The Leslie Show

So much to write!

Lord, we've done so much and have so much going on.  I have fallen way behind in my bloggging of this trip, mainly because I've been having so much fun experiencing it.  That's a good thing.  I'll probably be writing recounts out of sequence or going back and changing the dates so they all line up chronologically. 

Does my English sound stilted here?  If it does, there's two reasons:  1) I'm feeling pleasantly buzzed on a few glasses of the local rosé wine, and 2) after nine days of living in France and communicating via poor French and fractured English my syntax is all screwed up.  I'm finding myself saying things like "We must make with the returning".

Today we went to the Abbaye de Sénanque to see the beautiful architecture and the lavender fields.  Unfortunately, we just missed the tour and it was going to be three hours 'til the next one (there are five monks who live there and they're not terribly keen on letting the tourists run around the place on their own).  If we'd waited, the tour would be conducted entirely in French (nine days of experience predicts we would have absorbed only 30-40% of what was said).  So, we didn't get to see the insides of the place.  We did, however, get to explore the lavender fields, which were lovely.

Even better, we discovered the village of Gordes on the way there.  It's one of the many Provençal villages that are perched at the top of a hill, and it's quite impressive.  I'm told it's a popular location for celebrities (the Martha's Vineyard of the Vaucluse? I just made that up) and I can see why it would be.  It's very beautiful, not too big, and it has killer views.  We had a yummy lunch (Chris tipped the waitress 5 euros because we didn't have change and he thought she was really cute) and met a lovely couple who have an olive oil shop in the center of town.  Got some nice gifties for friends and family. 

We also saw several bories on the way up and down the hill.  Bories are a sort of beehive-shaped stone igloo.  They date back to 600 BC and have been used up to modern times.  The amazing thing is they are made without mortar.  They're just stacked stones, and many of them are still standing today. 

Coming home, we went for a swim in the pool, then whipped up a pasta dinner which we enjoyed on the patio.  I have been eating so much on this trip!  It will be really interesting to see how much weight I can put on in two weeks.  I can definitely feel the weight gain.  Ah well.  Who cares?  I'm on vacation and I'm bloody well not going to diet in France!  [Julia Child voice] Bon Appetit! [/Julia Child voice]

Champs des Rêves

"Is this heaven?"
"No, it's Iowa Provence."

We are living in some sort of Merchant-Ivory/Martha Stewart dream.  A 200-year old French farmhouse.  Cicadas singing as the hot Provencal sun heats up the lavender fields.  The owner greets us with a homemade rustic apricot tart and coffee.  We have dinner out on the patio with the bees buzzing all around us in the flowers.

I can't even begin to do it justice.  It's just lovely.  We should have some more entries and some photos up in the next few days.  By "we" I mean me or duffergeek.  :-)  Meanwhile, here's a link to the place we're staying at now:

http://www.holiday-rentals.com/index.cfm/property/8989_1

Life is good!

I'm sitting in our little apartment in Cannes, eating a piece of sugared brioche from the Paul bakery, fresh melon with ham, and drinking some rich coffee with milk.  The sun is just peeking over the red-tiled roof of the opposing house across the courtyard, and I can hear the seagulls yelling as they fly in from the beach.  Aaah, the Riviera.

Yesterday we went to Grasse, which is a town that proclaims itself the World Capital of Perfume.  We went to the Fragonard museums, where we toured the factory and got lessons in how bushels and bushels of lavender, jasmine, roses, etc. are made into essential oils, which are then mixed into perfume.  It was really fascinating stuff for me, since I hope to be certified in aromatherapy at some point in the next few years.  They showed us the workplace of the "nose", which is a person who has a gift (and a thorough education) in scents and how to detect and blend them.  They called his workplace his "organ", because it looks very much like an organ you'd see in a church.  He has over 250 different bottles of essential oils there that he works with.  And "he" is the word.  Virtually all "noses" are men.  Which suprised me, actually.  I have a much better sense of smell than Chris does, and I was under the impression that women had a better sense of smell than men.  Perhaps it isn't true, or perhaps it's just French chauvinism when the female tour guide said "Women wear the perfume, men make it."

Old Grasse is a beautiful city up on top of a hill.  Chris took some lovely photos.  We did make a bit of a blunder yesterday:  we were told it was only 3 km to the center of the city (the first place we went was just outside the city...we got there by bus.)  We were impatient and it was kind of nice out so we decided to get some exercise.  Well, it was 3 km, all UPHILL on winding and not very attractive roads.  Ack!  By the time we got to the city (and the top of the hill) we were EXHAUSTED and had used up a great deal of our energy. A plate full of steak tartare, fries, and salad at an outdoor café overlooking the harbor of Cannes helped remedy that.  We managed to toodle around a bit in the lovely downtown area before heading back.

Today I think we are going to visit the Iles de Lérins (Ile St.-Honorat and Ile Ste.-Marguerite), which are two small islands just off the coast of Cannes.  They are supposed to be a quiet and sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of Cannes, and Ile Ste.-Marguerite is where "The Man In The Iron Mask" was held for many years.  Will let you know how it goes!

Greetings from Cannes!

I am not coming home.

I'm going to France.

That's it.  I've had it with this place.  I'm going to France for two weeks. 

(A week in Cannes then a week in Cavaillon!  I might post from there, I might not.  Stay tuned!)

Rebel Without a Clue

This story at CNN.com reminded me of something really interesting I encountered last summer on my trip to China: government censorship.

We stayed at The White Swan Hotel, which is an absolutely lovely 5-star hotel located right on the Pearl River and right near the American consulate.  It's where virtually all of the American families who are adopting babies stay, and one of the (many) nice things about it is the Internet access.  When you're on your 10th day in steamy Guangzhou thinking "If I eat one more noodle I'm going to die" it's nice to be able to see with family and see what's happening in the rest of the world via Internet. 

I was using my new iBook G4, and every once in a while I would encounter a site I couldn't access.  A message popped up saying the site wasn't available.  No biggie.  They weren't sites I frequented often and I thought nothing of it.  But then, a few days into it, it hit me:  were these sites not available not available, or were they just not available to people in China?

I did a quick Google on "Tibet".  Plenty of sites came up.  But when I tried to click on them:  [tight close-up and cue the orchestral suspense music] THEY WERE NOT AVAILABLE!!!! I gasped at the shock of it all.  BBC news.  Free Tibet.org.  Whitehouse.com (I'm not making that one clickable, do the work yourself).  They had all been blocked.

I have to admit, I got a little paranoid, then.  I had been in China for several days at this point, and had been on my best behavior.  I had "moved along" when the authorites told me to "move along".  I hadn't raised a fist or even made any sudden movements in Tiananmen Square (it's amazing how 110 degree heat and dead-eyed soliders can suck the bravura right out of you).  I was due.  Surely the authorities were monitoring my behavior in The White Swan Hotel and would come knocking on the door any minute to whisk me away to a Chinese prison while my mother, sister, and newly-adopted niece wept dolefully (then stole my precious American toilet paper stash when I was gone).  But... it didn't happen. 

I got away with it.

Ha!  Suckers!  Up yours, China!  FREE TIBET!  POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Think of the Sand Traps

Duffergeek (aka my dear husband Chris) is in Egypt!  I'm very excited for him, and strongly urge you to check out his adventures.

Well, that was a hell of a thing.

So, our trip to stay at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel was uneventful.

Until the last night.

1) I didn't do it.
2) Disney did an amazing job of managing the problem, and taking marvelous care of their guests.
3) Duffergeek did a great job of covering this whole event over at his place.

Merry Christmas, Babies.

I'm off to do Disney with my crew.  Meanwhile, check me out making like a food blogger at:  Decent Content.

We went to New York

Just got back from a week in New York.  It was a great trip, and  Duffergeek has done a great job of blogging our trip (start with August 19th).

Me?  I can't get no satisfaction today.  I am really out of it.  I joined Moms in Motion, a group that gets moms together to train for endurance events (and to socialize).  My friend Amy started a local group.  We're training to do the Seattle Half-Marathon.  I've done it before (in 2002).  I also did a marathon in Alaska.  A full one.  NEVER AGAIN!  I'm stickin' to halfs, baby.  13.1 miles is plenty for me.  Oh, I'm also walking it.  So don't wait up.

Anyway, we only did 4 miles today for our first training event.  But I am so out of shape that actually wiped me out!  SHEESH!  Massage school is a bit notorious, I have learned, for causing folks to drop their exercise routine and get fat.  Nice to know I'm not alone.  NOT nice to know that I've gained 12 pounds in 8 months.  :-(

I'm really tired and out of it today.  I think I just need a mental "blah" day to sit and recover from all my school and travel and whatnot.

So, go read Duffergeek's account of our last week.  I'm too tired.