A Journey Through Provence

How to describe Provence? Enchanting. Each town, the narrow cobblestone streets, quaint cafès run by the same family forever, artful fountains, medieval cathedrals, castles, lavender, carousels, wine, and pastries so richly delicious you throw your cholesterol counter into the Rhone. Toss away the map of the village and wander around aimlessly.

These are small villages, so being lost won't last long. The doors, walls, stone steps, and flower boxes in the windows take you back in time.

We began our journey in Aix-en-Provence. From the Marseille airport, a drive to Aix-en-Provence takes about half an hour (hire a driver, take the train, catch a bus, rent a car). Aix (pronounced Ex, comes close to the local sound) is one of the larger towns and offers many affordable accommodations like an AirBnB or a small boutique hotel. Travelers need time to adjust to the new time zone and a comfy hotel with amenities like a restaurant and bar will come in handy when you return to the hotel on tired feet needing a nap. Hotels, like the Marriott, offer convenient locations with staff who can direct you to transportation, sites, and restaurants.

In the Marriott's backyard, you'll find the town library. It's worth a visit just to see the larger than life books at the entrance. The casual, almost industrial, space inside offers relief from rain or heat. Relax with a book, if you are fluent enough in French to read one. The children's section has many picture books if your French is rusty.

The streets of Aix are easy to navigate. Some are main thoroughfares and typical European squares, while others are quaint narrow passages that harken back to Medieval times.

Be aware that pedestrians, cars, and motorbikes share these skinny roads equally.







Just when you think you are walking on a pedestrian path, a car will round the corner to prove you wrong.

Restaurants offer dining inside and outside with plenty of cover in case of rain or bright sunshine. Take a look at the menu located near the door of every place you pass.





The variety is endless. Local dishes are prepared to perfection with fresh ingredients and family recipes.

If you are lucky enough to be visiting on a market day, you can enjoy the amazing fresh fruits, vegetables, baked breads, and special cheeses which you can purchase and take back to the hotel or your AirBnB to prepare a picnic lunch for the next day. Baguettes and croissants can be found in every boulangerie while irresistible sweets will beg to go home with you when you pass the pastry shops.  

By the end of a typical day, you'll have walked off every calorie so don't hesitate to indulge.


Next we'll be headed to Avignon. I'll share photos and a bit of what we found in the next blog. Meanwhile, if you are planning your own trip, I would suggest this site (Culture Trip) https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/how-to-spend-48-hours-in-provence/ which I used extensively before we left for France. 

Snowless in Minnesota

Anderson Sculpture Garden, Minnesota

The late arrival of spring last year postponed our trip to Minneapolis to visit an art installation. Art installations come and go no matter what the weather has in mind. We've visited Minneapolis several times in the past ten+ years, but this is the first time we chose to fly and not drive. For us, the drive totals less roughly nine hours with one stop to fill up tank. Through Iowa. So, it might seem a few hours longer.

We, however, like driving through Iowa where we can count the erratics alongside the road. Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright will find even more reasons to stop and take a tour or two. On all of our previous drives to Minnesota we've seen and done it all, even stretching the journey into two days in order to catch all the thrill to be had in Iowa.

On the other hand, Southwest flies direct to Minneapolis and that sounded inviting this year. Despite the shattering of plane windows on two Southwest flight recently, we booked our flight and headed north. Minneapolis is one of the few cities where tourists without cars will have an easy time of getting around to the sites, tastes, and treats in town using public transit at a very reasonable cost.

For the second time, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott hotel near Mall of America which places us close to airport. The light rail system services both locations all day and after midnight. Add to this convenience the hotel's shuttle service to and from both locations and ya gotta wonder why anyone would bother driving through Iowa or for that matter across the Dakotas or Wisconsin.

As far as chain hotels go, the Marriott's Courtyard meets the home away from home criteria. It has a restaurant with a typical selection which is to say pretty plain and palatable to weaker taste buds, particularly at breakfast. In addition, the bar is conveniently located in the lobby and nicely decorated with plenty of seating. The hours for the bar suffice for Happy Hour and a night cap, but early drinkers better walk the half mile or so to the liquor store. Rooms are clean and the beds are comfy. The staff have been well trained in the Marriott tradition and in many cases remember the guests by name. If something isn't right, let the desk know and things will be to your liking soon.

Whether you arrive late and relax before heading out or jump back on the shuttle to catch the next light rail trip, convenience is always key for the first day. The shuttle runs regularly and the drives can answer all questions regarding getting around Minneapolis by rail. Be aware, though, that if you aren't prepared to do long walks between museums, restaurants, sporting events, and general touristy sites, you will need to hail a ride from Uber, Lyft, or the traditional taxis all around town.

We planned accordingly and the light rail took us all the way to downtown Minneapolis. From the rail station we walked a dozen blocks to have lunch and await the opening of the installation in the Warehouse District. Along the way, the Mill Museum, the library, and the plentiful shops along the "sky-way" walks between buildings filled our day. When our legs began to complain, we found pleasant seating inside building lobbies, benches in parks outside, and randomly placed Adirondack chairs right on the sidewalk.


 Don't forget to visit the Anderson Sculpture Garden  and walk around the amazing sculptures.

Mini-Me New York City Travel Guide - Day One, going to Brooklyn

Those who love New York City enjoy visiting at any time of year. December brings added fun as the Big Apple rolls into the holiday spirit. We visited NYC in December of 2015 and made a return trip this year early in December to experience the magic and madness of the holiday season once again.

Each time I visit New York I have to force myself not to redo all my favorites. Never enough time for repeat adventures. This year our plan included the streets of Brooklyn, the tastes of the Italian neighborhood in Carol Gardens, a walk through Chelsea, pizza, a tour of the New York Public Library, a Broadway show, pizza, homage to the outstanding Frick art collection, the department store holiday window displays, pizza, music at the legendary Iridium club, and all the ambiance around us along the way. The days would be filled with miles of walking, which is good because pizza must not be permanently absorbed on the hips or belly. Armed with a FitBit, our daily walk tallies exceeded 10,000 steps a day by the thousands. In every respect, a successful trip to New York City.


Our hotel accommodations at the Marriott Marquis meant that holiday merriment met us the moment we stepped outside the doors onto the sidewalks of Times Square. This location provides a central point to begin and end each day. The Marquis brimmed over with hotel guests this year. Fortunately our agenda kept us away from the elevators and gratis breakfast buffet during the peak hours. Our plan did not make room for lolly-gagging at the hotel. We had pizza to eat and miles to walk before each sleep.

Up and down the streets of New York and around the corner of every avenue we found ourselves fully immersed in holiday cheer. The city opens up to throngs of visitors from around the world every day, and during December the number of people standing at any given spot on Times Square seems multiplied by 10. The taxi horns honk, the car engines hum, holiday music pours out of open store fronts, saxophones weep "White Christmas" dreams, and the excited voices of window shoppers fill the brisk dry air. Nothing is silent about the Christmas season on the streets of New York.

Following the advise of friends, native to the area, we headed for Brooklyn where we could gaze across the East River with quiet wonder at the majesty of the glass and steel skyline towering above the tumult in the streets. Tourists can hop on any number of trains from Times Square for a short trip across the East River. We chose the Times Square subway station* as a point of departure and rode 2 down to Court Street in Brooklyn. From there, we enjoyed a short walk from the subway station to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

Coming up out of the subway station in Brooklyn Heights, we immediately noticed a huge difference from the streets around Times Square. Peacefully, the brown stone buildings surrounded us,  whispering their welcome. We did not walk far before glimpsing the pillars of the mighty Manhattan Bridge in the distance. Rounding a few more corners we had our first view of the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge stretching over the river to the Manhattan shore. I resisted the urge to back track to the bridge entrance and walk across to the middle. As this trek was not part of the day's plan, I forged ahead lured on by the promise of pizza and cannoli on Court Street.

*The Times Square station may be intimidating if you have never ridden the NY subway. Just figuring out how to buy your ticket will test your nerve. The system tries to make it simple for you with touch screen vending machines. Just read the screen carefully, make a selection, and push in your credit card or deposit the cash. We purchased one ticket a piece for the ride to Brooklyn. Unless you will be riding more than 6 times on the subway, single tickets will probably be most cost effective. If you plan to ride every where you go for days, definitely buy the metro card first thing and add multiple ticket fares to save time. I always read up on the how to navigate the subway to refresh my own experience before heading to NYC. One guide I find helpful is found here: http://www.nycbynatives.com/visitors_center/nyc_subway_instructions.php

Shoes for Paris and European Tours

I'lll skip to the bottom line right off: pay for good shoes. Makes sense, after all, because airfare, hotels, ground transportation, and meals will be a chunk of change and none of it will be enjoyable if your feet are not happy. So choosing comfortable, sturdy shoes is paramount for any traveler.

The Worldwide-web is filled with answers to the question: What kind of shoes should a woman wear in Paris? The ladies want to "fit in" and not look like tourists, so they worry about the U.S. American-look of shoes. Yeah, yeah, everyone says Parisian women never wear athletic shoes unless they are actually participating in a sport. Truth to that, no doubt. Remember, though, that Parisian women have seen the Eiffel Tower and the L'Ouvre and the Champs Elysees; they see them everyday. They don't walk from one end of Paris to the other crisscrossing pedestrian cobblestone streets for 8 hours at a go, 4 days in a row. The well-dressed Parisian woman wears everyday shoes to walk to and from her flat to the office, or to lunch, or to the park and have a sit down before walking back home.

The traveler will be out and about all day, walking, standing, balancing for photos on the top of the steps, and more walking. If the trip is worth what it costs to get there and pay entrance fees for all the museums, order off the menus, or even grab a baguette from a shop, the feet must be happy first. Forget about what Parisian women wear on their feet, unless it's for one evening at a posh event.

On my recent trip to Paris, I took time to notice what kinds of shoes pounded the pavements all day. And to settle the question of what to wear, I took photos of the shoes I actually saw while I was there.

The most frequently worn shoes are the little ballet pumps by far. Like the black and red ones in these photos. Flip flops are for younger feet and the white sport walkers are on the feet of older persons who may need super support, and they don't want to fall down.

Another shoe I saw all over Paris is the light-weight sneaker, on both men and women. Bright colors, patterns, solids, you name it you will see it. The shoe shops have identical shoes found in U.S. stores.  The top brands are the same all over the globe these days. Even the prices seemed the same, give or take a Euro. I thought of buying mine in Paris, rather than taking up room in my suitcase on the way over, and I'd have a wearable, practical, useful souvenir. In the end, I wore one pair of shoes the whole trip.

That's my shoe, the one at about 6'oclock in the photo. Obviously, the Mary Jane is the hot choice for U.S. travelers in Europe. This style comes in a wide variety of colors and shapes. Black goes with everything. Mine are Bzees. Absolutely the best shoe I've ever worn for travel. The Mary Jane style, to be honest, will probably give you away as a tourist these days.

What shoes do people in Europe/Eastern Europe wear? All kinds of shoes. Will they be able to tell I'm not European by my shoes? If you care about such things, the truth is they will be able to tell as soon as you speak, and even if you pass them on the street without uttering a word, Europeans will know. Even young children will know. It's uncanny, but they know. Unless you wear skin-tight  clothing, you will never pass for a native European, no matter what your shoes look like.

As in most major cosmopolitan U.S. cities, women wear heals to work and out to dinner in Europe. Smart women bring a pair of comfy shoes along for walking at lunch or after work. Somehow, those who wear the spike heals manage to walk across cobblestones and climb the stairs. This takes practice, so if you don't wear them regularly forget about bringing them on vacation.

Shoes must be comfortable to fully enjoy what these cities have to offer. You'll see more on foot than you will from a taxi or bus. Walk when it is reasonably possible to do so. Bring extra shoe inserts rather than an extra pair of shoes. Even when taking a taxi or the metro, you will need to walk and many times to climb steps. A lot of steps! Treat your feet to cushy, supportive stylish sneakers or Mary Janes. Leave the running shoes at home (unless you'll be out jogging) and go for a pair of light weight sneakers instead of the "orthopedic" looking black or white walking shoes (unless you have foot ailments).

I took these photos in Paris, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague and in between these cities. They show real people, real shoes, on real feet. Forget about fitting in and more about finding new experiences.

The final photo shows the ankle boots worn by our faithful tour guide, an Austrian woman living in Italy. No doubt these are well-made Italian leather boots. She wears them every day and walks more than anyone else on tour. Her walking pace never slows. I'm quite sure her shoes are comfortable.

Hawaii in the Winter

All Good in San Francisco

A westward journey with friends to visit the author of Late to the Haight, found us in the City By the Bay. We tucked ourselves into a well located boutique hotel right up the street from a comfy coffee/wine bar where we ate breakfast every day.

Our local guide, author, and well traveled friend led us around this great city and beyond into the Redwood forests across the Golden Gate Bridge.

When we returned to our neighborhood boutique we enjoyed the view from our friend's condo just up the hill. She enjoyes this view every day. On particularly picturesque days, she posts photos of the view out her window. Here's one from the nearby overlook.

Every minute in San Francisco held our attention with beautiful vistas, stunning art, fabulous food.