Category: Road Trips

Travel by car

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Performing Arts, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Bagpipes in the Desert

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WESTIN KIERLAND RESORT OFFERS UNIQUE ENTERTAINMENT

Remember how I was reeling from lack of sleep when we got to the Westin Kierland Resort, but all the staff was trying to welcome me with more information than I could grasp.  Well, I figured I had misunderstood them when they told me I could go hear a bagpiper at the Dream Weaver Canyon on various evenings, but they do in fact have a bagpiper that comes and plays their bagpipe.  It was actually pretty cool.  Let’s go!

Farewell Phoenician

It was almost as hard to quit taking pictures at The Phoenician as it was to say, “No, thank you, we don’t want anymore, tea or dessert.”  We backtracked out of the resort through the golf courses and made our way back to the Westin.  Along the way we stopped to pick up another gallon of water.  You have to stay hydrated in the desert.

The Bagpipes Are Now!

Getting back to the hotel via the grocery store took a little more time than we anticipated, so we screeched into the parking lot and trotted into the hotel, hoping we could find the Dreamweaver Canyon.  The canyon is actually a patio outside the hotel and by the time we got there, all the good seating was gone and lo and behold, as advertised, there was a kilted bagpiper entertaining with his bagpipe.

It really was a cool experience, but it was also quite incongruous.  The Dreamweaver Canyon area is by a small man made lake beside a golf course.  In the lake is modern non-figurative sculpture.  There’s also a fire-pit.  What that has to do with kilts, Danny Boy and the theme from Outlander beats me.

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Since seating was at a premium we found ourselves wandering around taking pictures from every possible angle and then just for the heck of it, we took pictures of each other.  I will also admit that while I like bagpipes, I’m really only interested in hearing a song or two.  This guy played for what seemed a long time and the more he played, the more people started wandering off to other places, so by the time he quit, there was actually room to take a seat around the firepit.

Photo Safari  

After the last lonely note had sounded over the fairway, we took a little photo safari around the lobby.  We were all done with our photo taking until we walked out the front door and were overwhelmed with the sunset. 

You might think we’d already done enough for one day, what with shopping at the Quarter, having tea and the Phoenician and then hearing the bagpipes, but no, the day is not yet over.  I was as surprised as you are.  Mr. Bill was ready for action and I had done my homework, so as soon as we got back to the room, we reorganized for another adventure and headed to downtown Phoenix for yet another adventure.

Enjoy these photos from our photo safari and then come back next week to enjoy the Phoenix First Friday Art Walk.

ART, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Yummy Delicious Incredible Afternoon Tea

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: AFTERNOON TEA AT THE PHOENICIAN

Often in life, you dream about, look forward to and anticipate something, and then when it happens it just wasn’t worth all that energy.  However, when you’ve looked forward to something for decades and it surpasses even your greatest expectations, how rewarding that is.  Afternoon Tea at the Phoenician was everything I ever hoped it would be and even more!  Come let’s sip and savor.

Entering by the Back Door

Of all the things that have ever been invented for travel, the GPS is by far one of the very best.  That being said, sometimes it has an odd way of getting you where you want to be.  On all my other visits to the Phoenician Resort, I had come in through the main entrance and in my imagination, that’s the way I thought we’d enter for our Afternoon Tea.  Instead, the GPS took us to some back entrance, through the golf courses.  Don’t get me wrong.  It was lovely, but it didn’t match my memory and it made finding where we should park a bit of a challenge.  Hence we were running a few minutes late and though I was keeping a clamp on my anxiety, after we did find someplace to park, instead of being near the lobby, we were wandering through the ballrooms and shops and every where except where we needed to be.

When we did get to the lobby cafe, where Tea is served, they seated us in what should have been a very advantageous table, overlooking the beautiful pools, but the sun was shining in so brightly, that even with my sunglasses I felt like someone was poking me in the eye.  As soon as we told the waitress our challenge we were moved to another table which was just as nice, but between the gauntlet we ran to get there and the small ado over moving, it took me a few moments to realize I was at the Phoenician for Afternoon Tea.

The Experience

Linen tablecloths and napkins, heavy flatware, Wedgewood china, elegrant crystal, clotted cream, orange marmalade and berry jam set the scene for our meal.  Huge pots of tea were delivered, which we enjoyed so much they had to be refilled throughout the meal.  Then they started bringing food and they just kept bringing it until we had to tell them to stop.

The first course was finger sandwiches:  cucumber, asparagus, salmon, chicken salad and egg salad.  Each tiny finger sandwich was a little masterpiece to look at.  And to eat – YUM! 

Next came the scones.  Bill decided he preferred what Starbucks calls scones, but those aren’t really traditional scones.  The Phoenician scones were what I call scones and they were good.  They weren’t the best I’d ever had.  That honor goes to the little tea shop I used to frequent in San Luis Obispo, but there was nothing wrong with the Phoenician version.

Once we’d had all the scones we wanted, the desserts started and they just kept coming.  Eclairs, coffee operas, scottish shortbreads, mango domes, fruit tartlets, milk chocolate bavarois, sable bretons, chocolate dipped strawberries and brandied cherry pompomettes.  

Every single one was more delicious than the last one and look how pretty they were.  Theoretically, we could still be there eating them, because they kept trying to get us to have more, but we were stuffed!

The service was gracious, friendly and attentive.  I was carried away with the china, almost as much as the food.  It was gorgeous.  The people watching was spectacular.  Once was not enough, I can’t wait to go back!

Enjoying the Resort

With our meal over, we wanted to see everything, especially the wonderful veranda which overlooks the pool.  We went on a little photo safari.  I hope you enjoy it.

Next up – a little bagpipe music.  You don’t want to miss that!  So, come back next week!

 

 

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

Why We Had Afternoon Tea at the Phoenician

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE PHOENICIAN

See that happy face.  I’ve dreamed of this day for a long, long time.  Let me tell you how it came about.

Love at First Sight and Beyond

So, way back in 1995, Bill and I took a trip to Arizona.  It was about three weeks long and included a side trip through Utah for skiing in Steamboat Springs.  With all the traveling we have done, it remains one of our very favorite vacations.

Two things contributed to its success – one was free airfare, thanks to Southwest overbooking a flight to Corpus Christi and a ski trip with the Lone Star Skiers.  We saw all of Arizona from the BioSphere outside Tucson, to the Grand Canyon, to Monument Valley.  It was our first of many trips to Sedona and we hope to make many, many more.

Did we stay at the Phoenician on this trip?  No, we did not.  Bill and I like to go check out resorts – have a drink or a meal and then wander around.  We loved it and told ourselves that one day we would be back for an extended stay.

Our next trip through Arizona in 2000 did not take us through Phoenix.  We were California-bound and stayed in Sedona instead, but that’s when we started talking about spending our 10th wedding anniversary at the Phoenician.

In 2003, I passed through Phoenix with my parents.  Bill and I had bought Aunt Edie’s Cadillac.  Bill was in the throes of getting the Pismo Beach house finished, so I had to drive the Caddie from Temple TX to our new home in Cali.  As it turns out, my parents weren’t about to let me make a cross-country drive all by myself (even though I sort of relished the idea) so I took them on what I called The Cadillac Tour.

It was a tough trip, with flat tires, the leatherette roof peeling off, a speeding ticket and Mom losing a crown, but it was also a trip of great memories and I love that we did it.  Phoenix was one of the places we stayed.  Mom and I visited Fashion Square and had afternoon cocktails at the Phoenician.  Though no photograph was taken, that respite from travel has stuck vividly in my mind, like a beacon, for all the years since.  That’s when I found out they had afternoon tea.

In 2004 we had our 10th wedding anniversary, but our dream of the Phoenician did not come to pass.  Our nephew was graduating from Wharton and the whole family would be there.  Instead of the Phoenician, we did a ramble that started in Philly and included the Brandywine Valley, Hudson Valley, the Adirondaks, 1000 Islands and Niagara Falls. 

In 2006, we happily left California to return to Texas, but we drove all the way through AZ without staying anywhere.  Talk about a tough trip.  The hotel in Gallup, New Mexico was so bad that our cat went into her crate all by herself while we were getting ready to go.  She wanted out of there. We had so much going on I didn’t even have time to wish we could go to the Phoenician.

On our return to Dallas, the Phoenician faded from our minds.  Not completely, but we were doing a lot of international and family-related travel.  After the Anniversary Cruise, we’d decided we were going to travel in the States for a few years and certainly Arizona was on our list, but we weren’t talking about an actual trip until that Westin invitation ended up in our mailbox.  As soon as I had approval to book the trip, I was back down in Bill’s office lobbying for afternoon tea at the Phoenician.  It’s not like its price is totally outrageous, but its more than Bill would usually want to pay for finger sandwiches, in our usual pursuit of happiness. 

It didn’t take a lot of lobbying.  He virtually had no interest in it, but he always wants to please me, so Afternoon Tea at the Phoenician was on.  Someday we may actually stay at the Phoenician, but come back next week and enjoy finger sandwiches and other delights with us.  

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Fashion, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

Breakfast Snooze and Cruise

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: SNOOZE, THE QUARTER & MORE

The next morning gave us the chance to try yet another breakfast place recommended by the Phoenix New Times: Snooze, an AM Eatery.  We visited the location at the Kierland Commons.  We totally endorse the New Times choice.  There are multiple locations in Scottsdale and Phoenix so don’t miss it.

Scottsdale Quarter

The Quarter imagines itself to be superior to its “Commons” cousin across the street.  The Commons is upscale.  The Quarter endeavors one ups-manship.

Though the Quarter is just across the street from the Commons, it’s a busy thoroughfare that separates them, so we moved our rental Jeep to a closer position.

One of the anchor stores is a huge, monolithic gray block.  Upon exploration, we discovered it was a Restoration Hardware showroom.  You don’t buy anything there and load it up in your car.  You lounge around on ginormous furniture and let gracious salesladies talk you into letting go of enormous amounts of money.

We confess, we’re not your basic Restoration Hardware customers, so we didn’t realize they had transitioned into this showroom format over the stores we’d visited in the past.  However, we had a lovely time hanging out there.  The restrooms were spectacular!

One of those gracious salesladies chatted us up about their transition to showroom and said some of their showrooms actually included a sort of restaurant, where they hosted dinners.  One imagines exactly how much money you’d have to invest in Restoration Hardware goods to be hosted in their dining room.  For all we know, common people like us might be able to go in there and pay for our meals, but we got the idea that wasn’t the point.   

She also said they had a surprise coming to Dallas.  I don’t know how much of a surprise it is, since a June 2019 edition of The Dallas Morning News announces the location with a restaurant is coming.  However, a quick look at their website doesn’t mention the potential restaurant, so one wonders if it is a victim of Covid.

The Quarter Beyond RH

The RH was lovely and I’m guessing we spent an hour enjoying their store.  It was a lazy sort of morning – a filler before what was to come next.  I was happy as a lark, because later in the day, we had reservations for Afternoon Tea at the Phoenician Resort.  In the meantime, I was perfectly content to wander around the Quarter.

Though the Quarter presented itself as an upgrade to the Commons, I noticed they had more in the way of empty retail spaces than their cousin.  The RH showroom is the only store we actually wandered into, but we did stroll throughout the complex, noting a number of restaurants we’d love to try out.

This is sort of where we started talking about our next trip to AZ and saying things to suggest that while we wouldn’t have time for everything on this particular visit, we’d be back to the Greater Phoenix Area sooner rather than later.

Enjoy the pictures below of the Quarter.  It was a lovely development and I hope it thrives through Covid and will actually be there next time we go to the area.  After taking the pictures, we had to get back to the resort and get all dressed up for the afternoon activity.  Come back next week for tea.

 

 

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

Head to NORTH Hungry Person

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: FOODIE FUN

Well, there we were in Scottsdale, running around the Kierland Commons like 9 PM is the usual time we head out to dinner.  Only it’s not.  We’ve just crashed a private party at Anticus and now we’re going to have dinner.  Not our usual travel experience, at all, but I’ll take it.

NORTH Italia

It’s hard to go wrong with us if you are serving Italian.  At NORTH, there were no missteps and we fell in love.

We were greeted at the door by a charming, attractive hostess.  She led us to a table with a great vantage point.  We could see the kitchen peeking through the stacked dishes and hanging pots.  We could see almost the whole restaurant and I could even see the action on the street from my side of the table.

Our waiter was a nice guy who was ready and willing to chat about the menu.  I know we had delicious crusty bread with olive oil, but I forget what the entree was.  We couldn’t have gone wrong if we wanted to.  All around us we saw delightful servings of Italian food and people were obviously thrilled with what they were eating.  However, I can’t remember exactly what we had.  

We’d had enough free wine to be very relaxed and the service was also VERY relaxed, but that’s not a complaint.  The place was busy and we were having a great time.  

NORTH in Dallas

I interrupt this travelogue to tell you something exciting.  We may have discovered NORTH in Scottsdale, but on a recent ramble through Uptown Dallas, we found out there’s a NORTH here, too.  Our Sunday afternoon goal was to find a rooftop bar and pretend the pandemic wasn’t boring us to death.  Instead, we found a sort of food mall tucked on the second story of a high rise and there it was, a NORTH!  Plan A was ditched and we immediately made our way to their patio seating.  Great afternoon! 

Meanwhile, Back in Scottsdale

Sorry, about that!  I just couldn’t resist.  We loved our Scottsdale visit to NORTH and are so happy it’s available to us here in Dallas.  We also found out there is one in Plano.  So, we’re happy about that, but back to Scottsdale.

At the end of the meal we were happy we had a bit of a stroll back to our parking spot and that was a good thing.  The Commons was still hopping.  Stylishly dressed patrons of all ages strolled back and forth and in and out of local hangouts.  The most popular place was Shake Shake which had a sort of backyard scene as their front yard.  Happy families eating burgers and sipping shakes dominated the area.

We found our car and headed back to the Westin.  In spite of my nap I was seriously ready for bed.  The next day promised to provide the highlight of my travels, but it would be later in the day.  Come next week week and see how we spent the next morning. 

 

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

Lucking Into a Good Time

Jane Sadek
Scotttsdale’s North Italia Restaurant

TRAVEL THERE: AN UNCOMMON EVENING AT KIERLAND COMMONS

So, we’ve had an amazing day.  Early morning travel, fun shopping, spectacular art show and an itsy tiny set-back that was quickly resolved.  The Westin provided us with a brochure called “Local Restaurants” and using what we discovered there, we headed our for round two.

A Confession

It’s hard for a leopard to change it’s spots, but not impossible.  I’d vowed to be easy-going on this vacation and not let the schedule dominate my thoughts, but I had done my homework.  I knew it was Thursday and so Scottsdale Artwalk was happening in Old Town.  I had plotted out the trolley route on my handy dandy map and was ready ready with information to make it a good time. 

However, I also knew we’d spent the best part of the day in the endless studios of the Celebration of Fine Art.  Mr. Bill was ready to eat and trying to coordinate him with the trolley schedule to view more artists’ studios did not seem like a wise thing – even if Artwalk was happening.  I recommend it to you every Thursday evening, but we didn’t make it.  

Heading to the Commons

So, instead we headed to the Kierland Commons, a nearby playground full of restaurants, bars and shopping opportunities.  Parking was a challenge akin to parking at NorthPark on the Saturday before Christmas, but the travel gods were with us, so we did find something.

Next we strolled around to take in the atmosphere and check out the dining options we’d seen in the brochure.  After a little strolling, North, the restaurant chosen most likely to succeed back at the hotel, did win out as our choice.  However, something was definitely happening across the street, so we went there first.  

The Anticus Gallery Re-Opening Party

Describing Anticus challenges traditional categories.  Yes, it’s an art gallery and studio.  Yes, it’s a book store.  Yes, it’s a jewelry store.  Yes, it’s also a gift store.  It’s most similar to a really good gift shop in a great museum, but instead of the museum you’ve got a studio AND they have a bar.  

When we got there, Anticus had outgrown a space two doors down and was hosting their grand re-opening.  We didn’t realize it was a by-invitation-only kind of thing, but the host soon found us and let us know it was cool for us to be there.  I think it should be noted that Anticus has moved again and they are now down in Old Town (where Artwalk was happening), but please put them on your list and tell them I sent you!  Spreading the word about them is the least I can do after they showed us such a good time.

Though we were serendipitous guests, we thoroughly enjoyed the party.  Bill was feeling very artsy after his afternoon at the Celebration of Fine Art.  He chatted up anyone who’d stay still long enough to start a conversation.  We drank a couple of glasses of cheap wine and handled a good portion of the delicious merchandise.  I doubt the folks at Artwalk had anything on us.   

Closing time rolled around and even though no one was exactly running us off, I felt we’d more than worn out our non-existent invitation.  Besides, we’d headed out to get dinner and hadn’t ticked that off our list, yet.  With some resistance on his part, I dragged Bill out of the shop.  I was afraid he was going to head back to the bar for his third glass!

North waited for us across the street.  Come back next week for that delicious conclusion to an uncommon evening at the Commons.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Scottsdale’s Celebration of Fine Art

Jane Sadek
https://celebrateart.com/history/

TRAVEL THERE: PUT IT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST

Remember that marvelous Scottsdale Visitors’ Guide I ordered online for free.  Well, on the events page, they listed Celebration of Fine Art and a few pages over was a full page ad.  From there I went to the celebrateart.com website and I immediately knew there was at least one thing I was not going to miss in Scottsdale.

Celebration of Fine Art

If art is your thing or one of your things, you need to plan a trip to Scottsdale during the Celebration of Fine Art.  They have it every year during the months of January through March.  It’s more than just another art show or gallery.  One hundred artists come to Scottsdale and for three months they set up their studios right there in the big white tents. 

What’s more, this is the art bargain of the world.  Tickets are only $10 each and they will get you into the tents for the entire three months.  Unfortunately, we were there such a short time, we only spent a few hours in the tents, but if I lived anywhere near there, I would probably be there every weekend. Even the parking is free.  I’ve spent a whole lot more to get into an art event and have gotten a whole lot less out of it.

We loved this show.  We walked in, paid for our tickets and before we could even get our bearings, we were overwhelmed by a larger than life statue of a Native American being carved at the first booth.  For the next few hours, we walked awestruck from one booth to the next.  In each, we were able to see the artist working away at something new.  Bill was enchanted and stopped to chat at every booth. 

I liked the fact that there was every sort of art you could imagine.  Various mediums, from sculpture to painting to weaving.  You name any material you want, from canvas to plastic, and someone was doing something with it or to it to make it art. There were modern deconstructed pieces cheek to jowl with classical figurative and landscape paintings.  Too often you go to a show and there is booth after booth where everyone is virtually doing the same thing.  That was certainly not the case here.

Another marvelous thing was the quality of artist’s work.  I’ve been to juried shows where I wondered who the jury was.  This show was the best of the best of the best.  There just wasn’t anyone there that made me wonder how they got their spot.  It was all obviously high quality with great artistic value. 

Eventually, our senses were just worn out.  We could not begin to take in even one more art piece or chat with one more artist.  We were done, but we had not even scratched the surface.  We walked back towards the entrance, making sure to pass by those artists who were our favorites. 

We wanted to take something home from virtually every booth, but we managed to get out of the tent empty-handed.  The price tags easily discouraged us from impulse shopping.  It was fine art and the value was there, but we’re only visual collectors, in part because we just can’t afford to be otherwise.  

Time to Check In

It was about time to check into the Westin, but we had a few errands to run.  First of all, we needed water, but instead of picking up individual bottles at a convenience store, we found a grocery store and bought a gallon.  It wouldn’t be our last gallon on this trip.  The calories from Bill’s French Toast had all been used up, so he grabbed a burger at Jack in the Box.

I was on my last leg.  We’d been up since the wee hours and while Mr. Bill can grab a nap sitting in a terminal or in an airline seat, it really doesn’t work for me.  We navigated our way to the resort and got checked in, but we did run into a little problem there.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you about it.  

 

 

DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Getting Our Arizona Fun on Early

Jane Sadek

Love Field, Southwest Airlines
Early Risers

TRAVEL THERE:  UP WITH THE CHICKENS

So, remember how Southwest Airlines sent me an email with cheap airfare.  To get to our destination with the cheapest fares, we either had to be on a plane at 6 AM or virtually lose the first day to travel.  So, I convinced Bill Arizona was worth getting up for.  Here’s how it went.

There’s Early and Then There’s Really Early

The alarm went off at 2:15 AM.  I rolled out of bed.  Bill rolled out at 2:40.  By 3:15 AM the car was backing out of the garage.  No, it was not fun, but we were determined to make the best of it.

At Love Field, since it was raining, Bill unloaded me and the luggage at the terminal and went off to find parking.  I dragged the luggage into the terminal and stood by it, praying to the travel gods that Bill would navigate the parking lot and get back to me.  Parking lots are not his favorite thing in the world and I didn’t want to start the trip off on the wrong foot.

He returned and we set about trying to figure out what was next.  When you’re flying, there’s always a bunch of people who seem to know exactly what they are doing.  This is particularly true in a Southwest terminal.  Their customers are more like a cult than anything else.  I was frantically trying to read every sign I could see and Bill was watching the crowd.  We sort of captured the rhythm of the system and ended up in front of one of the ticketing machines.

We failed miserably.  The self-help machine treated us just like the infrequent, senior-citizen, not-Southwest flyers that we are.  Somehow we managed to press the right buttons to find our reservations and get our luggage tags, but we didn’t end up with boarding passes.

A Southwest employee quickly identified us as inept and came to our rescue.  With boarding passes she procured, we were able to progress to the bag check.  That’s when we discovered my other ooops.  I had attached both luggage bags to one bag and none to the other.  It was more than early.  It was really early!

Still, this trip made me fall back in love with Southwest, though we hadn’t flown them in years.  Thanks to their liberal baggage limits, we were able to check all three bags, rather than trot around dragging a carry-on.  I had everything I needed for being in transit in a small backpack.   I felt like screaming, “Free at last.  Free at last.”

What Bill really thought about waking up so early

Getting There

In truth, I think we could have slept for another hour, but we didn’t realize that.  For years we’ve been fighting the battle out a DFW.  Southwest can’t get you to the Mediterranean, Egypt and the Danube and international has been our focus for years.  Besides, it’ only been in recent years that Southwest was freed from the Wright Amendment, making flying them from Dallas a better proposition.  I think Southwest will be seeing a whole lot more of us, especially since we’re abandoning the International scene for a while, to catch up on some American destinations.

The flight was blissfully uneventful and arrived on time.  We made our way to the rental shuttle and were delivered to the Alamo facility.  That’s when our luck really kicked in.  There on the appointed row, among Hyundais, and Toyotas stood a Jeep – a Jeep with four while drive! He went back to the attendant and confirmed the Jeep was truly one of our options.

We just knew this was going to be a magical trip.  Sure we’d had to get up early, it was raining in Dallas and we’d had a little trouble at the ticket kiosk, but even with those little hiccups we’d had smooth sailing and we had no reason to think it would change.  One of my blogging friends accuses me of making up our little dramas to make my blogs sound more exciting.  Well, we’ll see, because this trip was breeze – not a single headache to report.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Come back next week and we’ll have breakfast in one of the Phoenix area’s top ten breakfast spots.

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

It’s Nice in Nice!

Jane Sadek

Travel There: Lunch and Shopping in Nice

Life on a cruise:  another bus ride, another meeting point and another meal.  That about sums it up, but come on with me and enjoy Nice.  While I’d still take Cap d’Antibes over Nice, there nothing not to enjoy about the city.

An Dining Opportunity

One thing I can easily say about this trip is that we bought more food onshore than we usually do on cruises.  Some of that may have been because our shore excursions were such marathons and not all of them included a meal.  However, I think it also had a lot to do with Jim and Melanie.  One of their primary interests at every stop was where to eat and drink, while Bill and me on our own tend to find other things to do.  I’m not complaining though.  It was fun.

Though it seemed as if we’d just left the sidewalk cafe in Cap d’Antibes, the first order of business in Nice was to find another sidewalk cafe.  This time it was Le Gande Balcon and we were getting more than a snack. 

Bill and I both had prawns and oh my goodness, I have rarely seen such big ones.  Mine came with pasta and Bill’s came with risotto.   Glasses of wines and adult beverages were enjoyed by all.

A Shopping Opportunity

Le Grande Balcon was in the middle of a shopping area.  Nearby shops filled the sidewalks with their wares and a little further down was an open air market.  We’d all been so busy being tourists, very little shopping had been happening, in spite of all the shopping opportunities the guides had forced on us.  Those opportunities usually came with a pretty heft price tag.  Though there was one more day of touring left, no one wanted to get home without the requisite souvenirs, so after our wonderful meal, we hit the shops.

The shop closest to the restaurant had laminated place-mats and for some reason Bill was all over them.  He picked out four odd place-mats – two with roosters and two with cartoon cats.  They were the absolute last thing I would have chosen as a souvenir of this trip, but hey, Bill rarely shows any interest in any souvenirs.  So, if he wanted plastic place-mats, by golly, I thought he should get plastic place-mats.

Further down I found a shop of linen goods.  They had a darling dress I knew my sweet next door neighbor would love, so I had to get that.  Continuing down the street we wandered into the open air market.  I found a delightful vendor offering gifts of lavender sachets in the printed cotton which Provence is known for.  That’s where I bought my souvenirs.

Visiting the Beach

There wasn’t much time left, but we wanted to get a few pictures of the gorgeous beach.  We headed back to the meeting point, which had been across from the beach.  We wished for a few more hours to explore the area, but we had minutes, not hours.  Another reason for us to head back to the French Rivera someday.

After having time for just a few photos, it was time to get on the bus and ride back to the ship. We had a quiet afternoon in our cabin.  Bill napped.  I caught up on my journal and did some reading.

That evening the rest of the gang had decided to fork out big bucks to eat at Eden.  They say it was fabulous and for the first time in his life, Bill actually admitted that he wished he’d had any idea it would have been so good.  He actually wished that he had spent the money.

Instead, we had dinner at the Cosmopolitan, which was actually the third time we ate there.  I was surprised Bill didn’t want to go back to the Italian or French restaurant, but I think it may have had more to do with proximity than anything else.  We enjoyed the downtime.

After dinner we took in a show called Gilly and Girl in the Theater.  It fit the easy-going mood of the day – just a couple doing love songs and ballads.  We strolled the shopping area where various events were supposed to be happening, but it was all just a come on to get passengers shopping.

Even the shopkeepers didn’t want to participate, so we just went back to our cabin.  Guess what!  We’d both left our keycards in the room and had to go back to guest services.  We giggled all the way there and all the way back to the room.  We’ve traveled entirely too much to have both made that mistake on the same evening – but that’s just what we’d done!

One day of touring left.  Come back next week for Palma de Mallorca.

 

 

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Road Trips, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Out of Synch Ashore

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: LOST IN MONTE CARLO

Everything went great with our spontaneous visit to Monte Carlo, until our tender hit the dock.  To my right, I could see a stairwell leading into the city.  Only, with bad knees, neither Jim nor Melanie wanted to take that route and my friend Deb hates stairs with a passion.  They’d heard there was an elevator/escalator somewhere and we were on a mission to find it. 

The Escalator Fiasco

I have to tell you we spent the better part of an hour looking for that escalator.  I could just feel Bill’s anxiety level rising and the higher his went, the higher mine crawled up the scale.  To boot, I felt like I was wearing my pajamas out in public, which is not good for my psyche.  It’s true I’m vain, but in this case, it had more to do with indoor clothes on an outdoor adventure.

If it had just been Bill and I in Monte Carlo, we would have either gone on to Guest Relations or I would have convinced him to go to the room and get my travel guide or maybe both.  I would have changed into clothes that made me feel a whole lot better about walking around the glamorous city.  There would have been no friends to jump on the elevator with, but I would have also put on a little lipstick and mascara, gotten a handbag with some id and a credit card.  With the basics in hand, I would have felt a whole lot better about venturing ashore in a foreign country.  We also might have made it to our photo studio appointment, which would have made me feel a lot less guilty – or at least cancelled it.

As it was, we were trotting around following a bunch of people who obviously didn’t know where they were going and it made both Bill and I fairly insane.  We wandered around some buildings in the port for awhile and then headed in the opposite direction of the town, as you can see in the picture above.

At one point, Bill stopped and tried to address the situation with me.  He pointed at our friends going away from Monte Carlo, he pointed to the ship and he pointed to the city.  He reminded me we’d paid a whole lot of money for the afternoon shore excursion and he didn’t want to miss it.

I may not have responded to him in the most appropriate manner possible.  I’d sized up the situation and even though it looked as if we were headed away from the city, I felt pretty sure once we crossed the bridge, we’d be going up and would back track to where we needed to be.  While my response probably could have been better, I was frustrated myself.  I couldn’t fix his anxiety and I knew that was the main problem.  I couldn’t fix mine either, and that was another problem.

We carried on, but we were on thin ice as we passed this nice pebbly beach.  Neither one of us was perfectly happy with the situation, though our reasons for it were probably totally different.  Try as we might, we were unable to fix ourselves and make the best of it.  We were just not in synch and having an audience didn’t make it any easier to fix things.

We continued our tour of Monte Carlo with our friends and I will tell you more about that in next week’s post, but I’m done talking about the dissonance.  Next week, as you read about us going through the motions of touring the city, just remember, we could barely talk to each other.  It wasn’t as much fun as it should have been.  It got better, as it always does, but for a while it was distinctly uncomfortable.