Day 4

Woke up to pancakes (crepes) delivered to our room by T, too nice. PI was kind enough to escort us to the gallery. Interesting drive, lots of pedestrians crossing the street in random places, occasional aggressive traffic. Cut off my first car, going with the flow. Met B at Gallery Most who offered us Rajika (a little stronger then last night), and juice and coca cola for the kids. AB unpacked her work that she shipped, it was nice to see it again. The gallery is a good space and it should be a good show. Spent way too much time cutting foam core for the embroidered pieces. P was so a bored, but G had plenty of drawing to do.

Drove to the center of Podgorica for coffee at Mawa (Masha), it was in a row of very upscale cafes. Very comfortable, very nice. B met us there and brought a guide book of Montenegro. AB and I had cappuccinos, even though it was the afternoon, the kids and PI had fresh squeezed lemonade. P needed extra sugar it was so tart, but she always wants extra sugar. Ordered pizza Margarita which was delicious. G wanted dessert, but we talked him out of it. B went to get us more information, maps, etc. from the tourist office. When he returned he escorted us to the Contemporary Arts Museum in the Dvorac Petrovica to see Caravaggio’s Narciso. Beautiful walk through the park, many playgrounds for P, who ran from one to another. Saw a great assortment of vehicles on the way over, Yugo’s, old VW’s (no punch back), a weird fish truck, fantastic. Furious I did not bring the camera. PI pointed out an And1 café. Seriously. Easy in and out at the Caravaggio, a single piece under glass with guards. Very low light. Like seeing an old friend. Looking forward to seeing more of them in Italy in a couple of weeks. Beki gave us catalog’s from the show. The generosity here is at times overwhelming. While we were gone the milk and bread were restocked in our apartment. Amazing.
Dropped AB at the gallery to square away her embroidery and took the back way home. PI’s cousins had arrived, I and L, so there was plenty for the kids to do. AB called and I picked her up. PI’s brother N gave AB and the kids a thorough tour of the house, a very thorough tour. I worked on my QR for Spring, the last bit of paperwork for a while. With the kids occupied AB and I went for an evening stroll toward the stadium to try to get up to the hill behind the house which I just mapquested, I think it’s called Gorica. Need to ride that hill. It will get me straight for what’s to come at the end of the month. Left the kids longer then expected, but they were well occupied. Ping Pong on a makeshift table, but they lost the only ball. Back to Go Fish until the sun went down, then they taught the others Hide and seek, which they referred to as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Had another Niksicko, no glass necessary.

Looking at all the guide books, maps, etc. to plot our week. Looks like Cetinje tomorrow, and perhaps a daring drive up to Nacionalni Park Lovcen (do not have the proper keyboard for spelling some things). P is watching Fred, a uTube channel. Thank god for headphones. G is mustering up the courage to go to bed.

G says “hi” again, he won’t elaborate. We’ll give him time. AB is cooking hot dogs for P.

Day 3 Podgorica

Woke up at 8 but went back to dreamland until 10:00. P asked for a few more minutes so she could say goodbye to her friends. G dreamt of a white room full of koi. AB was resistant to getting up, very unlike her.

Easy shuttle to CDG, Terminal 2B. Overpriced semi-nasty food. No choices once we went through passport control, but no stress on AB’s part. P felt sick but was better after an apple and ritz crackers. G had a doughnut and Orangina, AB had an oversweet apple tart. Two subpar cappuccinos, very subpar. P fed a bird in the terminal. Took Montenegro airlines, it was a Fokker 100 (one of a fleet of eight), very comfortable and so far the best flight attendants. Flew over the Alps, and had a great view of the East coast of the Adriatic. Landed in Podgorica, easy airport, made my first booking mistake, the 4th instead of the 3rd, but the woman at the counter squared us away. Driving stick in Montenegro. Visualized the drive to B’s house, AB asked if I had been there before. His family is so nice, Great house, beautiful garden, brandy, Turkish coffee, fruit from the garden (I’ll get the name of it), pomegranate juice, prosciutto, currently sitting with a Niksicko (don’t have the correct keyboard to write it.)

Everything is unpacked, tomorrow we go to the gallery to take care of business. The QR needs to be sent as well, one last day of potential misery. Looking to dive this week.

G says “hi”, hoping for more input from him as the trip goes on.

Europe 2010 Day 1 & 2

Three metal detectors in one day, fun. Scan in Raleigh, the wand in JFK (difficult people working there), and an enthusiastic fondling from a nice old gentleman in Dublin.

A.M. flight from Raleigh to JFK, 11 hour layover in NYC. Took the train into the city with our packs, fortunately our two suitcases were checked on to Paris, 45 and 35 lbs respectively. Still a good deal of weight to haul around without them. Airtran to the Howard Beach Station, A train to the L train to the D train to Astor Place. D-no was home. Had a fried egg sandwich with tomato and cheese on an English muffin at Moonstruck Diner. A had french toast with meat candy, P had silver dollar pancakes, G had a Belgian Waffle. He coveted my Lemonade, and so he should have.

Walked to Soho to Kid Robot, P got something. Found a hat for the sun elsewhere. Nice not to be at the airport. D-no was a good host. Grabbed more snacks, rice cakes with seaweed, P had pizza as usual.

The train back to the airport was slooooow. Some stress was generated. Made the Aer Lingus with 15 minutes to spare (see difficult people above). Short overseas flight, less then six hours. Isolated from the family though only three rows up. Did not get out of my seat once, too much hassle. Slept for a change though. Tarmac exit, beautiful morning at the Dublin airport.. Had an hour to go back through security, which was packed, but made the plane as they were boarding the last passengers. Back row.

Plenty of time to figure out where our hotel shuttle was at CDG. We needed it. Premeire Classe Hotel , don’t let the name fool you. Comfortable, but lacking towels, alarm clock, and access (no way in or out without taking the shuttle which was an adventure.

Late afternoon RER to Luxemburg. Paris walk: Luxemburg gardens (G watched the Carp, we lazed on the lawn furniture), Left Bank (sucre crepes). Notre Dame, Isle St. Louis, Marais district (falafels, mmm), death march to Gare De Nord via Republique (Café Crème, Chocolate Chaud, Noissette). Parks and playgrounds on the way, P played in everyone, I was glad for the rest. Long wait at CDG for the shuttle to the hotel. Lights out by 12:30, later than expected.

week 2

good day today.
had basil gnocchi, heirloom tomato, and chevre (all from the apt market) for breakfast.
i had had it for lunch yesterday. i still have ravioli asperge in the fridge ready for tomorrow.
rode with jl, 50k, i feel bad i can only speak to him in english.
we stopped in bonnieax and had a beer at n's place
went home, showered,
went back to bonnieaux, when the internet stopped working, to watch the tour on n's tv.
cafe creme.
went to a b's and caught up on things.
she has a ton of visitors.
it's always like that at her house.
rose (ro-sae) 1 and one half glasses.
went to dinner (poor, very poor), i settled on salade, tomate, and spiral pasta with no sauce and no cheese.
seriously
i had a frozen mars bar ice cream item for dessert. dark chocolate exterior, salty.
walked to c's to get something, and got a ride back up with j.
came home, washed my dishes and my gear (there were four jersey's ready for washing.)
now i'm going to a critique at 10pm on a sunday night.
their request.

the view is outstanding.

626k

camp

One week of the quarter down. Very tiring, but should get better.
There is a good amount of production. Rode the Nesque today. One more dignified ride before the other rider leaves. Working on , mileage, painting, the Tour, and the film when I'm not teaching. No distractions make it possible. Should be in a good rhythm by next week, but lots of details.

The Tour started today. They go through Les Baux on Monday. Should not be missed by anyone wanting to experience the place.
We'll see.

x x x 35 50 x

33 75 x 52 36 85 x

114 (480)

Lacoste

AB leaves for Paris today, she’s taking the TGV from Avignon at 14:15. We arrived Sunday and time has passed quickly. The Mistral was blowing when we arrived, but it apered off yesterday. Will experience the first day in the saddle after returning from the station. All supplies and crates have been unpacked. Pictures downloaded, AB is getting a set so she can post what she needs on Facebook.

Sunday we drove down from Annecy, took the scenic route and avoided the enormous tolls (peages) on the A(insert number here) highways for the most part. Drove past Grenoble, down past Gap, and stopped for a forgettable lunch in Sisteron. AB’s was worse than mine, but at least the café creme was good. The road was curvy at times but not too nauseating. It was a good choice. Went through Foucalquier and Apt before arriving in Lacoste. AB met Century Rider. He and J and A were nice enough to feed us. It was appreciated. Had dinner with the others at Flambee, and met CR, J, and A for drinks at the café in Bonnieaux. It was music night in France, every café and bar had music, mostly live, going on until the early morning. There was a traditional jazz band, older and unassuming, and the sound was good. AB and I had a Café Creme late night faux pas, but so what. It’s what we wanted.

Monday was morning meetings. AB enjoyed the apartment. It has a terrace with a view to the valley. Hopefully there will be a considerable amount of painting done there over the next eight weeks. We hiked to Bonnieaux to meet CR at the Terrace Café. A good walk, AB did not have the best footwear, but it was good enough. There was a moment when things were in doubt, but it all turned out well. Brambles plus sandals don’t mix. We got a ride back to Lacoste, and drove to Apt to purchase AB’s train ticket at the SCNF office (pleasant experience, much elementary French used), then we bought essentials at LeClerc (France’s answer to WalMart), and then stopped at the Bio store to get the essentials for cooking this quarter. I need options. Dinner at CR’s, assembled the ride, and ended with a Scott Walker listening party. Laughed until it hurt. Good times.

Tuesday was driving tests, AB once again made good use of the apartment. Drove to Aix after noon. Saw the Picasso/Cezanne show, heavy on Picasso, light on the Cezanne. Walked to Cezanne’s studio. Had a quiche epinard and a salade exotique on the way. Both good. The studio was a good walk, but a little overpriced. We were glad we did it though. Stopped for fresh juice on the way back. AB had Poire, Fraise, and Citron. I had Pomplemouse Rose and Menthe. Just what we needed. Checked the wifi when we returned. Wifi problems in the apartment, hopefully they will be resolved. Dinner in Menerbes with the team. AB and I spilt the Salmon with salad, etc. and a crème brulee. It was good.

Today taking pictures for the portraits. Driving to Avignon. Vacation officially over. On the clock.

Annecy

This will be a great town to take the whole family. Outdoor activities for all.
AB just fell asleep reading her book. She has been halfway through for a couple of days now. It was raining last night when we arrived, but it's a glorious day today. The hotel is right across from the train station but that doesn't do us any good as we have the car. The website said free parking available, and the man at the desk kept telling us there was but we'd have to pay very little for it. Interesting. The meters run until 7:00pm so we parked in front of the hotel for the evening and then did a drive around the lake this morning to get our bearings. We ended up parking in free lot east of town conveniently located near a mini golf/bike rental place. We opted for the bikes.

Yesterday was a driving day, rainy and or cloudy the whole way. Made good time on the La Comtoise, and then A39. We got of the exit at Belfort to see if wee could find the Le Corbusier chapel that we saw on the highway, unfortunately there we're no signs after the exit, and we couldn't remember the town it was in (Ronchamps)...next time. We stopped at the Aire De Jura on the A39 and had some odd sandwiches, Orangina, and AB had a crappy coffee. AB left her umbrella in the restroom, but when she went to look it was gone. There was an info desk and I urged her to ask them, it's a good thing because the car keys were with the umbrella. That would have been fun. All the information regarding the car was listed on the keyring. Would have been a long day at the rest stop.

My navigator was asleep most of the way, and to counteract this I had planned to take back roads to alleviate the boredom of driving with out the radio, which was not good, or conversation. Unfortunately we had passed the exit I had all my directions based on. Missed it by three exits. We got off at Exit 10 and after a few false starts found our way, not without numerous switchbacks over fairly narrow roads, (no worse than Lacoste). The upside was I had company that was awake, the down side was she was not happy. We went through a variety of towns and worked hard to get to Coligny and from there we went through Saint Jean D'etreux, Nantey, Florentia, St. Julian, Lains, Les Grange De Dessia, Arinthod, Vescles, around Lac de Cioselet and into Dortan, this led out to the A404 as originally planned. Good times. The breaking point for AB was when we dropped down to Lac de Cioselet and had to follow a deviation. I think she felt we would never find our way. The ride in to Annecy on the Autoroute Blanc was quick and beautiful.

It was raining fairly steadily when we arrived yesterday, and continued to rain throughout the evening. We scrapped an ideas of going up to Chaminix-Mont-Blanc as we would be woefully unprepared for the cold. Ab only has sandals and no coat. Ate early on the Le Thiou Canal, AB had a great salad with chevre chaud, and I ordered from Les Viandes, but vegetarian...go figure. It was cold and damp on the canal, and we were lucky enough to hear the entire life story of a fine American lad talking to his possible date. Went back to the hotel after dinner so AB could warm up as her toes were losing color. Went back out to look to get some coffee and strolled the old town after the rain let up. We walked by our restaurant from the other side of the canal and the young man was still adding nuances to his life story. Since it was cold and all the cafes were closed we opted for gelato.

Today has been exceptional. The hotel breakfast was adequate at best so we're opting out for tomorrow. Biking in this town and on the west side of the lake is a treat. We had momentarily considered renting a motor boat but next time. We really wanted some exercise and biking seemed better to me than hiking. We rode down past Duignt, and stopped for sandwiches on the lake. Sunny with a breeze to our back on the way down. Wind in the face on the way back, a more leisurely pace. The were countless riders out, in all shapes, ages, and sizes. I continue to plot to find a way to live in a place that is more bike friendly. Savannah could do it if they had the will. We walked back to the hotel after the ride and finally had the opportunity to video chat with the family. It was nice to see them all . The grandparents are doing an outstanding job, over and above. I miss the children terribly but at least I'll be able to see them often via the Internet. I think AB is up, perhaps it's time for dinner.