, much to my surprise. So, I popped over to a café, sat down and had a great supper. I ordered a glass of champagne, of course, and stared out at Paris’s triple crown. It was a perfect way to end a great day.

Before heading back to the hotel, I stopped by Laduree, a very fancy pastry shop and picked up something that I’m going to enjoy with a cup of tea once I finish packing and gathering up all of my receipts to get stamped so I can get the tax back…my only source of income when I return to LA!

This will be the last entry in my European travel blog, unless something completely bizarre happens during my travels tomorrow. This trip has been an amazing adventure for both Karen and I. We have seen so much, experienced things we will never forget, and laughed and cried along the way. This 7 week adventure was the exact thing I needed and all of you, my friends, were so right when you said, “you’ll see, this is exactly what you need.” And now, 7 weeks later, I’m very ready to come home. I’ve missed you all and can’t wait to catch up…although I promise no 3,000 picture slide shows!

The Introduction of Thermadore DeNardi (aka Thermi)

November 28, 2006 – Part 2

Here is a picture of Thermi! When we were leaving Germany our friends Terri and Albi DeNardi gave us a thermos with some hot tea. Well, little did we know that this plain (he had no stickers when we got him) little thermos was to become a fixture on our trip. He went everywhere we went and we have pictures of him along the way…that I’ll have to get from Karen so I can post them. But, here’s an official introductory shot of Thermi who I will be bringing home to Los Angeles for Karen and I to use at an evening at the Hollywood Bowl when she comes and visits. Of course, Thermi will be full of wine versus tea for that outing!

Back to Paris

November 28, 2006

A very early morning. Today the alarm went off at 7AM – unheard of for us! We needed to be in the lobby by 8AM for a special “van” taxi to take us to the airport as all of our luggage (minus my extra suitcase that’s waiting for me in Paris) cannot fit into a regular taxi, which is quite big to start with I must add.

Luggage list:

One huge bike box – just imagine a box that fits a bit touring bike
One huge suitcase that is completely over the weight restrictions
One enormous backpack – think going camping in the woods forever size
One heavy backpack that contains my laptop, camera and all the lenses
One carry-on bag that has to be checked that is full of dirty clothes
One carry-on bag with Karen’s lap top
One purse
One small pack purse

And two people to manage all of this crap.

Well, we had to fold 3 of the 4 back seats down to fit everything in this minivan, but it all fit.

Karen’s flight left before mine and given the extremely tight security as Heathrow, we needed to give at least an hour just for security screening. We checked her in first and had no problems with the bike.

Then it was time to say goodbye. The tears started flowing before we even said a word. We have had an amazing trip together with memories that will last a lifetime. I can’t believe that today she gets on a plane and heads home. I know we are both ready to go home, but it is still bittersweet saying goodbye.

I then made the trek from terminal 3 to terminal 4. Now, you wouldn’t think that was such an ordeal, but it is. The terminals are about 5 miles apart from each other. So, off I went pushing my wobbly cart with my suitcase, camera backpack and carry-on and walked to the far reaches of terminal 3 where Karen’s plane was taking off from to the underground that took me to terminal 4.

That trek took a good hour. I was lucky I had 3 hours between her and my flight. I then checked in and headed up to security. Security took another hour. The security is extremely strict and very serious at Heathrow. They are even trying out full body scan machines that you can be randomly selected for…I avoided that line.

Once I had cleared through I had about an hour to grab a bite to eat and wander around the most amazing duty free shops in the world although I only bought a book to read on the plane.

I made it to the gate just in time to board the plane, which was completely full. The flight was less than an hour, which is sad when you think of how long security check-in takes and then it took about another hour in Paris to clear immigration – one officer for the entire plane – and wait for my luggage.

By the time I reached to hotel, it was 5PM. I then spent the next half an hour dealing with the hotel staff who couldn’t find my luggage that I stored here. I was a bit frantic, but eventually they found it.

I am staying at the Trianon Palace in Versailles again as I’m using Starwood points. My room this stay is absolutely amazing. I have a view of the Palace of Versailles from my window and it’s a huge corner room…I had to take pictures. Of course, there is a nice 1/2 bottle of champagne waiting for me. So, I think I’ll kick off my shoes, order some room service, crack open the champagne and get a good night’s sleep. I want to make the most of tomorrow, my last day in Paris.

Pony Shots!

November 26, 2006

Karen, me and the New Forest ponies!

Harrods is calling my name!

November 27, 2006

Today we got up early – well, 8AM and that’s early for us – had a good workout at the gym, enjoyed a cup of tea in the room and then headed into London.

Our first stop was Harrods. By the time we got there on the underground it was probably close to 11AM. We then shopped, shopped, stopped for lunch and scones with cream and jam with tea of course, shopped, shopped and then took all of our receipts down to the duty free desk as we’d spent so much that we were entitled to money back! I think we finally left Harrods around 5PM and we still hadn’t seen the entire store. I love Harrods, if you couldn’t tell.

The store is currently themed Christmas Royale after the new Bond film, Casino Royale. So, they are playing Bond music in certain areas of the store and there is Bond stuff everywhere. I haven’t seen the new Bond film, but hearing the songs and seeing Bond make my home sick…home sick for my MGM family that is. It feels strange to have a Bond film come out and not be part of it.

On top of that, the stores is completely decked out for Christmas. Harrods, for those who haven’t been, is an amazing, city block big, 6 floor department store that has absolutely everything from rugs to a travel agency to a pet store to luggage to clothes to everything in between. It’s a historic landmark in London and it’s a beautiful store in its own right, but at Christmas it is extra incredible. The Christmas store with the ornaments is spectacular and I would have bought a ton of them if I knew how to get them back.

Of course, being surrounded by Christmas, Karen and I did a lot of Christmas shopping. In fact, over lunch we sat down and made our shopping lists and except for a few things here and there, I think we were both done our Christmas shopping by the time we left the store!

When we left, it was dark. The unfortunate thing about London at this time of year is that it is dark by 4PM. We hopped on the underground with our 6 or 7 Harrods bags (already reduced substantial in number) and headed towards Piccadilly Circus to hit the Virgin Megastore. Now, that is another “must visit” on my list in London. It’s literally right next to Piccadilly Circus and is full of great CDs, a lot of which aren’t easy to find in the states.

We ended up walking out with about 8 CDs many of which were singles of songs that we had heard on the radio during our extensive car rides. Some of the most bizarre songs come out of Europe. Things like “Rehab,” which is a woman singing about how everyone thinks she should go to rehab except her, “I Like It When You Call, But You Never Call at All” and of course the song we hear all of the time “Don’t Feel Like Dancing,” which of course makes us feel like dancing everytime we hear it.

After more shopping, we stopped into a little café and just grabbed a bite to eat. Neither of us were that hungry just exhausted and very thirsty as shopping is exhausting.

We then headed back to the hotel, which is a good 1/2 hour tube ride away and began the fun task of packing. I’m not kidding when I say it took us 2 pots of tea and about 3 hours just to pack. Karen has stuff shoved in her bike box in the areas where there is room and her pack is busting at the seams. I also think that because it was our last night that we really didn’t want to turn off the lights and go to sleep. It’s going to be strange waking up knowing that today is our last day of traveling together. So, at 1:30 AM we were still up chatting…but at least the packing was done.

Athens at Night

November 24, 2006

Today is our last night in Athens. We went up to the roof top restaurant before heading out for dinner to take these shots.

Our hotel recommended a traditional Greek restaurant for dinner. We decided to have a bunch of appetizers versus a main course each so we could share more. We had so much food and everything was so great - the best Greek food I have ever had with traditional music playing in the background. It was perfect!

It was the best way to spend out last night in Athens. Of course, we were so full that we could barely walk back to the hotel. So full in fact that we passed on breakfast - our free breakfast - the next day.

Left is Right...Right?

November 26, 2006

Well, I’m in London. Yes, London. Bit of a change in plans…

We have been trying to plan our trip to Portugal and Madrid for weeks now, but we kept hiding road blocks. We knew that going from Athens to Portugal to Madrid to Paris in 6 days was going to be a bit much, but it was our last week of travel and we were up for the challenge.

We managed to get a hotel in Lisbon for a decent price, but we found out that although the address says Lisbon it’s actually in another town outside of Lisbon, which isn’t that convenient. It is a taxi ride and then the metro to get into town. Given that we only have one day for Lisbon staying outside of the city probably wasn’t the best idea.

In Madrid, things were even more challenging. We were planning to take an overnight hotel train from Lisbon to Madrid and then staying two nights in a hotel there. Unfortunately, well unfortunately for us, there is an environment conference in Madrid this week, which meant that the hotels that had rooms were over 400 euros a night! That’s outrageous!

On top of that Karen had to pick up her touring bike in Christchurch, which is about 2 hours south of London before heading home.

So, change of plans. We are now in London. Our original flight to Lisbon was through London so we just got off the plane here, got a hotel near Heathrow airport and are here for 2 more nights.

We flew from Athens to London yesterday, but completely forgot that we were going to lose 2 hours in the air. So, our original 3 hour flight became 4 hours. I guess Athens is quite far away from London when you think about it.

We got in, took a taxi to the hotel as unfortunately there are no hotel-specific shuttles allowed at Heathrow and the bus system or “hotel hoppa” as it’s called is all a bit confusing especially with a ton of luggage. Although the hotel isn’t the nicest we’ve stayed at, it is convenient for returning Karen, her huge bike box, enormous pack and soon to-be-acquired carry-on bag versus staying in downtown London.

After checking in, we took a 10 minute walk in the freezing cold – okay, well freezing cold for two girls who have been in Italy and Greece for weeks now – and went down to the local pub…for fish and chips of course!

We walked about 10 minutes and then saw the pub. It was completely dark, but there were a few people outside with flashlights so we thought we’d see what was going on. There were people inside sitting in the dark for who knows how long. A fuse had gone off and some guy with a coal miners hat on was trying to fix it. In about 5 minutes, the lights were back on. We enjoyed a nice plate of fish and chips and my new favorite drink “black and cider,” which I’m sure will sound awful to most people, but it’s blackcurrant juice in cider. It’s so good!

Today, we retrieved Karen’s bike from Christchurch. Originally we looked at taking the train, but that was expensive and not the most convenient thing for hauling a huge box with a touring bike.

So, we rented a car. Luckily the Sheraton by the airport has a car rental location right within the hotel. We booked a compact car, but when we actually saw the car we realized there was no way the box would fit in it. Next size available – SUV or Jaguar – we opted for the SUV.

Off we went, fully insured automatic and all with our 5 pound map. As I’m sure you know, the English drive on the other side of the road hence the automatic. We took off with me driving and Karen as navigator.

It had obviously been pouring with rain and some of the roads were flooded. Now, I was very cautious about staying on the right (aka the left) side of the road and not crossing over. Well, I managed to drive right through this huge puddle spraying water everywhere. Once we passed, I thought I remembered seeing someone walking on the path near the puddle. Karen looked back and there was this poor woman now looking like a very drowned poodle that I guess I managed to completely drench! Oops.

Luckily heading out to the freeway was pretty easy and soon we were on our way after a couple of roundabouts. Once we hit the 5 lanes of cars on the freeway that’s when it started to rain. Actually, rain is an understatement. It was a downpour and then it started to hail. Of course, as we do when we encounter such bizarre and ironic challenges as (a) driving on the other side of the road (b) not knowing where we are (c) not knowing how to get where we are going (d) rain and hail, we just laugh it off. Typical traveling adventure.

We hopped off the freeway and drove down some side roads through a part of England called the New Forest, which has been inhabited by tiny horses for probably hundreds of years. I guess the horses are wild and run free, but are quite used to “our folk” (aka tourists). We pulled over at one area and took a couple pictures of us and the ponies!

It took us about 2 hours to get to Christchurch where we met Karen’s friend who was storing the bike for her. By this time it had stopped raining. We went down to a new hotel that had just opened that right was right on the river. We had a lovely lunch overlooking all of the people out for their Sunday walks and then headed back to London.

Driving on the “wrong” side of the road especially in an automatic isn’t that hard. The only challenge is that your subconscious tells you that you, the driver, should be on the left hand side of the lane versus the right hand side of the lane. Therefore, it’s pretty easy to start slowly moving in that direction…of course, Karen helped point out that I was traveling too close to the cars beside her probably every 10 or 15 minutes.

So, all was going pretty well considering we were driving on the “wrong” side of the road in a big SUV in a hail storm. But, that changed when we got back near Heathrow and got lost.

We were probably 5 minutes away from the hotel when we entered the thousands of cars trying to get to the airport. There were signs everywhere and multiple options none of which looked familiar. Before we knew it, we were in some small tunnel going underneath a runway that is for bikes (and I mean bicycle when I say bike), but cars can use it too. It was a very narrow fit and remember what I said about the tendency to “drift” to the left…well, I heard Karen say, “you're getting really close to…” followed by a good thump as we entered this narrow tunnel. We both looked to the left and the passenger’s side mirror was bent inwards. We both paused for a moment and then burst into laughter! Thank goodness we opted for the full coverage on the car for the extra 5 pounds!

Well, we managed to find the hotel after having to do a u-turn and then go through the narrow little tunnel again…this time with no damage!

The best part…the car rental place didn’t even see the damage on the mirror, which we neatly put back together at the gas station. Gotta love the plastic!

We managed to haul the bike up to the room and just relaxed that night…of course enjoying several cups of tea, which for some reason just taste better in London…gotta be the water!

Athens - More than just ruins

November 22, 2006

Here is a shot taken from the Parthenon overlooking the city.

I've also attached a shot of a Parthenon Puppy. There were all sorts of people around and he was snoozing. We went up and talked to him...of course, but the didn't move, but was breathing (we checked). He finally did this big "I'm trying to sleep here" stretch without even opening his eyes and then curled back to sleep.

The kitty was having a bath on the roof top of a store in Plaka an old historical area (of course, everything is historical in Athens!) of the city.

More Athenian Ruins

November 22, 2006

Athens - Back to ruins!

November 22, 2006

Breakfast is included with this hotel and we had to get up in time for the free meal…we were trained very young to take advantage of the free meal…including Saturdays when we were kids driving around to various car dealers to enjoy the free hot dogs and pony rides…but I digress.

We walked out into the lobby this morning to find a security check point in the lobby ala airport. We stopped and asked what was going on and I guess the Czech president was visiting the hotel. Wow! Swanky place.

We took off for the Acropolis first as it’s Athens “must-see” on the Top 40 Ruins List!

It’s strange. When we were in Rome we were standing in the Colesseum, which was built or finished around 72 BC, but the buildings at the Acropolis are even older, hundreds and hundreds of years older, dating from 5th Century BC. The Parthenon itself was the first building built on the Acropolis site and to this day it is the most impressive building, which took over 15 years to build. The Acropolis is the central point of Athens and you can literally see it from all areas of the city. Of course, when standing on top, you can see the entire city of Athens and its white buildings that run down to the ocean.

What’s interesting is this place, which has been the center of religious worship in Athens since the 11th Century BC, still exists in some form today. There are ruins, which are undergoing years and years of restoration. The Parthenon’s renovations have been going on for 6 years now. It’s interesting to read the signs about the restorations because a lot of the work they are doing now is to correct incorrect restorations that were made in the earlier part of last century. I guess as the years go by researchers discover more and more about these sites. Who knows what they will be doing to these moments in 100 years when they discover even more.

What’s disappointing about visiting these amazing moments is that there are cranes and scaffolding along so much of the buildings during their restoration. I think I did a good job of avoiding the mess, but I took a very ‘messy’ photo to show you exactly what these sites do look like. All photos are of the Parthenon.

Just as we were finishing at the Acropolis, it started to rain, just a little. Such good timing. Luckily the rain didn’t last long. We then took off and just walked. We have done this several times and it so relaxing to not be on a timetable, not have anywhere to go and just breathe in a city like Athens by wandering the streets. We spent the next 2 hours just walking, stopping in shops, saying “hello” to several stray kitties and then stopping for a bite to eat.

The restaurant we found was a cute, hip restaurant. The menu was excellent and we both had a great salad and shared some ouzo…of course…we’re in Greece! We sat there and chatted for quite a while and then looked around at the fellow diners. There were about 3 men in the entire restaurant that was about 3/4 full and the rest were women. I think we may have stumbled across a lesbian establishment. What a hoot! We had no idea where we were and needed directions getting back to the hotel let alone what area of town we were in…it was a great lunch though…and that’s all that matters.

We then headed back to the hotel via another shopping street although by this time of night we were getting pretty tired. We got back to the hotel, went to the gym and then ordered some room service as we tried, pretty unsuccessfully I might add, to figure out the rest of our trip, which I cannot believe is only a week and a half now.

Room service arrived and with it the best French fries I’ve had in years! They were pretty amazing.

Tomorrow we definitely need to sort out what we are doing in Portugal and Madrid. It’s supposed to rain again…blah. But, we’ll make do.

November 21, 2006

What a great night’s sleep. I was quite surprised how well I slept given the fact that we were on a ferry all night. I probably slept a good 9 hours waking up a few times here and there.

We hung around our room for quite a bit this morning and then went to grab breakfast around 11AM. Well, the restaurants had just all closed so we made do with a piece of apple pie and tea. Oh, the horrors!

We got into Patras at 12:30 PM and we were going to take the train into Athens, but the train didn’t leave until 1:55 PM and wasn’t going to get in until 5:30 PM so we opted for the 16 euro bus that left right after the ferry arrived and got us in around 4PM. It would have gotten there sooner, but we stopped for a 20 minute rest at some rest stop. We, of course, were the only people not dying to get off the bus for a smoke! And when asked if we smoke and we reply no, the commonly asked question is, “why not?” How strange.

We finally got into Athens (Athina) and the bus dropped us off by some park. We stood there with my big ass suitcase, my big camera/pack pack, Karen’s enormous pack, Karen’s other carry on bag and wondered what to do next. It didn’t look like we needed to haul our stuff to a taxi stand, unlike any other major European city, so I stood by the luggage and Karen hailed a cab. We carefully packed the truck…Karen’s pack in the front seat, got in the car, and I handed the driver a piece of paper with the address and name of the hotel as we don’t know a single word of Greek. He asked the name of the hotel, I repeated, he asked again, I repeated and off we went.

About 30 seconds later we pulled up in front of the hotel. It was just around the corner. What a riot! I gave the guy 5 euros, which was probably double the fare, but I felt so silly for the 30 second cab ride, which took less time than packing and unpacking the car.

We checked in to the hotel, which was probably restored for the Olympics in 2004. Our room is beautiful, cozy and very elegant.

By the time we got checked in, it was close to dinner time, so we headed out and walked around for a bit and then found a cafeteria type place to have dinner at. Nothing too fancy, but after a month of travel, a nice salad is good now and then.

We then walked a couple of blocks of shops, did some looking around and then headed back to the hotel.

Before we got to Greece, Karen mentioned that she had heard that there are a lot of stray dogs in Athens. I had heard about the stray cats, especially in the islands, but not too much about the dogs. Well, it is true, unfortunately there are a lot of homeless dogs in Athens. The good news is that the government is at least trying to “fix” them and give them their vaccinations – at least it is something. There are two stray dogs that are fixtures at our hotel…both are very well fed we learned after bringing back some left overs from dinner. It is really sad to see these dogs that just need loving homes. So, if anyone wants to try and adopt a dog, a lot of Greek dogs need homes – just Google it and I’m sure you’ll find a bunch of different sites.

The weather is supposed to be rainy here for the next few days…but we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Back to traveling…yuck.

November 20, 2006

Sorry no photos today...shucks!

Okay, we’ve had 5 relaxing, calm, non-sight seeing, non-ruins looking, non-church/cathedral/basilica days. We should be ready to hit the road…WRONG!

We packed up…yuck number 1…and for some reason although the bags are the same size and the contents haven’t changed in the last 5 days everything doesn’t seem to fit right. Great.

We packed up the rental car, which I’m so glad we have been paying to park and not use for 5 days, and headed off to Bari, which is on the other coast of Italy…basically, to quote Karen, we drove a little ankle bracelet across the boot of Italy. The drive took us first back to Napoli (Naples) along the Mr. Toad’s Wild ride roads along the seashore. It was spectacular being able to see the entire view on the drive out. Breathtaking. We then jumped on the “free-for-all-freeway” and headed towards Bari.

The drive was about 3 hours long and it was our 2nd day of rain during our entire trip in Italy. Luckily, we just had to drive through it, stop for gas in it and by the time we hit Bari it was gone.

We had originally planned to try and drop the car off at an Avis place not for from the ferry terminal, but once again we got lost. The nerves were slightly frayed already as we were running a bit behind so getting lost wasn’t adding to the fun and enjoyment of the day…especially when we realized “hey we’ve been here before.” We ended up taking the car back to the airport as luckily there were signs for Aeroporto. We dropped off the car with no issues and then had to haul our luggage to the taxi stand to get a taxi to the ferry terminal.

Now, to put it lightly, we are SO sick of hauling all of our stuff around and the taxi stand wasn’t just right around the corner…as usual. So, off we went. We found it, but were coming from the very end of the line up and of course couldn’t take the first taxi we came across. We had to haul all of our stuff by about 20 waiting taxis to get up to the very first one in line.

Now, I’ve mentioned that Italians drive like they are all in a race driving Ferraris. Well, our taxi driver thought he was rushing someone to the ER. The poor little taxi was hurtling down the roads at goodness knows how fast as the gauges weren’t working in the car and the CD player was skipping every few seconds. Good news is we got to the terminal in a very short time…and we arrived alive. But, to be honest, after traveling for so much and getting to our wits end, we just sat back in the taxi ride from hell and rested. Just going with the flow and talking about where we were going next…if we survived this leg.

We check-in and boarded the Love Boat wannabe ferry and were shown to our rooms. When booking the ferry we had a couple of options for our 15 hour overnight cruise – no reserved seat, an air bed (i.e., a reserved seat), dorm with 2 or 4 others or dorm to ourselves. I chose dorm to ourselves and thank goodness we did as the ferry is chocked full of Italian and Greek truckers up in the bars smoking away over a beer.

We went and grabbed a quick bite to eat and had retired to our room before the ferry even set off. We have our own bathroom, which is so great and we are all kicked out on the beds reading and writing.

The ferry arrives at 12:30 PM tomorrow – we lose another hour tomorrow – and then we finally arrive into Athens around 7PM after a 3 1/2 hour train ride. Oh joy. It’s going to be a long travel day!

Good Bye Positano

November 19, 2006

Today was our last day in Positano. We have had 5 amazing days here and are actually sad to be leaving. We have had 5 amazing days of sunny weather and are so lucky given the time of year. In fact, it’s been so warm that we easily could have laid by the pool for a few hours each day, but we preferred to lounge in our room enjoying our amazing view, which also happened to look over the pool.

I treated myself to a massage and short facial today at the Aveda spa at the hotel; both were amazing. In fact, I was so relaxed that after I slowly stumbled back to the room in my spa robe and slippers I took a nice nap waking up just in time to watch the sunset. A perfect end to perfect day.

We had dinner tonight in the hotel’s restaurant. We started with tuna tartar and then Karen has risotto with chestnuts and pecurino cheese and I had pasta with lobster and scampi – everything was excellent. A perfect way to end our stay at La Sirenuse.

Rest, Read, Nap...Repeat!

November 18, 2006

A quiet, peaceful night. I think I like our new room much better than the old one. This room has a full set of windows that extend the length of the room so no matter where you sit in the room – bed, sofa, table – you are facing the beautiful view.

Another breakfast in our robes in the room staring at the beautiful scenery followed by a whole lotta nothing again.

Today we walked down to try another restaurant right on the water. As it’s off season, it’s very quiet and peaceful, which we like. Tonight’s dinner was good – more pasta and pizza. It was a great meal…as usual.

Not much to report…rested, read book, napped…repeat!

Positano...the local flavor

November 17, 2006

Rush hour in Positano!

A kitty napping.

The inside of the local church. How beautiful considering there are only 2,000 people that live here.

More Photos...Positano

November 17, 2006

Can you tell I love it here!

Ah...beautiful Positano

November 16, 2006

Did I mention how beautiful Positano on the Amalfi coast is? We had a DVD player in our room during our stay here and watched two very appropriate films - both with scenes filmed at Positano - Under the Tuscan Sun and Only You. Only You was actually filmed at the hotel itself. So, we were watching the scenes in the hotel while lounging in the hotel...pretty fun!

Positano...everyday life

Here are couple shots of everyday life in Positano.

November 16, 2006

A group of kids playing at lunch on a school that is one of the buildings built into the side of the hill.

The colorful boats of the local fisherman.

A butterfly...there were lots of butterflies all over and we saw them everyday.

Another Beautiful, sunny day in Positano

November 17, 2006

We took advantage of the beautiful day by eating breakfast in our room again looking over the ocean followed by reading, writing and more napping! Ah! A perfect morning!

We then headed downstairs for lunch as a free lunch is included with our stay and we made the most of it. Our view was incredible and the food was great. I've attached a shot of Karen at lunch and then a shot from the lunch area looking back at our room.

After lunch we walked down to the water and just wandered around a bit. It’s very easy to get lost here as there are just staircases that pop out of nowhere and lead to who knows where.

We got back to the room around 4PM just as the sun was setting and enjoyed that view from the room. We then headed down to the gym for a good workout and are now all relaxed after our nice showers.

Of course…to add drama to the day…we are in a different room tonight. As you may have heard Positano is a very romantic place and there are several honeymooning couples here. Well, the couple next door to us we learned early this evening is quite vocal. Besides, we can’t get the wireless internet in our room for some reason and that too is annoying. So, we are now in another room. The view is still the same, layout a bit different, but we can hear the ocean again…versus the honeymooners!

A perfect lazy day…just what we needed

November 16, 2006

We woke up this morning to a knock on our door at just after 10AM (we were still sleeping, of course) with the delivery of breakfast. How luxurious!

We opened the doors to our patio to see what a beautiful site it is here. The sounds of the ocean mixed with the sounds of little kids playing in a school on the other hill. The sunlight reflecting off of the ocean. The fisherman working on their boats below. The houses and building stacked one upon the other on the hillside some dating from the 17th century. The Sirens islands in the distance, which this hotel was named after, Le Sirenuse. And a layer of clouds covering the very top of the hill. It’s serene, relaxing and just where we both need to be right now.

Breakfast was good – tea – of course with a basket of fresh breads and jams, along with fresh squeezed orange juice.

After breakfast, I spent some time being amateur photographer from our deck taking pictures of the school kids, butterflies and of course our view. Karen started to read her new book, which ironically is set in the mid-part of Italy not too far from where we are. We both took much needed naps as we listened to the ocean as our balcony door was open.

Late this afternoon, Karen went to the gym for a 2 hour run and I did some writing on the deck as the sun set. What a beautiful sight.

I called the front desk and asked for a restaurant recommendation – something casual and she said “take the elevator to level –1 and then it’s about 140 steps away.” Okay, so off we went. I’m thinking 140 steps isn’t that far, but what I failed to realize after sitting on the balcony and looking at the houses the line the entire hillside that 140 steps actually means “steps.” We climbed down the 140 steps and after our dinner of pasta and red wine, climbed back up the 140 steps.

Now, back in the room with the doors open to the balcony and listening to the waves hit the shore, we are about to watch “Under the Tuscan Sun,” which somehow seemed fitting to our location.

Okay…just finished “Under the Tuscan Sun.” First of all, really good movie. I had never seen it. Second of all, there were so many places in the movie that we had actually been to on this trip. The best part was that Diane Lane’s character comes to the tiny little Amalfi coast town that we are staying in right now, Positano. There are only 2,000 people that live here so it was definitely ironic to be watching a movie and seeing the same view we see outside of our bedroom window. Most ironic too considering this is the first movie I’ve seen since I was on the plane flying from LA to Paris and Karen’s last movie was sometime in July in England.

Okay…my blog is always on the light side of things, but it’s time to get a little serious.

When I started this entry this morning after breakfast, I wrote that Positano is “just where we both need to be right now.” As I finish this entry just before turning off the lights to go to bed, I truly realize that this is exactly where I need to be right now. It’s an overwhelming feeling. Since the beginning of the year, I have been on a journey physically and more importantly mentally. As many of you know, I have had a really hard time since being laid off from MGM a year ago in July. Yes, I said “laid off.” I used to say “when MGM was sold” or “when I left MGM,” but the reality is the company I worked for was sold, I was no longer needed along with so many of my dearest friends and in one swoop my “family” was destroyed. Since then there have been lots of downs with one or two ups, which has definitely taken its toll on me. At some points I really wondered if I could make it through the storm I had created within my life. But, I know today as I look out at life in Positano – the ladies hanging the laundry, the children playing at school, the fisherman tending to their boats and the butterflies flying all around me under the warm sun – that the storm has passed and with the help of each and every one of you, my friends, I will be a stronger, more confident and happier person. I am that butterfly. I have weathered the storm and I know I can and will have a very happy, bright and prosperous future...one step at a time. So…thank you.

Rome to Amalfi

November 15, 2006

We are just about to head out to pick up the rental car and head to the Amalfi Coast, but wanted to soak up a couple more minutes of free internet before we head off.

Packing was a riot last night…okay, who am I fooling, it was a nightmare. I can barely close my suitcase, but thank goodness the factory outlets we are stopping at have a Samonsite store! May need to pick up yet another suitcase! Oh dear. I’m shopping, don’t get me wrong, but I’m also doing a lot of Christmas shopping. I thought about shipping things back, but after sending off 5 small packages this morning and having it amount to 50 euros it’s cheaper to buy a suitcase! The packages are supposed to arrive in 5 to 7 days or 5 to 7 weeks. I’m not sure. The clerk at the post office and I couldn’t seem to get that part down although we both know it’s 5 to 7 something…

We are now all settled in our hotel in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. It was been another adventurous day.

We picked up the car at the train station and, with most things in Europe, picking up a rental car is not as easy as walking outside into a lot to find it or having a bus pick you up and take you to a lot. We got the keys and off we went on a 2 block hike with our luggage to a parking structure to go to the 7th floor to find the car – a nice, huge, upgraded station wagon (hot, I know) that will be SO easy to navigate out of Rome, as well as on the winding streets on the Amalfi Coast, but I was not about to hike back to the rental car place again. So, off we went.

We headed right out of Rome. Actually, we had no choice but to head right out of Rome. There is some imaginary circle that surrounds Rome and unless you have some special kind of permit you cannot drive within that circle during the days during the week. Traffic is a huge problem in Rome given the very poor transportation system. So, we drove out of the circle to the “ring” road that took us down to the factory outlets.

Yes, more shopping. There were a bunch of Italian designers there and it was on the way…well, kind of…so off we went. Shopping was a bust unfortunately, but we had fun regardless.

We then headed out to the Amalfi Coast and unfortunately our directions took us back to the Rome ring road right in the middle of rush hour traffic. Well, we’ve done rush hour traffic in Paris, Brussels and now Rome so we’re getting pretty good at getting around at the worst possible time.

Italians are crazy drivers – so much more worse than the French. Remember the Italians invented the chariot races. Fiats and Alfa Romeos are just modern day chariots, but with airbags! I honestly don’t think the freeways here have speed limits. I was averaging 120 km to 140 km on the freeway and I was being passed like I was standing still. The Italians also have a completely different language when it comes to communicating to other drivers.

1. No one, except the crazy motorcycle drivers, ever pass on the right…this is nice.
2. Cars in the fast lane flash their high beams to not only pass, but to warn you that they are coming even if you aren’t in that lane.
3. If possible, cars are expected to move to the right flanking both the middle and fare right lanes if you are passing on the left giving you lots of room.
4. When coming to a stop in traffic quite quickly all drivers put on their hazard lights.
5. Big trucks cannot drive fast. The limit they can drive is actually posted on the back of each truck and I haven’t seen one higher than 90 km. This is also nice.

By the time we got to the Amalfi Coast it was dark. We had expected this as it is getting dark here around 4:30 now. What was the most entertaining as we looked out into the vast sea of darkness was Karen’s frequent comment (all in a very English accent I might add) – “It’s beautiful (pause), really, really beautiful.”

We had pretty good directions to the hotel, but the roads are very narrow and are like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. We finally made it to the hotel…a little bit car sick and checked in. It’s off season on the coast even though the weather is supposed to be in the mid-70s, so the hotel is relatively quiet. I booked through Platinum Amex, which I recommend to everyone, and they upgraded us to an amazing room with a full ocean view. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the morning as we enjoy our breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. After 7 whirlwind days in Rome, I am really looking forward to reading my book, looking out over the ocean, getting a massage and just re-charging my batteries before 4 whirlwind days in Athens.

St. Peter's Basilica in the Sunlight

November 14, 2006

The sun was shining in the windows at the top of St. Peter's yesterday. I took a couple of pictures and some of them turned out quite well.

St. Peter's Basilica

November 14, 2006

There is no way these pictures do St. Peter's justice. To be honest, it was overwhelming the size, scope and grandeur that I think can only be experienced in person.