From Venice to Florence

Well, we’re saying goodbye to Venice. It’s been fun – a lot of walking, a lot of tourists and a lot of good wine and food. But, really, we’re excited about Florence, Tuscany and Rome, ahead. After a small breakfast in the Hotel, we boarded a water taxi to the train station.




Our taxi driver was traditional Venetian and somehow was able to maneuver the motor launch through the little canals and around all the traffic. At the train station, we said Ciao and went off to find our high speed train to Florence.



The Italian railroad press was very proud of the fact that the high speed rail system was running efficiently – not as other things work in Italy. The train actually left on time, traveled quickly through the Italian country side and arrived in Florence 2 minutes early. Nothing like that in the States!

In Florence, we grabbed a taxi to the Lungarno Suites Hotel, a wonderful little hotel on the Arno river at the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. The bridge is still standing – from the 11th century - after the destruction Florence experienced in WWII. Hitler actually met Mussolini in a room above the bridge and was so moved by the view of the Arno that he ordered his Army not to destroy any part of the bridge. There is a long walkway on one side of the bridge, above the shops that allowed Lorenzo De Medici to walk from his home on one side of the Arno to the political offices on the other without being confronted by ordinary citizens. It’s quite ingenious – much as the US House and Senate have their underground subway system to avoid the common taxpayers.


We walked through a lot of neighborhoods before heading out for drinks at Harry's Bar of Florence. This Harry’s is much larger than Venice and we had a great conversation with Fortunato, a Sardinian bartender, relatively new to Harry’s. We’re going back tomorrow night to talk more to Leo, who’s been with Harry’s for 51 years and has ALL the stories.
Dinner was short and uneventful at a small café next to the Hotel – and we got to bed early, in preparation of a long walking tour of the Art Museums of Florence, tomorrow. Till then, Ciao!

Another day in Venice

We finally slept late – almost 11:00. It’s tiring to get up and walk, walk and walk around France and Italy – looking at wonderful things. So, after a little coffee and a check of the Internet, we headed off to shop, shop and walk. There are an amazing number of shops in the central sections of Venice. Everywhere you turn there’s a high dollar store that, somehow, makes enough money selling high priced STUFF to tourists.

After left turns, right turns, more left turns and more right turns we finally made the Rialto Bridge. This bridge, constructed centuries ago is one of only two bridges across the Grand Canal – from one main area of Venice to the other. Of course, it’s full of tourists. I’d love to see Venice in the off-season, although this time of year is not the high tourist season, either. We crossed the Rialto Bridge and walked through the market area where, early in the morning, they sell fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, etc. for the local trade. There were wonderful smells coming from all sides.

After re-crossing the Rialto Bridge we found our way back to Piazza San Marco and decided to take in the 53 Annual Venice Art / Media show. This is a multimedia extravaganza that encompasses all art forms, media and weirdness. There must be 30,000 high fashion media types here in Venice strolling the alley-ways – trading books, art, movies, videos and stuff. There were plenty of gorgeous high fashion model types strolling arm in arm with much shorter, older business tycoons.

We stopped for a short lunch at another great restaurant along the Grand Canal. It was great people watching, since the restaurant was on the way from hotels to the Art Fair. Just as we finished lunch a fellow walked in to join another party, also just finishing lunch. His jacket was spectacular – just what I think would be appropriate at the Country Club. I don’t know where to buy one – except Venice – and it’s probably not really worth it – but what colors.

On the way back to the Hotel from the Art Fair, Jackie had to have a gelato – and it wasn’t hard to find a store. Just look for the gelato sculptures. Well, we’re off tomorrow to Florence and the great Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio. Ciao!

From Nice to Venice

Today is another travel day. We rose early at Chateau St. Martin to pack and get ready for our trip to Venice. It seemed that we had a lot of little things to do – but, in reality, it was very simple. Got the car, got to the airport, checked the rental car back to EuropCar, found the shuttle bus to Terminal One, checked in for the flight and went through security. ALL EASY. And, we flew Baboo Airlines. It was a wonderful flight – though a small airplane. Clean, attractive and wonderful little sandwiches, fruit and Caffé. They finished the lunch meal with Chocolat Mousse. NO PEANUTS.

At the airport, we were met by two people from IDI, a travel company here in Venice. They arrange a number of services for travelers while in Venice – and they took us to a special section of the waterway, where we had a private water taxi to take us to the hotel. There was another section where travelers had to stand in line for public water taxis – and then they had to lug their baggage over the bridges to their hotels. Not a pleasant thought.

Our hotel, Hotel Colombina, is on the Calle del Remedio – a bridge and a few steps from Piazza San Marco. Wonderful little hotel – with windows on the canal – and gondoliers passing by, quite regularly. One even featured a singer serenading the passengers.

We rested awhile and then did an afternoon walking exploration of San Marco and the area to the west, up to the Rialto Bridge. A lot of tourists and a lot of tourist shops. Piazza San Marco is impressive, but overcrowded. It’s best in the early morning or just before closing. A lot of other churches in the area – free to explore and say Mass. Also, a lot of gondoliers along the canals looking for customers.

We made it back to the Piazza at near closing time and the orchestras were starting to entice people into their cafes. BUT we were on a mission - to Harry’s Bar for drinks. It’s really a small, little café with seating for probably 30 people, but the waiters were elegant. Jackie had a Bellini (for Paula...and Harry's Bar was where the Bellini originated) and I had my usual vodka martini – stirred, not shaken. Next to us at the table were three fellows talking about their travels from Rome – and one was from Tampa with a sister that just graduated from SMU. So we ordered more drinks and had a delightful conversation.

After a short respite back at the hotel, we ventured out to find a good restaurant for dinner. We walked east from the Piazza along the San Marco Canal and first found the Hotel Danieli – a wonderful hotel facing the Canal. The bar area was old Venetian, but the piano player was early Pittsburg (played Sinatra off key and had a terrible Elvis impersonation).

So we walked further along the Canal until we came upon huge yachts moored at the side of the Canal – and found a great little restaurant in front of three of the most awesome yachts I’ve seen, up close. Two were from Panama and one was called the Red Lion. I guess some people have tooooo much money on their hands.

After a nightcap at the hotel, we started planning a walk tomorrow to the Venice Art Fair.

The Day In Vence and Monaco

Well, we slept later than we wanted, today. There was something about the great comfortable beds here at Chateau Saint Martin. Just couldn’t get out of bed… and didn’t want to. Finally, we dragged ourselves out of bed and dressed for the day.

We left the Hotel and drove to St. Paul de Vence – a special community not more than 5 miles from the hotel. St. Paul de Vence was first settled about 1,000 BC by roaming Gauls. It was used by the Romans around 100 AD to 800 AD as a military outpost and settled as a city about 1,100 AD. It has been a thriving commercial city since and is now populated by great artists and restaurants. The greatest story of St. Paul de Vence is from La Colombe d’Or, café-bar. It seems that Paul Roux opened the place in 1920 and befriended artists such as Matisse, Renoir, Dufy, Van Gough and Signac. They couldn’t pay for lodging or food, so they left a number of their paintings as full payment, instead. So you can imagine what’s on the walls of this quaint little café-bar.

We left St Paul de Vence and went back to Vence for a lovely little luncheon in the historical city area of Vence – the home of D. H. Lawrence, James Baldwin, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse. The town, of course, has a wonderful art museum and lovely little sidewalk cafes.

After lunch, we drove down the mountain to the A8 motorway and found our way to Monaco. Too many cars, too many people, too much money. It seemed like every other car was a Bentley, a Rolls, an Astin Martin, or a Smart Car. The Casino was packed with tourists – although you knew that at the end of the day, when the tourists left, the REAL people of Monaco came to play. Our friend from Dallas – Heintz – met us at Café du Paris next to the Casino Monte Carlo for a few drinks. Heintz recently left Dallas to rejoin his Mother and Father in Monaco – and is certainly adjusting to his new life style. He had front row seats at Casino corner for the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and has been seen at some of the most exclusive hot spots in town over the past 2 months. BUT, we know that Heintz is still the same loveable friend we knew from Maguires (Heintz says a big HELLO to all Sunday people at Maguires)….

With great directions from Heintz, we left Monaco by the back roads – around the Formula One Monaco circuit: around Casino corner, down Mirabeau and the hard 180 turn to the bottom of the hill and through the long seaside tunnel – and there, at the connection, was the road to the top of the mountain and the A8 toll road back to Nice / Vence. It saved us at least an hour.

Back at the Hotel we dressed for dinner (Thanks, Lisa!) and a concert. It was a wonderful performance by a world renown pianist, Francois-Rene Duchable, and a great French actor and troubadour, Alain Carre. It was a wonderful combination of piano selections mixed with little theatrical recitations from various French authors. We sat with several other English speaking couples who were spending several months in Vence. One was from Guernsey and the other from Palm Beach. After more wine and a great desert we retired to the room – to pack for our trip, tomorrow, to Venice.

A Day along the Cote d’Azur

It was a great sleep at Chateau Saint Martin & Spa. Great beds, great breeze off the Mediterranean – hard to get moving this morning. But, we got ourselves moving, anyway.

We left the heights of Vence and drove to Cannes for a little walk along the beach. Quite a different place, now that the motion picture world community has left. There are a lot of Chinese tourists this time of year – and there seems a large medical convention in Nice, with tour buses traveling along the Cote d’Azur, constantly.

After Cannes we turned north and drove the coast through Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Cap Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet. Quite a wonderful drive – and huge yachts moored in the harbors. The rich certainly have a different lifestyle than the rest of us. We walked along the beach and actually saw a few topless women sunbathers….when in France, huh?

On the way back to the Hotel, the sky opened up with a torrential rain and hail storm. The water was rushing down the roadway and we had to duck under the trees, at times, to avoid damage to the car. We decided to get some wine and cheese at the local supermarket – in the rain, and Jackie’s umbrella was barely workable. Such fun was had attempting to communicate with the locals. Jackie had a lovely lady ask her, in French, to borrow her umbrella. Of course, all Jackie could do was ask “Anglais?”…and the woman started over in English….she just wanted to borrow the umbrella to run to her car to get hers. By the time we got to the Hotel, the sun was out and the air cleared.

A coworker of Jackie’s had suggested we have dinner at Le Petite Maison in Nice on the beach. We had reservations at 8:30, arrived in Nice at 8:10 but to find a parking place took almost 30 minutes! The restaurant was packed with people waiting, assuring us that it was a local favorite. We were seated inside at a very romantic table setting though very close quarters to everyone else. Steve had Lobster Linguine and Jackie had Jumbo Shrimp and Salad Nicoise…delicious! Jackie, of course, had to make friends with the waiter after she asked, “Parlez-vous l'anglais?” Then off they went in their English conversation. He brought us some Lemoncello on the house and Jackie got a picture with him. Tomorrow….Monoco!

A Travel Day and Rest

Today we had a very much needed and relaxing train ride from Paris to Nice.

The train station was bustling with people and it was a great time for watching people as we waited to step on our car. As we purchased sandwiches and water for the ride, we sipped on espresso.The train we took was very comfortable and allowed us a few naps between the sites. It took about 5 hours and, upon arrival, we caught a cab to the airport where we rented a car.

The drive to our hotel was quite interesting…thank goodness we had great directions. Up and up we went and arrived at this beautiful Chateau Saint-Martin & Spa….we were greeted as we drove up and felt like royalty. After being shown to around the area, we were escorted to our room….OH, how beautiful it is…decorated in beautiful Louis VX and XVI style using fabrics from the area. You should see this rose-colored marble bathroom….and the balcony!!! With the French doors thrown wide open and the cool breeze, you can stand on the balcony overlooking the incredible area, city below and the Mediterranean.

This chateau has an extraordinary legend…they say that a gold goat which was worshipped by the Knights of the Templar is buried on the estate. And, this beautiful accommodation was built on the ancient fortress site, a Roman stronghold. Originally built in 350 it became a refuge for Gaul settlers utnil 115 when it was handed over to the Crusaders returning from the Middle East - and the Knights Templar. The current Chateaux was rebuilt in 1936 and the hotel was created in 1994.

After settling into the room, we went for a few cocktails and had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant here. We both needed a quiet night and to turn in early. Steve had a combination of Foie Gras and Cheese. Jackie had the most wonderful pasta Bolognese (almost rivaling yours, Richard!). After dinner, a great sleep…….. As I write this, we are headed to see the small communities and perhaps take in a winery…..Au revoir till tomorrow!!!

Another Long Day in Paris

After our first long day, we woke early and had a leisurely breakfast at the Hotel before heading out to see the sights. This time, we walked five blocks to the Seine and spent 3 hours walking through the Musee d”Orsay. What a wonderful museum – built within the walls of the old Orsay train station. It has all the great impressionist paintings you never thought were in one place. There was Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gough, Pizarro and even Whistler. Who would have thought that a museum in Paris would have Whistler’s Mother? There was a spectacular exhibition of architectural models of the Paris Opera – down to working replica of the entire Opera – above and below ground. From the top of the d’Orsay we looked out over most of Paris – and to Sacre Cour – the highest point in the city.

After the d”Orsay, we walked a few blocks and crossed the Seine at Pont Solferino, which led us the Tuilleries Gardens – a beautiful garden area that stretches north from the Louvre and borders on rue Rivoli, one of the better shopping areas on the right bank. We were on a mission to visit the Ritz Hotel and the Diana door (which Jackie had to walk through!), the Hemmingway Bar, the Westin Paris, Le Meurice Hotel and Angelina’s Tea Room. The gardens were great: long walking avenues of people enjoying the afternoon sun, children riding ponies, and older people (older than us) just sitting reading and talking.

We found Angelina’s Tea Room and had a wonderful light lunch which left room for their world-renown “Le Chocolat L’Africain” (claimed by many as the “World’s Best hot Chocolat”) – a hot chocolate that was actually warmed, pure chocolate served in a large cup with whipped double cream. (Sandy and Pete, thanks for that wonderful suggestion – that was the BEST chocolate I have ever tasted and I have tasted a lot of chocolate!) We met a young Canadian couple who were there for the same famous hot chocolate. After that delightful boost, we had enough energy to walk quite a while. SO…. We walked north about 6 blocks to the Place de la Concorde – where Marie Antoinette was beheaded during the French Revolution and took the Metro to Norte Dame du Champs and the Luxembourg Gardens.

The Luxembourg Gardens are where Paris hangs out in the city. There are people of all ages – from toddlers to the very elderly. The men play checkers, chess and boulles; the women read and watch the children play.

After a leisurely walk through the Gardens, we found St Sulspice cathedral – an amazing 12th century cathedral that is undergoing the first renovation in 300 years. On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled across another beautiful Church where there just happened to be a wedding going on. Jackie had to stop and watch as the bride and groom came out of the Church being showered by hundreds of rose petals….Jackie’s highlight of the day (well, maybe a close second to the hot chocolate).

Our dinner, last night, was at Le Restaurant – a relatively new, but highly rated restaurant with 3 Michelin stars. The dinner was great, the chocolate desert was even better and we met a couple from North Carolina headed to the south of France as we are. We then walked to Pont Neuf for a one-hour boat excursion on the Seine under the stars. We traveled from the Pont Neuf along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower and then returned and traveled on the left side of the Seine past Il de la Cite and Il Saint Louis. It seemed like all of Paris was partying along the banks of the river. There were hundreds and hundreds of people of all ages singing, dancing and drinking their wine.

Jackie commented several times that “Peyton would LOVE Paris and, after a few college French classes, there just might have to be a college graduation celebration trip!!” Tomorrow we leave Paris and take a long, much needed sit-down TGV train ride to Nice. Au revoir till tomorrow!