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Santorini, Greece

17 May 2001: Tony and I returned from Greece on Monday and we had a great time! Tony had originally wanted to visit both Greece and Turkey, but I like to visit one country at a time. There is so much to see and do and having only 2 weeks, I prefer to concentrate on one country.

We visited Greece back in 1993. We stayed in Athens and after a few days visiting the archeological museum, acropolis and other sights, we went to Delphi and Cape Sounio on day trips, as well as a one day, 3-island cruise to Poros, Aegina, and Hydra. This trip, we wanted to visit some of the Greek islands. It was a difficult choice: so many islands, so little time! I had considered Crete, but Crete can be a vacation in itself! We'll safe Crete for a future trip, maybe with a side trip to Santorini.

Because the boat and ferry schedules for the low season we not available at time of my planning, I decided to make hotel reservations for our arrival in Athens and departure from Athens. After sorting through lots of information and help from other travelers from Fodors.com, we decided to fly directly to Santorini and save Athens for the end of our trip. So, I made hotel reservations at Enigma Apartments in Santorini and Hotel Attalos in Athens. The rest we decided to play it by ear. I had a list of hotels for the islands of Naxos, Paros, and Mykonos. From Mykonos, I wanted to visit Delos, but that too would be decided on once we got to the islands and the boat schedules came out. I was informed that boats do not go to Mykonos on a daily basis from Naxos (at least in the spring time). So, with our 2 hotel reservations, list of hotels, we were set to go.

1 May 2001: Our day of travel is always an exciting and exhausting day: packing, closing up the house, last minute chores, and dropping off Lucy (our new puppy) at Dawn's house the night before. We had to fly to JFK from Reagan National, and then taxi over to JFK. Our flight on Olympic Airlines was at 5:45pm. The taxi cost us $25, which was about the same price as taking the shuttle bus. The flight over was fine. Food was average. We didn't care for the service by the flight attendants. Once they serve the food, they disappeared. We couldn't even get another glass of wine. We spent the evening watching a couple of movies, and then tried to sleep. Actually, Tony can sleep anywhere!

2 May 2001: We arrived at the new airport in Athens. It took about 10 minutes for the plane to taxi to its gate. Then the flight attendant forgot to press a button to release the door, so that was another 10 minutes or so waiting to get off the plane. We were hoping to catch the 11:20am flight to Santorini as we were booked on the 3pm flight. No such luck! We waited almost 4 hours in the airport. I was very tired.

The new airport was pretty nice, but the seats in the waiting areas are terrible! They were so uncomfortable. I found an ATM machine and took out some money. I decided to wait to get my Greek money until I got to Athens instead of getting some from my bank. Apparently, the exchange rate in the U.S. is pretty bad as only a certain amount is allowed out of the country. The airport building is very long. We had to walk from one end to practically the other end to catch the local flight.

We flew to Santorini on a small ATR, which carries about 50 passengers. The flight was about 50 minutes long. We were on the right side and could see Oia and Fira prior to landing. A few minutes before landing, the flight attendant stated not to take any photographs. There were military planes near the airport. Tony said to me, "They probably don't want people to know that they are using out of date equipment!"

We had to take a shuttle bus to the terminal (we could have walked!), which was just a small building with one luggage belt. It was ridiculous! We could have picked up our luggage at the airplane, but I guess they wanted us to feel like we were at a big airport.

Our hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up. Outside the building, our drive held up the hotel sign, "Enigma Apartments." I wanted a hotel on the caldera for its wonderful view. We stayed at the Enigma Apartments. Breakfast was included in the cost of the room (37.000DR). We had a great view of the caldera and all the buildings hanging on the cliff. To the right of us, we were next to Hotel Kavalari and Hotel Loucas, two other hotel choices. Our room was very nice. There are 8 apartments with balcony, kitchen, bath, and living room. The building is set into the cliff. Between the living room and kitchen was an arched wall. (See hotel section for photos of this and the other hotels). On our balcony, we had a small table, 2 chairs and an umbrella to use. To actually sit out and view the other buildings, we had to move our chairs up towards the front as there were was a privacy wall between the apartments. We were greeted by Ms. Heidi, who managed the place. She told us there was a bottle of wine in the room for us, as well as a large bottle of water. It was a nice treat to start our vacation.
We unpacked our bags while sipping on the wine. Every few minutes I would walk outside and take in the view of Fira. It was lovely. I think it was one of my favorite spots in Greece. White washed buildings hanging on the side of this cliff, donkeys climbing the stairs and walkway with goods or tourists, cats wandering the buildings, and hearing music in the distance.

While sitting outside, we met one of our "neighbors" who also were on our flight from Athens. We chatted with Lisa and Simon, who came from Australia to attend a wedding. Their friend from South Africa was marrying a Greek woman from Santorini. They actually were already married, but were in Santorini to have the traditional Greek wedding. Lisa had found a grocery store nearby, so I had her show me the way so I could purchase some beer for Tony, another bottle of wine and some snacks. It was nice having the store nearby. There were lots of goodies to purchase: local wine, cheese, olives, meats, fresh baked bread and many other items. I even picked up a bottle of ouzo.

Tony and I were hungry and ready to set out to explore Fira and find a place for dinner. It is a touristy town filled with souvenir shops and many, many, many jewelry shops. I was amazed and overwhelmed at the beautiful and bountiful collection of gold, diamonds, Greek designs, contemporary designs, etc. I had read that Santorini has the best jewelry, although a little more expensive than Athens. We walked along the "main" street and found a place to eat: The Flame of the Volcano. We enjoyed the food and views of Fira as we dined outside. Our first day in Greece and we were tired, so we headed back to the room for a drink on the balcony, then to bed.

3 May 2001: Sleeping up in the loft was nice. Our bed was comfortable. At night, had to turn on the lights to go down stairs to the bathroom. As I mentioned, there is no railing to hold on to and the steps are steep. We got up around 8:30 and got ready for our first full day in Santorini. Out on the balcony was a small young cat. She just sat there, probably waiting for some food. We saw a lot of cats in Santorini wandering around the area. We were surprised at the number of stray cats and dogs. Some day soon, the Greek authorities are going to have to put in place animal control laws. There were just too many wandering around. I wrote in my journal while Tony got dressed. I met our "neighbors" a couple from Canada. They had stayed the previous night at Hotel Panorama, but said it was terrible. After inspecting a couple of rooms at Enigma, they settled on the room next to us.

The hotel serves breakfast at their outdoor café. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy the view while eating. We watched ships, ferries, and sail boats come and go all day long. Passengers from cruise ships arrived via tenders as the ships were docked off shore. The main port is a few miles south of Fira. This day, we visited the Boutari winery. We took the local bus there, which was about a 20-minute ride after making several stops along the way. The tour group was small, just Tony and me! A young woman gave us the tour, explaining their wine making process. We also saw a film, then sampled 6 different wines. Most were pretty good, and we bought a couple of bottles. It was very interesting to see the vineyards as the vines were shaped into wreathes and sitting very low to the ground. Because Santorini has very high winds in the summer time, the vines are kept low to the ground so that the winds do not destroy them.

We had to wait about 45 minutes for our local bus back to Fira. Thank goodness it was a nice day. I certainly wouldn't like to wait in the hot summer heat. Back in Fira, we headed back to our room. On the way, we picked up a couple of gyro's at Lucky's - the best gyro's in all of Greece! It's a small place across the street and up from the main bus stop. We took the gyro's to our room and had lunch on our balcony. These gyro's were the best we had (although Tony likes the ones at the central market in Athens better because of the added green peppers)! They were only 400DR, just over a dollar. And they were filling and delicious. For the afternoon, we wandered around Fira, did a little shopping, and then took a walk to Firastefani, which was the next little town up and about ½ mile away. We walked along the caldera on narrow walkways and steps. I couldn't imagine taking this walk in the summer heat and with the summer crowds of people. We stopped to see the Hotel Sun Rocks. It was one of my choices, but decided to stay in Fira. We were glad. Firastefani is too far a walk to have to go back and forth, especially since we planned to use bus transportation. This hotel was very nice and we were shown the honeymoon suite. Lovely canopy bed, living room area, and even a fax machine! I guess some people just can't get away from their jobs. How sad.

We noticed that many of the round domes of the churches were painted in an off white color, unlike the many shown in blue in the postcards. There was one postcard of a blue domed church with church bells and the caldera bay behind it. I asked a woman in a little grocery store where I could find this church. "Down the street and to the right." Well, down the street and to the right meant over the cliff! After walking around the area, we saw the church bells. We had to backtrack and eventually found the spot where photographers take this famous photo. (See photo under the Santorini photo section). It's not a good photo. The sky was very hazy and the dome had been re-painted.

Our challenge to find this church was done and we were ready to take a break. We headed back to our room, had drinks, and chatted with Lisa and Simon. For dinner, we dined at Nikolas, a very good restaurant and very inexpensive. There are no menus, but a large blackboard at the back of the room listing their limited, but delicious, menu. The place was filled of lots of hungry diners. We'd definitely dine here again.

4 May 2001: The cat was outside on our balcony again this morning. I decided to name her Santo, short for Santorini. She was cute, but kept her distance. This day we took the local bus to Ancient Akrotiri. I had read that it was a very interesting place, and even saw a travel show on it. We got there after a 30 minute or so bus ride. After paying to get in, we walked through the ruins. It took us only 10 minutes to see "it all!" We were so disappointed. It seemed that the workers were busy working on replacing the old roof that was over the ancient site, about 2 acres. Also, a lot of the area was roped or blocked off from tourists. So, we didn't see much, not even any painted walls. I did get a couple shots of the Greek vases. After this short visit, we had to wait an hour for the next bus to arrive. We walked down to the water/beach area. There were a couple of restaurants there. We walked around to pass the time. Another day of waiting for the bus. The next time we'll rent a car. Back in Fira, we had lunch at our hotel: Gyro's from Lucky's and some wine and beer, which we purchased at the nearby grocery store. Yummy lunch!

In the afternoon, we decided to head to Oia, but did a little shopping beforehand. We purchased our boat tickets for Naxos. Then I started to window shop...again. Well, we never made it to Oia as "I shopped until Tony dropped." The jewelry stores in Fira were fabulous! There were many stores with many, many different types of jewelry. I was quite overwhelmed. I had been window shopping the previous 2 afternoons, but in the ended decided upon a couple of diamond and emerald pieces. I guess we could have gone to Oia in the evening, but we didn't feel like catching a bus there and having to 'wait' again. We relaxed on our balcony for a while - love the views! - before heading out to dinner at Zafora's. It's on the main street up from the cable car. We enjoyed a delicious meal as we watched the sun set. After our evening walk, we headed back to our room to have an after dinner drink on the balcony.

5 May 2001: We got up around 8:30am and had our breakfast up at the cafe. We chatted with Lisa and Simon who were also having their breakfast. We were off to Naxos. As the morning progressed, so did the winds. We went back to our room to pack our bags, and since we had some time, we shopped for a few items before leaving. Ms. Heidi arranged for a taxi to pick us up. One of the young men working at the hotel carried our luggage to the taxi "stand." The winds were really blowing and dust/dirt got into my eyes, bothering them as I wear contact lenses. The ride to the port took only 15 minutes. By then, the winds were really blowing! The dust, sand, dirt was flying every where! We headed for shelter at one of the port restaurants to wait for our boat. We were worried the boat wouldn't arrive or depart. The winds were blowing the bay water, which was quite choppy. We sat and had "coke lites" before the boat arrived. We got on just as it started to rain. What a very nice boat! It's pretty new too. Comfortable seats (assigned seats), large windows to see outside, a cafe, etc. The older couple that sat next to us were very friendly. They were with a large tour group heading home.

We arrived in Naxos about an hour and a half later. It had stopped raining, but was still overcast with dark clouds. This was our first island that we arrived in without hotel reservations. Tony saw a sign for the Naxos Tourist Office directly across from the port, which is owned and operated by Ms. Kitini. He remembered the name from our Frommer's guidebook. I had my list of hotels, which Ms. Kitini managed two that were on the list: Hotel Apollon and Hotel Chateau Zevgoli. I wanted to stay in C.Z., which is in the center of town, but there was a room available for just 2 days. We were staying for three nights and didn't want to have to pack our bags and move to another room or hotel. Ms. Kitini drove us to Hotel Apollon, a few blocks away. We liked the hotel very much and our room was quite comfortable. We had a corner room with a balcony wrapped around two sides. The windows had shutters so we could sleep soundly in a dark room.

After unpacking, we headed into town to have lunch. We shared a sandwich and a meze platter, which was very good. It was a hugh meal and could have had just one or the other. Naxos town is lovely. There are lots of whitewashed buildings along small streets. Some flowers were in bloom, but not too many. Since it was the late afternoon, many of the shops and restaurants were closed. Siesta time. We sat at the cafe for a while enjoying the afternoon and just relaxing. We took a walk along the port and did a little window shopping. At least it wasn't raining. Along the port there is a restaurant that serves delicious fresh octopus as well as calamari and cuttlefish. We saw octopus hanging out to dry on lines and wood stands. It looked delicious!

In the evening we headed out to have pizza for dinner. It was windy, so we had our jackets with us. Tony was in the mood for pizza, so we ate at Restaurant Kellari, on the water front. Very good pizza (brick oven). The man who was managing the place (he's from Albania) was very nice and chatted with us between serving other customers. He even treated us to a carafe of wine, as well as dessert and a shot of ouzo! Prior to getting back to our hotel, we walked round the town.

6 May 2001: Our morning started with breakfast in the hotel's breakfast room. We enjoyed coffee, tea, juice, soft boiled eggs, yogurt, and delicious fresh baked bread. We were really impressed with the breads in Greece. Our morning was spent visiting the archeological museum as well as the Venetian home inside the kastro. The museum was very small. We should have purchased the museum book. Not many of the artifacts had descriptions about them. There were lots of vases, statues, sculptures. At the Venetian home, there was a tour guide (from South Africa) who gave us a very interesting tour. There were about 10 others in the group. One can join in the tour at anytime as the tour guide continues her tour all day long. The home had many old paintings, a piano, and portraits of the owners of the home. She showed us the cellar, some of the rooms, one which had an excape door in the floor. After our visits, we headed to the port area to find us some gyros for lunch. We sat outside at a small restaurant which served only gyros. Although they were good, they certainly were not as good as at Lucky's in Fira!

After lunch, we headed to a travel agency to inquire about boats to Paros or Mykonos. According to the schedules for the day we wanted to travel, Mykonos was out of the question. So, it was Paros for our next island. We stopped by to see Ms. Kitini, who owns the Naxos Tourist Office. She suggested to "get out of town" and take the local bus to Filoti. The bus was leaving in 5 minutes across the street. Okay, why not! Well, the bus left at 1:30pm and we arrived in Filoti at 2pm. There was NOTHING to see! It seemed everyone was in their homes enjoying their siesta. Most stores were closed. And we were stuck there until the 5:30pm bus arrived. Another day of waiting for the bus. We walked along the streets, but after a while we went to a small cafe to warm up from the cold air. It was an overcast day and quite cool. We had a light snack and some white wine. It tasted similar to a port wine. We walked around a little more, but it was just too cold for me. We found a cafe with a bunch of Greek men sitting and drinking their coffee and playing backgammon. We had some hot tea and coffee to keep us warm. Our bus arrived at 5:30pm and we were happy to be heading back to Naxos town! It was a long day and we hated to waste time by waiting for the bus.

Back in our hotel room, we read our books that we brought. For dinner, we dined at the place that had the hanging octopus (KAYE OUZERI TO LIMANAKI, which is just to the left of the Grotta Tours office). It was absolutely delicious! We enjoyed grilled octopus as well as grilled calamari along with some local white wine. Most of the diners were locals, which is always a good sign. We chatted with one couple at the next table who were visiting from Paros. They own a home in Paros and go there every year for 2-3 months. How nice! They were on Naxos for a few days visit. Back in our room again, we had some ouzo, then went to bed.

7 May 2001: We rented a car and drove around the island. We paid 6.000Dr (about $16) for the car plus 3.000 ($8) for the gas. Pretty cheap! It was a tiny car, but that's all we needed for the small streets in town and narrow roads on the island. Naxos is very mountainous and there were a lot of hair pin curves. Some of these curves do not have guard rails! Tony knew I was uncomfortable around these curves, so he drove slowly. It was amazing to see the locals drive right by us without worrying about the curves or oncoming cars. It reminded me of the Italian drivers. We saw villages along the hillsides, goats in the middle of the road, as well as donkeys. The day was beautiful with blue skies, white clouds, and a cool breeze. It was a much nicer day than the day before. During our travels, we stopped at a very old church, a Hellenic tower being restored and saw two Kouros. We also visited the town of Apirathos. The town sits along the side of the mountain. We walked around the town, which was lovely. We stopped and had lunch at a small restaurant called O Platanos. We sat outside to enjoy the sun. One couple stopped to ask about our meal. "Delicious!" We talked with Mike and Camille, from NC, for a while sharing our travel adventures. They were staying about 2-3 miles outside Naxos town. We swapped restaurant suggestions: We gave them our restaurant recommendations for Santorini and they gave their suggestions for Paros and Athens.

We continued on our drive around the island where we saw the second Kouros near the beach town of Apolonas. More curvy roads! The map that was provided to us at the car rental agency was not accurate. What looks like fairly straight roads or slightly curvy roads were actually very curvy/hairpin curve roads! Also, what seems to be many miles between one point and the next is actually short distances. Drivers beware. We got back to Naxos town around 5pm, so we dropped off the car. We were allowed to keep the car until the next morning, but there was no point. We walked into town and purchased our boat tickets for Paros the next day. Along the way, we ran into Mike and Camille. They were in town for the rest of the evening. We talked for a few minutes with them, then headed our separate ways. I wanted to take some photographs of the boats in the port as well as the Portara. After, we headed back to our room to relax, have a little wine, and do some reading.

For dinner, we headed straight back to the restaurant KAYE OUZERI TO LIMANAKI. As we were enjoying the first dish of octopus, tzatziki and caraffe of wine, Mike and Camille showed up. They joined us for dinner, who also loved every bite. We ended up having 3 carafes of wine, the tzatziki, and 3 different dishes: the octopus, the calamari, and a combination plate of calamari and cuttle fish. For our portion, we paid $26.50. It was worth every penny. After dinner, we headed to a bakery/pastry shop with Mike and Camille and joined their friends for dessert. Tony and I enjoyed tiramisu. I know, it's not baklava, but it was good! We headed back to our room as I was tired and had a little too much wine to drink. We had a really great time with Mike and Camille.

8 May 2001: We're off to Paros. Our boat was scheduled to leave at 12:15pm. We got up, showered, had breakfast, then packed our bags. We had plenty of time, so we headed to town with our luggage to the Naxos Tourist Office. We paid our hotel bill, got my passport back, and left our luggage there for a couple of hours. When Ms. Kitini asked me how much she quoted me for the room, I said 18.000DR. Well, she charged my credit card 18.000DR. I guess she didn't remember we were there for three nights, so I had her charge against my Visa for the other two nights. If I hadn't caught the error, that would have been a really cheap stay. We walked around the port area and I picked up a couple of souvenirs. Around 10:30am, we noticed one boat leaving. It was the Express Athina. Our boat! We quickly ran into a travel agency and the woman behind the counter said the boat would be back in time for the 12:15 schedule, or close to that time. I had panicked because the next boat to Paros was at 3pm and I didn't want to wait that long. This boat was running late. More walking around, then we went to get our luggage and wait at the port so we wouldn't miss our boat. While waiting at the port, we ran into the Canadian couple we met in Santorini, who stayed at the apartment next door to us at Enigma Apartments. They said we were lucky that we left Santorini when we did. The weather had gotten worse and boats were not able to arrive/depart for 2 days. They said the winds were incredible. We were lucky.

Our boat arrived and after the passengers got off, we all got on. It departed at 12:30pm. The boat ride took 1 hour to get to Paros. Upon arrival in Paros, we asked a police officer where to find Hotel Asterias. Ms. Kitini recommended the hotel and it was one of my choices from my research. The hotel is located about 400 meters north of the port, along the main street. There were plenty of rooms available, in fact all of them! We were the only guests there until the day we left Paros, when they were expecting a group of travelers. Our room was very plain, but fine for us. We unpacked our bags, then headed out to find a place for lunch. As usual, at this time of day, many places were closed. In the center of the town, we found a restaurant (Distrato), which served salads, sandwiches, crepes, etc. We had a good lunch and chatted with the owner. We stayed for a while relaxing under the umbrellas. We walked around town for a while. We stopped at a grocery store to pick up a bag of pistachio nuts. They were so inexpensive, but I didn't think to purchase a few bags to bring home. We also picked up a 5 liter container of local white wine. Talk about cheap! It was only $4.20 for the whole container! We headed to our room. Since most places were still closed, we decided to have our own siesta. Back in our room, we sat on our balcony while sipping on our very inexpensive white wine and reading our books.

In the evening, we walked around town to find a restaurant for dinner. The man at the cafe at lunchtime recommended Porphyra's, which was also listed in the Frommer's guidebook. As we walked to the restaurant, Tony noticed the power lines sparking. He said, "it's not supposed to do that." Then about 5 minutes later, the electricity went out along the whole port area. Well, we ended up dining at Porphyra's by candlelight. We enjoyed our meal, including having shark for the first time. It was delicious. We also had fried mullet and a couple of appetizers. We headed back to our room as Tony's knee was hurting him. No evening walk this night.

9 May 2001: We didn't sleep well at all last night. There were mosquitos in our room. Even though we put lotion on our arms and face, they still hung around. We also had the doors open for the fresh, cool air (the room was warm from the afternoon sun), but that brought in more mosquitoes and the noise from the street in front of the hotel. We asked the owner to provide us the remote control for the A/C for the next two nights. She offered to spray our room as well. After breakfast, we rented a car to drive around the island. We drove along and stopped at a couple of beaches and towns. The town of Lefkes was very nice. We had lunch in Naoussa. We dined outside with several locals enjoying their afternoon drinks. Some of them even sang some songs. I'm glad we stayed in town instead of Naoussa. Naoussa was very nice, but more of a resort area. Tony got tired of driving because the car didn't have power steering or power breaks and after all the curves in the road, well, you can imagine. The beaches on Paros were very nice and clean. The water was so pretty with the blues and greens. The island was a lot smaller than Naxos, so we got back to town fairly early. We went to our room to get our bathing suits, and headed to Kolimbithres beach, near Naoussa. The beach area was small. The rock formations were very interesting. We laid out for just an hour because the sun was very bright and warm. There was only one other couple on the beach and a few in the water.

Back in town, we dropped off the car, showered, and relaxed in our room. I wrote in my journal while Tony took a nap. For dinner, we enjoyed a delicious meal at small restaurant near the cathedral. I had a lamb dish while Tony had moussaka. The only distraction at the place were three young college women. Only one was doing all the talking and I swear she could have been on the set of Road Rules or The Real World. All she talked about (actually whined the whole time) was about her boyfriend. I did overhear her say 'Real World' at one point and I wondered if they were actually from that ridiculous show. The other two girls just sat and listened. They looked bored. We were so glad when they left. I was ready to get up and tell them to grow up! After dinner, we walked around and I bought some pistachio ice cream for dessert.

10 May 2001: This day was a very lazy day. We knew there wouldn't be a whole lot to see in town. We skipped breakfast and headed out for day. We visited the Church museum, which was very interesting. In the courtyard, church bells hung in the branches of a large tree. We found a pastry shop and purchased a few goodies. A very rich, sweet breakfast. We walked along the small streets while I took some photographs. We headed to the archeological museum, which was much larger than the one on Naxos. Much of the artifacts were the same: vases, sculptures, statues, gold pieces, and fragments of other types of pottery. For lunch, we just had some gyros. They were good, but again, not as good as at Lucky's in Fira. We sat at the outdoor cafe watching people as they headed to the port to take their boats to some new destination. In the afternoon, I window shopped and purchased a couple of small items. We also purchased our boat tickets for Piraeus the next day. We headed back to our room to relax on the balcony. We had a nice view of the bay and beach area. We decided to sit in the hotel's outdoor cafe. It was just the two of us sipping on some of our wine and munching on pistachio nuts. It was a cool day with the winds blowing gently. We took a nap for a while, just like the Greeks. Things do shut down in the afternoon from about 1pm to 5pm.

In the evening, we walked around a bit before heading to a restaurant recommended in the Frommer's guide book: Boudaraki. It's located on the south side of the port area, just over a small bridge on the left hand side. There were only 4 other couples dining there. We sat outside. Our meal was very good and was one of the best on our trip. Tony had lamb cooked in a ceramic pot while I had chicken in a cream, garlic, bacon and mushroom sauce. It was rich, but very good and not seen on other menus. Our meal was only $17. We also had some local white wine. No appetizers this evening and we were glad. The meal was filling. We did have dessert, complimentary from the owner: a delicious baklava-type dessert. A couple of cats walked in and just sat at our feet hoping to be fed. One of the other couples took care of them. A little while later, the cats started to fight. Fur was flying everywhere. The owner came out and sent them on their way. We walked slowly back to our hotel through the tourist area where all the shops and other restaurants are located.

11 May 2001: We got up around 8:30am. After our showers and breakfast, we headed out to the grocery store to buy our lunch for the boat ride to Piraeus. It was a 5 hour ride and after hearing about the expensive food on board, we wanted to have a picnic on board. We bought a fresh loaf of sesame bread, Paros cheese, salami, a small can of marinated octopus, a small container of taramasolata, a can of dolmades, and a small bag of pistachio nuts. Back in our room, we packed our bags. We had saved two large empty water bottles and poured the white wine into them. A lot remained, but we knew we couldn't drink it all. Tony also had 2 bottles of Greek beer, but decided to leave it behind (only about .65 cents each). The only hotel that had a refrigerator was the one on Santorini.

Around 11:15, we checked out and headed to the port. Our bags were heavy, but manageable. Our boat, the Express Poseidon, left at 12:20pm. We left our luggage at the entrance of the boat, like many of the other travelers. The first time we did this (from Santorini to Naxos), we felt a little uncomfortable. But since we didn't have any valuables inside (except my film!), we decided it was okay to leave them where they were. We went to one of the lounges and had our picnic. People around us watched with envy while we ate our delicious meal with our wine. After lunch, we found a place to sit outside and we read our books or just looked out to the sea. We saw five military ships in the distance, but we couldn't tell from which country they were from. It was a nice sunny day and a lot of young people were sunning themselves. Although the boat ride was 5 hours long, it was a very nice and relaxing afternoon.

Arriving in Piraeus, the air was filled with pollution, but not too bad. There was a constant haze in the air. I think it would be worse in July and August in the hot summer heat. The port was filled with other boats and ferries and in the distance I counted 23 barges. We were the first off the boat as we had gone down early to get our luggage. We headed to the metro station, which was difficult to find at first. I had a map of Piraeus, but wasn't sure which dock we had landed. After a few minutes, we figured out the directions. Just follow the other tourists. The metro tickets were 400DR. We took the metro to the Monistiraki stop. At this square, it was very busy with traffic and people coming and going from the metro. We also saw a sign for McDonald's. How sad.

From there, we headed north on Athina two blocks to our hotel Attalos. We checked in our room, #511, which had a balcony with a view of the Acropolis. The room was small, but nice. The drapes and bedspread did not match, but looked new. The bathroom was very tiny, but usable. We went downstairs to ask Maria, the woman at the desk, to have someone spray the room for mosquitos. We saw two in the room. If there's two, there's more. Also, the A/C wasn't working. She came up to our room about 5 minutes later with new batteries for the remote control and told us someone would come in and spray our room.

After unpacking some of our clothes (by this time in our vacation I do not unpack everything), we headed to the Plaka. The people! It was much more crowded than we remember from our trip in 1993. We walked around the area for a while, remembering some of the streets from before. We went to a restaurant which served only mezes. The waiter comes to the table with a large tray and about 12 different dishes. We enjoyed tzatziki, eggplant, meatballs, octopus cooked with vegetables, stuffed vine leaves. Also included with our meal was bread, a large carafe of red wine, and a large bottle of water, which we didn't open but took back to our room. We sat upstairs and as the evening went on, the placed filled up. We sat next to an older couple from Holland. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and headed to the roof top garden bar. We enjoyed a spectacular view of the Acropolis. There were no buildings in the way. It was great to sit outside and enjoy the view. What a nice way to end the day.

12 May 2001: This day we spent visiting the central market, Acropolis, Agora, and Plaka. We opted not to have breakfast in our hotel. We headed to the central market, which was on the right a couple of blocks. This place is not for those with weak stomachs. All kinds of meats hang in the market: whole lamb, rabbit, beef, even pigs heads. There is also a fishmarket with many varieties of fish and seafood. The octopus looked wonderful. Near the central market, we found a place serving gyros, which we had as our breakfast. They were very good. Almost as good as Lucky's. Tony liked these better because in addition to the regular ingredients, these had some chopped green peppers.

After our delicious breakfast, we headed to the Acropolis. On the way there, we walked past Syntagma square, then saw the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown solder. We headed up to the Acropolis from the north side/Plaka side. There were a lot of people there. I enjoyed seeing the Parthenon again. Even though there is scaffolding, it's a spectacular sight. I suppose it will be many years before the project is finished. We visited the museum, which is included as part of the entry ticket. After visiting the museum, we headed down to the Agora. I remember back in 1993 we could walk around the area without any entry fee. Now we had to pay to get in. Inside the Agora's market building is a museum, also included in the price of the ticket.

For lunch, we headed to the Psiri area, which is west of our hotel. There were several restaurants in the area filled with lots of locals. We didn't see many tourists in this area. The food looked good at one place (Zeidwron) so we stopped in for lunch. Tony had a delicious meal of sausage and peppers cooked in a tomato based sauce. I had a pork dish with vegetable and cheese baked in parchment paper. We didn't have any appetizers at this meal.

We were tired from all the walking and hiking around the Acropolis, so we headed back to the room to rest. Well, Tony did. I headed out to do some shopping. I was gone only an hour as I ran out of money. There were some stores with lovely ceramics. Back in the room, I wrote in my journal. The day was very overcast. I suppose my photos won't come out well.

For dinner, we dined in the Plaka at O Platano. We sat outside with many other people. We ordered too much. We had spinach pies (ordered 2 thinking they would be for one person), eggplant salad, and two lamb dishes: one with eggplant and the other with peas. Everything was delicious. We had a bottle of Santorini Boutari white wine, which was very good. Our meal was about $30. We headed back to our hotel after walking around the Plaka and seeing all the tourists there. We went to the rooftop garden and ordered ouzo's. They were expensive.

13 May 2001: Mother's Day and our last full day in Greece. Another overcast and cold day. These last two days in Athens were the only days that I wore pants during the day. All the other days were warm and sunny enough for shorts. We headed to the Plaka's flea market, which was just a few blocks south of our hotel. It was amazing to see all the junk for sale. There were many shops selling all kinds of things: antiques, military clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, etc. The flea market was hugh. There were so many piles of things. In one area of the Plaka, there was a booth set up and people were passing out flowers. It was for Mothers Day. The flowers were in a small container to keep fresh for the day. I was given one, but later placed it on a bench as I couldn't carry it all day long.

We did a lot of walking this day. We headed to the National Archeological museum. Along the way we picked up some food to munch on. We visited the museum for a couple of hours. One exhibit we wanted to see was closed. It was on Cycladic art, including artifacts from Ancient Akrotiri in Santorini. After this museum, we walked to the War museum. It was raining lightly all morning. We got to the museum in time to see most of the exhibits before it closed at 2pm. There was no charge for the museum, which was nice. Outside the building were a few war airplanes on display. The museum had artifacts from the wars that Greece was involved with. Swords, guns, uniforms, paintings, photographs.

Next, we walked back to the Plaka, via the Olympic stadium. We sat in the stands for a while giving our feet a break. Back in the Plaka we had donar kebabs for lunch, which were very good. We were very tired after all that walking. We must have walked a few miles. We were nonstop from 10am to 3pm. Back in our room we took a nap for a couple of hours. It was nice to relax for a while.

In the evening we dined at Byzantino in the Plaka. We had a few mezes for our meal. We had a late lunch so we were not very hungry. We took our time eating and enjoying the evening. We walked around the Plaka and I bought some pistachio ice cream. It was very good! We were in bed by about 11pm. This was our last evening in Greece.

14 May 2001: Time to go home. We got up at 8am. Our taxi would be waiting for us at 9am. We didn't have a lot to pack since we didn't completely unpack our bags when we arrived at Attalos. Checkout was fast and the taxi drive was waiting for us. It took about 50 minutes to get to the new airport and cost us 6.000DR/$15.65. The traffic was very heavy in town. After we got out of the area, it was a quick ride to the airport. Our flight was at 12:20pm, so we had time to find the VAT refund office, have some breakfast, and head to our gate. As usual, we had a difficult time finding the VAT refund office. I swear these foreign countries don't want anyone to get their refund back, so they hide these offices. We asked several people in uniform, who only said, "go ask...." We finally found it. It's on the right side, just on the other side of the Passport Control booths. There is a small sign that reads, "Customs Control," not "VAT Refund Office." I would never had thought that it was the refund office. That's the other problem: after getting the refund certificate stamped, there's no mail box. I had to give up my passport at the control booth tp go down stairs to the post office to drop off the envelope. I could have waited until I got home, but I wanted it mailed from Athens. It was really irritating!

We had breakfast at (ugh!)...McDonalds, although they did not serve the typical McDonald's food. I had a spinach pie and Tony had a sandwich. After, he went to the duty free store to spend the rest of our Greek money. He purchased a bottle of Metaxa. I would have preferred Ouzo!

Our flight left on time but getting on board took a while. The security was very good at the airport, so I didn't mind the long wait. I'd rather have them check everyone out carefully than not at all. We had the exit seats (front door), but were asked to move so that the flight attendants could use the area for their carts. I didn't care to move, but we did. The flight was half empty. The lunch was very good, especially the salads: smoked salmon and eggplant salad. The flight was fine, but we hated Olympic Airlines. They didn't show any movies at all! There were four shows that they kept repeating throughout the flight. Many people were angry. The other problem as I mentioned before, was that after everyone was served their meal, the flight attendants disappeared. What an airline.

It was a very long day getting home. Our flight home was 9.5 hours long! We had moved back to our exit seats prior to landing, so we were the first off after the first class passengers. We landed at JFK around 3pm. We grabbed a taxi, who whisked us to LGA in the afternoon rush hour traffic. We missed catching the 4pm flight to Reagan National, so we had to wait for the 5pm flight. The flight line was backed up with a dozen planes in front of us were waiting to take off. Our flight finally took off around 5:40pm. The flight was short and after landing and getting to our car via shuttle bus, we drove to Dawn's house to pick up Lucy. We stayed for dinner, and then headed home. We got home around 10pm. Yes, it was a very long day! And it was good to be home in our own bed.

Greece is a wonderful place to visit! The islands were lovely as well as the beaches with its clear blue water. We'd certainly return again. It was a very relaxing trip. Visiting the island wasn't like visiting a large city such at Paris or Rome where there are many, many things to see and do. The islands are perfect for those that want to enjoy the beaches, restaurants andto just have a relaxing vacation. We found that our stay of 2.5 days on each island was perfect for us. Any longer, we would have been bored, especially since we're not the type to hang out on a beach all day long.

We certainly enjoyed the food and never got tired of eating Greek food, although someimte we felt all we did was eat. The local wines were good and inexpensive. Lunch of gyros were inexpensive and delicious - Go to Lucky's in Fira!!! We could have spent less on our meals by skipping the wine and beer, but even with the drinks, the meals were very reasonable.

I think Fira was one of my favorite places. I just loved sitting on our terrace enjoying the views of the caldera. Both ports of Naxos and Paros were very nice. I liked the small streets of Naxos and the beaches of Paros.
My next trip? Italy in November with Dawn! Time to start planning.

WEB SITES USED:
http://www.gtp.gr/ Greek Travel Pages (search boat schedules) http://www.dilos.com/ Travel page on Greece. Good site for hotels. http://www.greektravel.com/ Matt Barrett's guide to Greece. http://www.attalos.gr/ Hotel Attalos in Athens http://www.enigmahotel.com/index.html Enigma Apartments in Fira, Santorini http://www.greekhotel.com/ Very good web site of hotels in Greece http://www.greekhotel.com/cyclades/paros/paroikia/asterias/h ome.htm Hotel Asterias, Paros http://www.greekhotel.com/cyclades/naxos/chora/apollon/home. htm Hotel Apollon in Naxos http://www.naxosnet.com Naxos Island http://www.globalrefund.com I recently found the tax refund web site, which has maps of airports and the locations of the refund offices. The phone number for the Global Refund Office is 800-566-9828, Fax 845-348-1549. You can fax a request to have your refund traced. Be sure to provide your name, phone/fax number, and address on your cover page; and provide a copy of your receipts.

DINING: We found the food in Greece to be very inexpensive. Local wines were very good. We even purchased a 5 liter container of local white wine to keep in our room, which was only about $4.70! After a couple of days when we were heading to the next island, we poured the wine into 2 empty water bottles. We never did finish it as there was too much! The beer selection was limited, but their local beer was also good. The gyros were delicious and for about $1.15, great deals for lunch (or breakfast). Most of the menus had the same typical Greek dishes as well as a variety of seafood and fish dishes. The meze platters can serve as a main meal as they are filling. We did this a couple of times.

FIRA, SANTORINI
The Flame of the Volcano Phone: 0286-25245 Visa accepted
This restaurant is on the main street of Fira, heading towards Firastefani, about 100 meters past the cable car. We enjoyed fried calamari, an eggplant spread, taramasolata, moussaka, pork souvlaki, white wine and beer. $31.

Lucky's This little place is across the street and up a block from the local bus stop. We enjoyed delicious gyros! 450DR, or about $1.15. Other gyros (chicken, lamb) were served as well as kebabs. We had lunch here two times as take outs. We took them back to our hotel and enjoyed them on our balcony.

Nickola's Phone: 0286-24550 This place has no menu, but a blackboard of the days specials. We enjoyed taramasolata as an appetizer, then stuff squid with rice and potatoes; Tony had moussaka again! Wine and beer. $17. Very good meal and inexpensive! The place was packed with locals and tourists.

Zafora Phone: 0286-23203 Credit cards accepted
On the caldera rim, next to the cable car. We enjoyed a greek appetizer plate of stuffed vine leaves, feta cheese, eggplant salad, tzatziki, olives. We also had fried eggplant topped with shredded cheese. When the bread was brought out, they also included a small serving of bluecheese dip. For our main entre, I had lamb with cheese and tomatoes wrapped and baked in foil; Tony had fried calamari. We enjoyed a 1/2 bottle of Santorini wine; beer. This was an excellent meal. $37/

NAXOS

Kellari Restaurant Port area of Naxos Phone: 0285-22395
Pizza place with Greek food. We had their margarita pizza. We were also served bread. We had dessert and ouzo complimentary of the manager. We purchased two carafs of wine and while enjoying our chat with the manager, he brought us a caraf of wine, compliments from him. Very nice man. $9. A very inexpensive meal indeed!

KAYE OV ZEPI TO AIM NNAKI Port area
One man was grilling octopus, calamari, cuttle fish, sardines, etc. We dined here two times! The grilled octopus was fabulous! as well as the calamari and cuttle fish. The first night we had two plates of octopus and calamari with beer and wine for about $16; the next night we had three plates: octopus, calamari, and a combination of calamari and cuttle fish. We also tzatziki, 3 carafs of wine and a beer. Paid about $26.
In Apirathos, a hillside town in Naxos, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a taverna. We had a plate of assorted cheese, moussaka (me this time), grilled chicken with potatoes; delicious fresh bread, and a couple of diet cokes. $15.

PAROS

Distrato Cafe
In Paros town in the shopping/tourist area, we enjoyed a grilled sandwich with salami, mozarel, tomatoes, and olives; as well as a meze platter of tzatziki, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, and meat. We obviously ordered too much food. The sandwich was hugh! We could have had the sandwich or the meze platter. We also had 2 house wines and 2 beers. $14.
Porphyra On the waterfront Phone: 23410 Credit cards accepted
Prior to getting to this restaurant, Tony noticed one of the transformers on an electric pole was sparking. He said, "that's not supposed to do that." Well, just as we got to the restaurant, the power went out for the whole port area. Buildings and homes in the distance were fine. So we dined by candle light. Our food selection was limited to foods prepared via gas. We started with an assorted cheese plate and pickled octopus, followed by fried mullet and fried shark. All was delicious, including the shark. We had a bottle of Paros wine (a little pricy), which was very good. $32.

Kutsuras, Naoussa On the waterfront
We were hungry after driving around the island. We enjoyed taramasolata, grilled shrimp with fries, and fried calamari; diet coke and 1/2 liter of white wine. $17. Several of the local fishermen were enjoying their wine and ouzo and singing songs. When do they work?

Zorba's Across the street from the port. A place for gyro's. $3.50 for 2 gyro's and a coke.

Byzantino Near the Cathedral
We had fried eggplant, moussaka, and lamb with vegetables baked in parchment paper; 1/2 liter of wine and beer. $17. The food was very good.

Boudaraki On the south side of the port. Phone: 22297
This restaurant was recommended in the Frommer's guidebook. We Skipped having an appetizer. We had lamb cooked in a ceramic pot; I had a delicious meal of chicken, mushrooms, and bits of bacon in a cream, garlic sauce. It was rich and delicious. Their menu was different than the typical Greek menus. We also had their local white wine. This was one of our best meals. $17.
Picnic Lunch:
For our 5 hour boat trip from Paros to Piraeus/Athens, we went to the grocery store that morning and purchased a picnic lunch. I had read that the food on the boats were expensive. We purchased a loaf of fresh baked bread, cheese, salami, taramasolata, and marinated octopus. We also bought a can of dolmades, but didn't eat them. So, with our food and local wine, we enjoyed a delicious meal for about $8.

ATHENS

Kouklis Ouzerie Tripodon, 14, Plaka
This place serves a dozen different mezes. The waiter brings a hugh serving platter where you can pick and choose which meze you want. We had tzatziki, eggplant, meatballs, calamari with onions and escarole, and stuffed vine leaves. There were other plates to choose from such as beans, sausage, etc. The choice of plates changes (maybe on a daily basis). A bottle of house red Krasi wine as well as a bottle of water is included in the meal. Delicious meal! $19.
Zeidwron 10 Agion Anargiron, near the Iroon square. Phone: 3215-368
Behind our hotel a couple of blocks away is the Psiri area. There were lots of restaurants in this area. We didn't see too many tourists, but locals, especially young people. For lunch Tony had a sausage and peppers in tomato-based sauce and I had pork, cheese, and vegetables baked in parchment. Beer, wine. $21.

Taverna Platanos 4 Diogenous Street, Plaka
We had a hugh meal. Two spinach pies (one is large enough to share), eggplant salad, lamb with eggplant and lamb with peas. We had a bottle of Santorini Boutari white wine. Delicious, filling meal. $29. A Frommer's recommendation.

Taverna Sigalas #2 Plateia Monastiraki Square, across the metro.
Donar kebabs for lunch with 2 beers and 1/2 liter of white wine. $14. Delicious kebabs. This restaurant is filled both at lunch and dinner. The restaurant next door is owned by the same owner. Walking by these two places in the a.m. you can see the large gyros being cooked. By the afternoon, they are practically gone.

Byzantino 18, Kidathineon Street Plaka
Our last meal in Athens. We enjoyed delicious calamari, fried zucchini with garlic dip; hard cheese; and eggplant/cheese croquettes; 1/2 liter of white wine. $20.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179489960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179489960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179489960/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:40:29 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Paris, France

May 18th, Friday: I woke up about 8am and got ready to head out to the airport. After a quick clean up of the apartment, I lugged my two bags down three flights of stairs. That was not fun, as the staircase curves and the steps are narrow on one side. However, I managed well.

I stopped by the bakery where there was a line of customers. This was my last chance to enjoy the bakery aroma. I wanted to catch a taxi by 9am and was getting a little worried, as the line was moving slowly. I finally got to the front and ordered my breakfast (my cheese bread). Nadia was so sweet, as she added some goodies to my bag (olive bread, fig bread, and high fiber type of bread with raisins) and didn't charge me for the extras. With a kiss on each cheek, Nadia wished me well and I quickly walked off to rue Rivoli to hail a cab. I only waited a minute or two when one pulled up.

The ride was quick and inexpensive (7.80 euros). The driver kept telling me he could take me to the airport for 30 euros (I read it was closer to 50-60 euros) and I could tell he was angry I only wanted a ride to the train station. In any case, I told him I already had my pre-paid bus ticket. We arrived at Gare de Lyon just as the Air France bus pulled up for its 9:30am departure. I could have taken the 10am or even the 10:30am bus, but because the ride into Paris was very slow and it took over an hour to get in because of the morning traffic, I wanted to have extra time to get to the airport. I ended up getting to CDG 3 hours early, although the time went by quickly.

The flight to Philadelphia was quite smooth and uneventful. Lousy food again! I did purchase two small bottles of wine for the flight home. There's a small café in the airport past security. I noticed a couple that did the same thing. Tony picked me up and we headed into Wilmington for dinner along the waterfront (Iron Hill Brewery http://www.ironhillbrewery.com/), as it would have been too late for dinner after we got home (just over a 2 hour drive). For dinner I had moules et frites, a nice selection to end my Paris trip.

I really had a great time in Paris. Nine days was not enough for me, but I was able to see a lot of new places on this trip. I didn't get the chance to do a night Seine boat cruise, nor did I get to any of the fashion shows. I certainly got my fill of street markets, food dining experiences, and wine.

Everyone that Louisa and I met were friendly and helpful. We didn't feel or see any animosity towards Americans.

I was glad that I rented the apartment in the Marais. Although Louisa and I didn't cook anything, it was nice to have the refrigerator to store our snacks and wine. With the wonderful bakery in our building, there was no need to make our own breakfasts. We also didn't use the washer/dryer. The price per night was excellent and was less than any inexpensive hotel that I found. For my return trip to Paris, I'll probably rent an apartment. I just need to decide whether to rent the same one (or one in the same area) or one on the left bank.

Now that I'm back, I need to finish organizing for my trip to Rome in October for my Mediterranean/Black sea cruise. And in October 2008 my cousin Reenie and I will head to China.

Au revoir!

Monique

Web sites:

http://www.paris.org/ Paris Pages
http://www.rentparis.com/details.php?l=en&id=25 This is the apartment I rented in the Marais
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage?_CMD=cmdHome pageUK SNCF for train schedules
http://en.parisinfo.com/ Paris Information
http://www.paris-update.com/index.htm Paris Update - A weekly guide
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/ Paris walking tours
http://www.parismarkets.net/ Paris Markets
http://www.v1.paris.fr/EN/Living/markets/markets.asp Extensive Paris market schedules
http://www.paris.org/Metro/ Paris Metro
http://www.dininginfrance.com/online_restaurant_guides.htm Dining in France
http://parisvoice.com/index.cfm Paris voice
http://www.parismarais.com/ Paris Marais

http://www.justtourfrance.com/index.htm Just Tour France
http://www.amiens.fr/decouvrir/tourisme/index.asp Amiens Tourist office & Information
http://dijoon.free.fr/bestof/accueil.htm Dijon Tourist Information
http://www.ville-st-germain-en-laye.fr/en/index.html St. Germain-en-Laye
http://www.reims-tourisme.com/ Reims Tourism

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/3956056284 Slow Talk France
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2 Fodors Europe Forum
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/paris/ Frommer's Paris

Spending nine nights in Paris gave me the opportunity to try so many great restaurants. I had a long list to choose from but felt I made some very good selections. I have to say all my meals on this trip were wonderful. There was one dish (the red mullet at Bistro Lepicurien) that I didn't care for, but they served the best fabulous foie gras salad. I would return to any of these restaurants although my top favorites were: Bistrot de l'Oulette, Chez Janou, L'as du Fallafel, Chez Marianne, Les Ombres (for a splurge dinner) and Robert et Louise. The prices listed are what I paid for my meals. Exchange rate was (ugh!) about $1.37 to the Euro. Louisa also enjoyed these restaurants.

Restaurant Chez Julien
1, rue du Point-Louis-Philippe, Paris IV
Tel: 01 42 78 31 64
Closed Sundays.
25 Euro menu. Fricassee mushrooms in a white wine sauce; baked salmon in a tomato provencale sauce and vegetables; Nougat glas with a raspberry puree for dessert. Shared a small bottle of Sancerre red wine. Total 33€. This was an expensive lunch but a nice start to my trip. We wanted ti sit outside on the terrace (with a great view of the Saint Germain Church) but it was on the chilly side and the tables were not set up.

L'as du Fallafel
34, rue des Rosiers, Paris IV
Tel: 01 48 87 63 60
Since we had an expensive lunch (above), Louisa and I decided to go cheap for dinner. We each ordered their Fallafel special (6.50€): A large pita bread over stuffed with fallafel, hummus, grilled eggplant, cabbage, radish, tomato, cucumber. On the table was hot sauce, which we added to our sandwich. This was quite filling and so delicious! We shared a small bottle of red wine (9€). Total 15.50€.

Le Pot de Terre
22, rue due Pot de Fer, Paris V
Tel: 01 43 31 15 51
http://www.lepotdeterre.com
Open Tues to Fri 12:00 to 14:30 and 19:00 to 23:00; Sat & Sun 12:00 to 23:30.
Salad with foie gras (1.50€ supplement); Grilled lamb in a tarragon sauce with whole garlic cloves; potatoes and a puree of peas. Crème brulee for dessert. I noticed on the receipt later that they did not charge me for the foie gras supplement. Their web site offers a complimentary Kir coupon, which we brought with us. We enjoyed sitting outside. This street (around the corner from rue Mouffetard) is filled with restaurants. Total 15.50€.

La Guirlande de Julie Restaurant
25, Place des Vosges, Paris III
Tel: 01 48 87 94 07
info@guirlandedejulie.com
Louisa and I started the evening with a glass of Kir (wine with a touch of black current liquor) and shared the entree (starter dish): Assiette de petits delices, which consisted of 4 small dishes: A tomato-type soup; hard boiled egg topped with (?can't remember) and haricots verts (French green beans), a house terrine, and a salad with a red pepper stuffed with a crab puree. I had the Supreme de Canette rotie la cuisse en nem (duck), with a delicious spring roll stuffed with shredded duck, while Louisa had the Souris d agneau en couscous de legumes (lamb). I think this was one of the more expensive meals on this trip, as the portions were very small, although excellent in flavors and presentation. Total 33€.

Bar-Restaurant des Varietes
12, Passage des Panoramas, Paris II
Tel: 01 42 36 98 09
This place is located in one of the glass covered passages. Lots of shops and cafés. Paté Mason; Beef (very tender!) with potatoes and mushrooms. Glass of red wine (Cotes de Bourg Franc-La Fleur, Bordeaux). Total 14€.

Chez Janou
2, rue Roger Verlomme, Paris III
Tel: 01 42 72 28 41 Make reservations!
Métro: Chemin Vert Daily noon-3pm and 7:30pm-midnight
Moules gratinees provencale (mussels); Risotto with scallops. Shared a bottle of white wine. Very good meal and we enjoyed sitting out on the terrace of this busy, noisy, smokey restaurant! 33.50€.

Les Ombres Restaurant
Musée du quai Branly
25 Quai Branly, Paris VII
Tel: 01 47 53 68 00
http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com
Nearest Station: RER C: Pont de l'Alma (from the St-Michel RER station; Or take the metro to Alma-Marceau and walk across the bridge).
This was our splurge dinner. Louisa and I both ordered the 95€ tasting menu and it was fabulous! We ordered an inexpensive bottle of red wine for 36€ (highest bottle of wine goes for 600€). Fresh baked bread was served along with a small dish of herring on top of a curry sauce. I thought it was an unusual starter. Our dinner began: Garden peas veloute soup flavored with fresh mint, crab meat and thin shellfish jelly. The mint was not overwhelming and I could taste the hint of dill. Next, we had the duck foie-gras terrine with sweet pepper chutney and grained mustard; Grilled rare tuna, hot piperade and "Noirmoutier" potatoes cooked with salted butter; Young lamb, cooked rare, flavored with marjoram and a spinach ricotta gnocchi (which really looked and tasted like a quiche). For dessert: "La grande Dame": Praline-flavored light pastry with lemon like "aux Ombres" This was a really wonderful dinner with excellent service, although expensive. Les Ombres is a place for a special occasion, especially having such wonderful views of the Eiffel Tower right in our face. Once it was dark, the Eiffel Tower sparked at the top of the hour. Very special indeed! I think the most unique dish was the soup.

Chez Marianne
2, rue des Hospitalieres-Saint-Gervais, Paris IV
(corner of rue des Rosiers)
Metro: Hotel-de-Ville
Tel: 01 42 72 18 86
This place (like l'as du Fallafel) is located right around the corner from where we were staying. Chez Marianne is a very busy restaurant, has outdoor seating, as well as a take-away window. It was drizzling when Louisa and I went there to eat, so we sat inside. We had stopped by the day before to make reservations and the man at the counter said no need to. We arrived and there were just a few empty seats. The restaurant turns their tables quickly, so I understood his comment. Chez Marianne serves Middle Eastern and Easter European dishes. Louisa and I ordered our own plate of four mezes (12€ per plate), all different, so we could share and have a good variety. Wow, what wonderful food! We had fallafel, Kefte, hummus (the BEST!), sliced pastrami, tarama, feta cheese, grilled eggplant, olive tapenade, eggplant caviar (the waitress added this to our dish by mistake) and bread. Pita bread was extra, but the bread that was served to us was great: rye and a dark pumpernickle type bread. There were a lot more mezes to choose from and could have easily returned another night! We shared a small bottle of wine. We walked away stuffed! 18€.

La Terrasse du 7eme
2,place de l'Ecole Militaire
Metro : Ecole Militaire
Tel : 01 45 55 00 02
Simple lunch of a Croque Monsieur (toasted ham/cheese sandwich) with a small salad (8€); Glass of white wine (4€).

Robert et Louise
64, rue Vieille du Temple, Paris III
Tel: 01 42 78 55 89
Come to this tiny restaurant if you want a good steak and make reservations, as the owner was turning away people after the restaurant filled up. This place seats about 26 and has for their stove a fireplace along the back wall. Out back they have a turkish squat toilet. Louisa and I ordered the cote de boeuf for 2 for 40€. It was well worth the price, as it was a huge cut of meat. Along with the steak we could order potatoes or a salad, so we got one of each to share. The steak was cooked perfectly rare, the only way to eat red meat in my opinion! With wine and an apple tart for dessert our meal each was 32€.

Bistrot de l'Oulette
38, rue des Tournelles, Paris IV
Tel: 01 42 71 43 33
Metro: Chemin Vert - Bastille
http://www.l-oulette.com/baracane.php
info@l-oulette.com
This is a small restaurant seating about 30 people. One waiter, Josie, took care of the entire dining room and the bar, while the two cooks in the back worked in a tiny kitchen. He always had a smile on his face. Louisa and I met up with some fellow fodorites/slow travelers for dinner (Sam, Anne, & Jim, and Jan). The 6 of us shared a few bottles of house wine after we all started with an appertif. I had the pate w/mushrooms followed by one of my best dishes on this trip: Cassoulet. This is a hearty stew of beans, vegetables, sausage, gizzards, and duck. I couldn't eat all of it and I didn't think to ask to take the rest back to the apartment (do the French allow doggie bags?). Some in the group had dessert while Louisa and I had a Ricard, a licorice flavored liqueur. 50€. Excellent, excellent dinner.

Bistro Lepicurien
86 bis, rue Lepic, Paris XVIII
Tel: 01 42 51 25 51
http://www.bistro-lepicurien.net
This small bistro is located near the Place du Teatre but far enough away that there were no other tourists in the restaurant. I ran into Anne and Jim on a Montmartre walking tour, so we had lunch together. I had a salad with a nice thick slab of terrine foie gras de canard, thinly sliced duck, and gizzards. For my main dish, I had the Filet de Rouget a la Provencale, a red mullet fish with an eggplant puree. The salad was absolutely fabulous but I didn't care for the fish. The salad was large enough to enjoy as my lunch along with the bread, so I could have skipped the fish. 19€.

Le Caveau de l'Isle
36, rue Saint-Louis en l'Isle, Paris IV
Metro: Pont-Marie
Tel: 01 43 25 10 26
http://www.lecaveaudelisle.com
Open everyday lunch & dinner http://www.lecaveaudelisle.com/uk/ contact@lecaveaudelisle.com
This restaurant is located on the Ile Saint Louis, which was about a 20 minute walk from my apartment in the Marais. I started with their terrine de foie gras de canard, confiture de figue, which was served with three slices of crusty bread and decorated with thinly sliced carrots. The fig pureé and foie gras made for a very nice combination of flavors. Next I had Cotes d'agneau grilles, ail en chemise, gratin Dauphinois (lamb chops (2) served with potatoes au gratin) - delicious! I ordered a small bottle of red wine. Although the food was very good, the terrine foie gras salad at Bistro Lepicurien was much better and with a larger portion of foie gras. Also, one disappointing thing was that the diners were all tourists. All other places I dined in had a good mixture of locals and tourists. Very good dinner, but I might not return here because of the tourist-only atmosphere. 39.50€.

Cremerie Restaurant Polidor
41, rue Monsieur-le-Prince, Paris VI
Metro: Odeon
Daily noon - 20:30pm; Mon-Sat 7pm - 12:30am, Sun 7-11pm
Tel: 01-43-26-95-34
Arrive early, as this place fills up quite fast for lunch. The main room seats about 80 people. I had their house terrine, which was quite delicious (4.50€) followed by chicken in a cream sauce and white rice (13€). A couple sitting next to me offered me a glass of wine, as I was only drinking water.

L'epi Dupin
11, rue Dupin, Paris VI
Tel: 01 42 22 64 56
Metro: Severes-Bablyone (then just one block to rue Dupin)
lepidupin@wanadoo.fr
I met up with Susan (a fellow fodorite), who lives in Switzerland, but was in Paris to meet her mother the next day. I had dined at L'epi Dupin several years back and wanted to try it again. I was not disappointed. The place started to fill up at 7pm. We had 7:30pm reservations. The restaurant has a 32€ menu with several items to choose from for each plat, entrée, and dessert. I had an asparagus salad, which was served with cabbage and a cream sauce, followed by Filet Canette - duck with peas, carrots and shallots. The duck was cooked to medium-rare. For dessert I had a baked peach with vanilla ice cream and a thin cookie wafer. We shared a bottle of wine (16€). The first group of diners were mostly tourists and when they left (around 8:45pm - 9pm) the place refilled with local diners. 40€

Tante Jeanne
1, rue de la Dodane, Amiens
Tel: 03 22 72 30 30
For lunch I had a cheese, sausage and mushroom crepe (7€). Louisa and I shared a carafe of white wine (7.50€). The crepe was good but I expected the sausage to be similar to an Italian sausage, not like hotdogs! Total. 10.75€.

Le Bistrot des Halles
10, rue Bannelier, Dijon
Tel: 03 80 49 94 15
Cream of white asparagus soup; Salmon in a light cream sauce. Louisa and I ordered two different desserts to share: Crème Freshe and a Pot a la Parlaine. House white wine (11€). 21.50€. This place had outdoor dining but the day we were there the tables/chairs were not set up. Not sure why, as it was a beautiful day.

Picnic lunch in St. Germain-en-laye
Louisa and took the opportunity to buy some picnic foods at the market: Paté, Morbier cheese, French bread, a small quiche to share, and a pickled cucumber salad. With two individual bottles of red wine (airplane size), our meal came to 7.35€ per person.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/1/1202498340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/1/1202498340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/1/1202498340/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:37:31 -0500 Solo Trip to Italy (May 2006).

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Frederick, Maryland, United States

Home May 29th

I had a wonderful time in Italy and traveling solo was quite easy and comfortable to do. I will certainly not hesitate to go alone again. Of course, if there is a friend that wants to travel with me that is just as independent as me (separating during the day and meeting up for dinner), I would like that too. I enjoyed having my own room and privacy and not worrying about if the other person is have as much fun as me.

I never felt uncomfortable for my safety, although I wouldn't recommend the University area in Bologna late at night.

I loved all the new places I visited, especially Arezzo, Bologna, Parma, Bassano del Grappa and Asolo. And most people know that Venice is my favorite city in Italy.

I especially loved the food in Bologna, the food capitol of Italy! There were always a good variety of foods to choose from.

Lastly, all the people I met, Italian and fellow Fodorites and Slow Talkers were wonderful...well, with the exception of the three restaurants in Bologna. I suppose it's more difficult for a single person to book a table than being with someone else. It all worked out in the end.

Ciao!

Monica

Some useful Italian web sites:

General Information:

http://www.italiantourism.com/ Italy Tourism
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/ Slow Travel Italy - Tons of information.
http://www.fodors.com/ Fodors
http://www.frommers.com/ Frommers
http://p104.ezboard.com/beuropetogo Travelers To Go
http://www.turismo.toscana.it/ttgg/htmle/ttidgge.htm
http://www.welcometuscany.it/
http://www.tuscany.net/
http://www.alltravelitaly.com/Italy/Destination_Guides/Citie s/Florence.htm


Florence and Tuscany:

http://www.laresidenzahotel.com/ Hotel La Residenza
http://www.florence.ala.it/map.htm Florence Map
http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/uffizi/ Uffizi Gallery
http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/welcomeE.html
http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en_default.asp Florence Tourist office
http://www.apt.arezzo.it/default.asp?var=0&lang=eng Arezzo
http://www.arezzocitta.com/tourist%20information.htm Arezzo
http://www.ataf.net/Default_EN.asp Florence Bus Routes

Bologna and Emilia-Romagna region:

http://www.hotelparadisebologna.it/eng/index.htm Hotel Paradise
http://iat.comune.bologna.it/iat/iat.nsf/HomePageE?openpage Bologna Tourist Office
http://www.travelplan.it/bologna_guide_secret_bologna.htm Secret Bologna
http://turismo.parma.it/Inglese/page.asp?IDCategoria=265& ;IDSezione=1107 Parma Tourism
http://www.turismo.ravenna.it/index.php?lang=2 Ravenna Tourism
http://www.ferraranet.it/eng/turismo/turismo.html Ferrara Tourism

Veneto area:

http://www.lacalcina.com/ Pensione La Calcina
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vaporetto_route s.htm Venice Vaporetto
http://www.turismovenezia.it/eng/dynalay.asp?PAGINA=407 Venice Tourist Office
http://www.comune.bassano.vi.it/ Bassano del Grappa
http://www.tours-italy.com/veneto/hilltowns.html Hill towns of Veneto Tour
http://www.asolo.it/turismo/asolo-uk.html Asolo

WHERE I DINED:

Florence:

Caffe Bigallo Enoteca
Via del Proconsolo, 73/75r
Florence, Italy

I enjoyed their 13 euro lunch special of short pasta with zucchini, followed by eggplant parmesan (excellent flavors); glass of wine (pricey at 6 euros but what the heck) and bottled water. 19 Euros.

Antico Fattore
Via Lambertesca 1-3r
Florence, Italy
Closed Sundays
Tele 055-288975
http://www.mega.it/antico.fattore

Crostini Toscana (liver pate nice and warm and creamy); veal scaloppini with porcini mushrooms in a gravy/sauce and parsley; fried battered zucchini flowers. Small bottle of white wine; bread. With my coupon from their Internet web site I received a cute small ceramic plate to hang on the wall at home (in my kitchen), which has the restaurants name. I was also given a small bottle of red wine. This place was evenly mixed with Italians and tourists. Nice interior with block arches, old pictures, B/W, and drawings done in pencil. 31 Euros.

Pitti Caffé
Right across the street from the Pitti Palace (with green awning)

I ordered the 15 Euro special: Risotto con frutta di mare; ensalata caprese; 1/4 liter of white wine (4 euros). The buffalo mozzarella was huge and very fresh and was served with ripe tomatoes and lettuce with basil leaves. Nice balsamic and olive oil. 19 Euros total.

Ristorante La Martinicca
Via del Sole 27/r - Firenze
Tel. 055-218928
http://www.ristorante-lamartinicca.com/index_ing.php

This restaurant was recommended to me by the gentleman at my hotel. I ordered 1/4 liter of red wine, the Ravioli Tartufo in a cream sauce and topped with fresh asparagus (absolutely the best!), steak Florentine (approx. 27 oz - no, I didn't eat it all); Vin Santo with biscotti for dessert; bottled water. 40.50 Euros. This was an excellent meal! After the place filled up, the service slowed down. Between two rooms filled with people, only two waiters took care of the guests. Highly recommended. Just sit back and relax and enjoy the meal.

Ristorante Le Fontincine
Via Nationale, 79r
Florence

Make sure you make dinner reservations for the back room, as you will pass the open kitchen and the wonderful display of their antipasti. The back room is filled with great paintings on the wall - very colorful. Service was great. My friend June (with her daughter Jill) and I dined together. The restaurant starts with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. For my meal, I ordered the antipasti platter, which various foods are selected for me (marinated artichoke, stuffed tomato, marinated mushrooms, salami, olives, a quiche of some sort, marinated onions, and eggplant . For my entrée, I ordered the Osso Bucco with spinach, which was excellent. June ordered a wonderful bottle of wine for the three of us. 28 Euros.

Osteria del Cinghaile Bianco
Borgo S. Jacopo, 43r
http://www.cinghialebianco.it/
Tele: 055-215706
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 18.30 - 22.30; Saturday, Sunday, 12.00 - 15.00 / 18.30 - 22.30

Catch this place on a Sunday, as most places are closed that day. I ordered their mixed meat antipasti, which included wild boar, salami, etc., grilled eggplant that was infused with garlic and hot pepper flakes; cheese and two crostini Toscana. For my entrée, I ordered their Papparadelle Cinghaile, wide pasta noodles with wild boar meat. I just love this dish! Along with a ½ liter of wine, my meal came to 26 Euros. This was the second time I dined here and is one of my favorites in Florence.

Montefioralle (Greve in Chianti)

Ristorante La Castellana
via di Montefioralle 1
Montefioralle (Greve in Chianti)
Tele 055-853134
http://www.ristorantelacastellana.it

Location: As you head up the hill to Montefioralle, at the beginning of the town, it's on the right and the outdoor dining area, covered with an awning, is on the left side, facing the valley. The menu had a very nice selection of dishes. Lunch was excellent: I ordered just a Primi: Pappardelle al sugo di cinghiale (wide pasta with wild boar meat), water, and a glass of red wine; Cantucci and Vin Santo for dessert - all for 20 euros. The pappardelle was fabulous, which is one of my favorite pastas.

Arezzo:

Buca di San Francesco
Via San Francesco 1 (and the corner of via Cavour)
Phone: 0575/23-271
http://www.bucadisanfrancesco.it

I had riboletta, followed by Lomba (sliced pork), which was served with Tuscan white beans and polenta. I also had Vin Santo and biscotti for dessert. 16 Euros. This place fills up quickly so get there when it opens or make reservations.

Bologna Dining:

Il Portico
Via A. Righi, 11 - 40126 Bologna
http://www.appetitovienmangiando.it/Recensioni/portico.html

I dined here three times, once for lunch and twice for dinner.

For lunch: Delicious pizza with sausage and a ¼ liter of merlot. 9 Euros.

For dinner the same day (you must read my journal of my problems at three other restaurants that first evening in Bologna): Tortellini with Gorgonzola and walnuts, which was excellent and rich. Veal Milanese cutlet; ½ liter of white wine and bottled water. 22 Euros.

For dinner: I started with their buffalo mozzarella, which was the best I have ever had! I also had their Bucatini alla Matriciana (with red sauce, onions , and bacon); ¼ liter of white wine and bottled water. Limoncello for an after dinner drink. 22.30 Euros.

Osteria dell' Orsa
Via Mentana 1F
University District

My hotel recommended this to me. I had a simple lunch of their pasta Bolognese, which was excellent and 1/4 liter of red wine. 8 Euros.

Trattoria Marisposa
Via Bertiera, 12
(across the street from Hotel Paradise where I stayed)

I dined with two couples (Colleen, Jim and Pam, Gary). We had a great time and very good food served at this little Trattoria. I had the mortadella and Parmesan cheese, followed by the lasagna Bolognese, the best I have ever had! Red wine that we shared, and bottled water. 18 Euros.

Ravenna:

Ristorante La Gardela
Via Ponte Marino, 3

This was a place that served huge portions at reasonable prices. I started with their tortellini stuffed with ricotta and spinach in a tomato/cream sauce, followed by their fried mixed platter of shrimp, calamari, and zucchini. I shared a liter of wine with friends Pam and Gary; bottled water. 20 Euros.

Parma:

La Barricata Osteria
Borgo Marodolo, 8/A
43100 Parma
Tel. +39 0521 281307
Cross the Ponte di Mezzo and take the 4th left onto Borgo Marodolo.

My cousin Ernesto ordered dinner for Santy and me. We started with a platter of mixed meats (proscuitto, salami, etc.), followed by tortelli with ricotta and spinach. Santy and I had cookies for dessert. This was a small restaurant and no tourists! Since Ernesto ordered without any menu, as this is one of the places that he and Santy dine in. I would imagine this place was reasonably priced. The food was excellent. Santy also ordered a delicious fried cheese, shaped into a bowl, which was filled with a creamy rucola.

Trattoria del Tribunale
Vicolo Politi 5
(actually on via Farini, south from the Piazza Garibaldi)

Ernesto again bought my meal. I ordered a large mixed salad (7 euros). It was nice to have a salad for a change for lunch. There were also several lunch specials that looked very good.

S. Martino
Via S. Martino, 2
Tele: 0521-960429
Reservations highly recommended

This is a wonderful seafood and pizza place. The place filled very quickly. There is outdoor and indoor dining. I started with the mussels in white wine (7.50 Euros) followed by the spaghetti with clams (7.50 Euros). White wine, water; limoncello for an after dinner drink. Ernesto paid for my meal. Very reasonable prices at this restaurant. Highly recommended!

Venice restaurants:

Alla Zattare
Rio Terra Foscarini, 795.

Located right on the Guidecca canal. Wonderful views. This place was perfect for outdoor dining. I had an excellent pizza with eggplant (8.50 Euros), 2 glasses of wine. Total 17 Euros.

Trattoria alla Rivetta
Castello 4625 (on Salizzada San Provolo)

I dined here in 2003 and really liked it. It's a busy restaurant, so make reservations. If you get there a little early, they'll serve you a glass of prosecco while you wait for your table. I shared the fried calamari and shrimp with my friend Beth along with a 1/2 liter of Prosecco; Noodles with crab meat. Very good meal. 22 Euros.

Trattoria Pizzeria Antico Capon
Campo Santa Margherita, 3004

I had a small lunch of pasta with pesto sauce and a mixed salad. The pasta was very good, but the salad was just okay, however, I hate iceberg lettuce. I had one glass of white wine. They don't serve carafes of wine so the waiter opened a bottled and just charged me 3.50 Euros for the glass. Nice outdoor dining in the Campo S. Margherita. 20 Euros.

Trattoria da Remigio
On Calle Bosello near Scuola San Giorgio dei Greci, Castello/Riva Degli Schiavoni
Vaporetto: San Zaccaria (follow Riva degli Schiavoni east until you come to white Chiesa della Pietà; turn left onto Calle della Pietà, which jags left into Calle Bosello)
041-523-0089 Reservations required.

I had dinner with Beth again. I started my meal with the antipasti seafood (with a couple of Items I couldn't ID), followed by delicious gnocchi with a seafood sauce.

Rosticceria San Bartolomeo
Campo San Bartolomeo

Risotto with shrimp and zucchini and bottled water. 7.70 Euros. This is a great place for a quick lunch, which serves food already cooked. You can also see the wide variety of foods to choose from.

Ae Oche
Calle Tintor, S. Croce 1552

This place has several locations. I started with their caprese, which was quite filling and very good. Unfortunately/fortunately they forgot my order/but that was okay since I was full from the caprese. I also had a few bites of Beth's pasta Carbonara. Wine and water. 17 Euros.

La Piscina
Located at Pensione La Calcina
Dorsoduro 780 - 30123 Venezia - Italy
Tel: 041.520.64.66
Fabulous dinner. I got a discount because I stayed at the hotel. Prices are reasonable to a little high but well worth it for the quality of the food and service provided. 38 Euros. I had their 32 Euro dinner where you can choose 2 entrees, dessert and a glass of wine. I had their tagliatelle with salmon and green beans in a butter sauce, followed by duck with Gorgonzola and a breaded stuffed tomato. For dessert, I had their vanilla gelato topped with slices of pears and amaretto. Yummy! I also ordered a second glass of wine and bottled water.

Taverna San Trovaso
Dorsoduro, 1016, Venice
Phone: 39-041-520-3703
http://www.tavernasantrovaso.it/
Tue-Sun 7-9:50pm.

Make sure you arrive on time and book in advance! This place opens at 7pm and when I got there at 7:30 for my reservations, it was 98% filled. Good food, reasonable prices, fast service. I had the scallop's gratin and then their spaghetti with assorted shellfish in a red sauce (shrimp, mussels, clams, fish). Every thing was very good. I also ordered a side dish of spinach, and mushrooms (30 Euros). I dined here two times before, the first being in 1998. I always try to dine at a new place but will definitely keep San Trovaso on my list to return to.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/4/1129375800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/4/1129375800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/4/1129375800/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:35:09 -0500 Hawaii 2005 - Return to Paradise!

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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Return to paradise! Tony and I had honeymooned in Hawaii in 1988 and returned again in October 2003. We promised each other we wouldn't wait another 14 years to return to Hawaii. We had forgotten (although always in the back of our minds) about Hawaii's beauty, the food, the friendly people, the culture, and its magic.

For this trip, we chose Oahu (of course!) and the Big Island (BI). My Mother had taken my brother and me for a weekend trip a few months before we moved to Florida back in 1979 - I grew up on Oahu, 4th grade through high school. I remember the sights we saw on the BI, but we had barely scratched the surface. Our itinerary for this trip included four nights on Oahu, six on the BI, and one last night on Oahu before our long flight home.

Hotels:

I made reservations again at the Hale Koa, which is a military-only resort in Waikiki (fronting one of the best beaches in Waikiki). I selected a garden room, $110/night. The perks are great at this resort: No taxes, $4/day to park the car in their secured garage, fabulous grounds, beautiful pools, a PX, gym, bars, casual and fine dining options. For the price of what we paid and the amenities, this hotel is equal to most other expensive resorts in Waikiki.

For the BI, we decided to stay at the Kilauea Military Camp (http://www.kmc-volcano.com/), also for military and DoD civilians only, located at the Volcano National Park. I wanted a 1-bedroom cottage, but ended up with a 1-bedroom apartment with jacuzzi at the rate of $108. Another bargain! I had read mixed reviews about the Volcano House, and the Kilauea Lodge was out of our price range.

Lastly, I selected the Outrigger Keauhou Resort (http://www.outrigger.com/hotels_detail.aspx?hotel=93), located a few miles south of Kailua-Kona Town. I read great reviews on Trip Advisor, as well as positive comments from my sister-in-law Doris. See my hotel section for my hotel review - we were displeased.

Other Planning:

I booked our flight on Continental Airlines via Houston, as well as Hawaiian Airlines for our inter-island flights. I was happily surprised to find out that Continental Airlines is a Skyteam member, so I will earn miles towards my flight to Rome next year!

I booked, via USAA, rental cars for Oahu (Avis, $93 for the 4 days) and the BI (Hertz, $245 for the 7 days - will also earn miles too). I had read various comments about the importance of renting a 4WD for the BI, but with the sights I wanted to see, we would be fine in a 2WD. I also didn't want to spend $500 on a 4WD!

Frommer's is my favorite guidebook. I still had my Frommer's Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu guidebook from 2002. I purchased the Oahu Revealed and Big Island Revealed books, which are wonderful and packed with great information. Not only do these books provide the normal travel/tourist information, the authors also provide information on places that sometimes even the locals don't know about or places the locals don't want you to discover.

Saturday October 15, 2005:

Ugh! We got up at 4:00am. We had dropped off Lucy, our dog, at our friend's house the night before, which she wasn't too happy about. The drive to the airport was easy, as it was a Saturday. Easy check-in at the kiosk and we were off shortly after. Our flight to Houston was smooth. There was only about 1 hour between flights, but long enough to grab a bite. The food on board Continental is absolutely horrible!! I wonder if all American airline companies serve the same crap. I guess I'm used to the "real" meals on international flights. It was a LONG flight, but we were happy to be in Hawaii. We picked up our rental car and after a quick stop to a jewelry store where I had ordered a Hawaiian heirloom bracelet the previous month, we headed to the Hale Koa, our hotel for four nights.

The afternoon was spent unpakcing some of our clothes, and then enjoying mai tai's at the Barefoot while watching the sunset. We had also shopped a little at the AAFES shop. While enjoying our drinks, we met a couple. He graduated from VMI, the same year as our friend Rick. Rick and Arran had planned to travel with us to Hawaii until Arran realized how long the flight would be, so they backed out.

We walked to Tiki's, which took about 20 minutes, to meet Melissa, a fellow fodorite and friend. We had plans to meet several people, but they had to back out. Dinner was excellent, which we started with the kalua pig quesadillas. They were so good; I was ready to go back to Tiki's to order them. We all ordered a fish dish. I had Ahi. Melissa ordered their signature salmon dish, which with one taste, I knew I should have ordered it instead of the Ahi. Tiki's is a fun place and very lively. It's always a pleasure to sit outside among the tiki lights and seeing the activity on Waikiki beach.

October 16: Breakfast at Koko's café in the hotel. Shopping morning. We drove to the Aloha stadium and shopped a couple of hours. The swap meet is open three days a week and this day was our only opportunity to go there. I made sure I made our travel plans to be on Oahu for this. This is the best place for souvenirs, such as t-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, dresses; quilt products, arts and crafts, jewelry, luggage, various bags/purses, local foods (crack seed, jams, etc), etc. Prices here are much better than in Waikiki. http://www.alohastadium.hawaii.gov/events/swapmeet.html
It can get pretty hot in the sun, so I would recommend wearing a hat, putting on some suntan lotion, and bringing bottled water.

In the afternoon, we spent our time with Tony's sister and her husband, Doris and Bill. They live in Kailua, so we took a walk to the beach. Kailua beach is usually listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was a cloudy afternoon, so we didn't go swimming. We had dinner at the Big City Diner. Apparently the one at Wards is really crowded and noisy. Oh, we did stop at the Pali Lookout before heading to Kailua. Fabulous views!

October 17: Visited an old friend in the morning; also visited the Punchbowl cemetery. Lunch at Ezogiku (ramen noodle shop) in Waikiki (fabulous soups and gyoza), and then beach time next to the Hale Koa. This beach is great: no crowds. Mai tai's at the bar before heading to the Mandarin for dinner with our friend Doris Ching. She works at the University of Hawaii, where my Mom worked back in the 1970's. Doris was my Mom's supervisor, who was always wonderful to Mom. There is a new restaurant there, Plumeria Beach House, which serves a buffet dinner. Wonderful selection of foods. Our other favorite restaurant there is Hoku's for fine dining.

October 18: Day trip around the island. We drove to Hawaii Kai, where I used to live, dropped off some film at Costco, had lunch at Yummy Korean BBQ at Koko Marina; picked up the film. Did a quick drive-by by my house and high school. Boy Hawaii Kai sure has grown!! Hanauma bay is closed on Mondays. Stopped for photo ops at Makapuu point, the blowhole, etc. Checked out the surfers at Sunset beach. Small waves, but lots of surfers out in the water. Walked around Haleiwa - cute, quaint town. There are lovely beaches and parks to visit, including Kualoa Park with Chinaman's Hat Island off shore.

We stopped at the Kukaniloko Birthing Stones, located in the center of the island in Waianae. This is where (during ancient Hawaiian times) women gave birth to potential kings (alii). What's interesting is that the stones are located out in the open field with only a small grouping of palm trees. The trees sticks out like a sore thumb - you can't miss the place. We met Lomiki, who was praying there. Quite a religious man, he explained the place to us and talked about his own spirituality. He believes in keeping the Hawaiian spirit alive.

Dinner at Keo's Thai restaurant. This was our third visit to Keo's and it's still great. Excellent spring rolls, as well as the pad thai and pork with basil. I always enjoy dining at Keo's, as it's beautiful decorated with fresh flowers.

October 19: A.M. flight to Hilo, Hawaii. Sit on the left side of the airplane for great views of Waikiki, Diamond Head, etc., as well as Molokai and Maui. I went to the rental desk to pick up our rental car (Avis), while Tony headed back to the airplane - he left his cell phone on board (he got it back) and headed to Kilauea Crater, which was about a 40 minute drive (http://www.nps.gov/havo/). We spent one night at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC), which is located inside the national park. Lunched in the tiny town of Volcano at Lava Rock Café. Saimin for lunch - just "ok." After eating at Ezogiku, no other place compares. Ordering one of their huge salads or burgers was probably a better choice.

Overcast afternoon. We stopped at the information center to find out about seeing lava live and in action. We drove around the crater (counter clockwise) and stopped at various points: steam vents, Jagger museum, the rift (make sure you walk out to see it and not just where you park your car); and Halemaumau crater. It had gotten coller so after visiting the steam vents, we made a quick visit to the KMC general store where I purchased a sweatshirt. I was glad I had it for the afternoon.

We checked into our room, had a snack of pupu's that Tony purchased from the bowling center, and then headed down the Chain of Craters road around 5:00pm to see the lava. The drive down took about 40 minutes. Along the way we stopped to take some photos of the steam vent coming up from the edge of the water. A young couple from Romania had car problems, so I lent them my cell phone so they could verify their car rental agency was sending someone to fix the car. In the meantime, I was getting anxious to get to the end of the road before it got dark. The young man was able to confirm that someone was coming to rescue them, so we headed off.

There is a place to see Hawaiian petroglyphs, but we didn't have time to stop. I recommend you head down around 3:30pm to see the petroglyphs and to get to the end of the road before sunset. Many cars were already parked along side of the road. We walked about 1/2 mile just to get from the car to the park ranger building (bathrooms are located there). We hiked another 1/2 mile to get to the end of the road where the had lava spilled over the road. Walking along the lava is tricky and we were glad we started our hike in the daylight to see what we were really getting ourselves into. I couldn't imagine starting in the dark, not having seen any path or knowing which way to go. We followed bright orange markers for another 1/2 - 1/3rd mile. In the distance was a bright red glow. The lava was approximately 2 miles away. There was just no way to get closer. Looking up the mountain, you can see the lava flowing down in some spots, as most of it moves underground. Wear good shoes and wear pants. I fell on my shins, as I tripped while walking back. I think my legs would have been worse off if I had worn shorts. Thank goodness my camera wasn't damaged. It had fallen off my shoulder and hit the ground hard. Another person also fell. I'm sure that happens every night to someone. Take your time walking and bring flashlights for EACH person in your group. It's pitch black once the sun goes down. The sky is absolutely fabulous with all the stars. I have never seen that many stars before. Although we couldn't get close to the lava, it was a fun evening and great experience. We found out later that had we hiked closer to the water rather than inland, we could have seen the lava better.

Dinner at Thai Thai in Volcano town. Excellent food, a little slow on the service. The place filled up quickly with hungry diners. Make reservations; or do take out. Our room at KMC had a Jacuzzi, so I soaked for a while.

October 20: Since we had an overcast day yesterday, we drove around Kilauea crater again so I could take better pictures. It wasn't that much better, but some blue skys were popping out and it was warmer. We also walked thru the Thurston Lava tube and Devastation trail. Part of Devastation trail looks like the moon! Plant life is slowly growing back.

Kona was our next stop for five nights. We stopped at Punaluu Beach Park, with its black sand beach. Saw turtles in the water. Neat sight. Along the way to Kona, we could see where lava had flowed down to the sea leaving large flowing lava paths. Approaching Kona, I was amazed at how high we were (2000 feet). I expected (from looking at maps) to be at sea level. By the time I had to turn left onto Kamahameha Road to get to our hotel, we had gone down to the 500 feet level.

We checked in at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort in the late afternoon. Disappointed with our room, (classified as a "partial ocean view" room carpeting was horrible, a torn bedspread, full sized beds instead of our requested king bed) we asked at the desk for a better room. We also wanted to price a room, which was considered a deluxe ocean view room, hoping it woulnd't be too expensive to upgrade. We were given a key to room 515 to check it out. Nice room, carpeting was much better but still needed to be replaced; great views from the window: facing the pool and ocean to the left. Back at the desk we asked how much to upgrade. No charge. Tony and I were very happy about that. We quickly re-packed and moved to the new room. Thank goodness we didn't unpack everything!

The Verandah Lounge is a great place to watch the sunset, see turtles basking in the sun on the rocks, and drinking mai tai's (although the mai tai's were much better and less expensive at the Hale Koa). We enjoyed our drinks and kalua pig quesadillas (not as good as at Tiki's) while listening to live Hawaiian music. Good fish dinner later at their restaurant.

October 21: Breakfast at Kimo's in Kona. Cheap and good selection of foods. Don't leave your dish alone at the table, as birds will fly in and proceed to eat the food. Dropped off some laundry, which we picked up on a different day, and made a quick trip to Costco to drop off some film. Back in town, we walked around the outdoor market, visited Hulihee Palace (fabulous koa wood furniture, especially the 80" diamater table built from one log!), Mokuaikaua Church and King Kamehameha's restored Hawaiian temple, Ahu'ena Heiau, all must-see sights. The last three sights listed encompass Royal Hawaii, the era of Missionaries, and Ancient Hawaii.

After lunch at the L&L Drive in for local plate lunch, we drove to see the Painted Church, stopping along the way to pick up some Kona Coffee. The church is small with beautiful paintings inside. While Tony was waiting for me in the parking lot, he met Frank, from Baltimore. Frank had walked out the church and asked Tony, "Are you from Frederick?" Tony didn't know I had signed the guestbook, so he was a little surprised. We chatted with Frank and his wife Joanne for a while. They had dinner reservations at our hotel, so we figured we'd see them there.

With not enough time to visit the Place of Refuge, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up, stopping along the way to pick up some pupu's for dinner. Friday night is prime rib night, but we didn't want a large buffet dinner. We enjoyed our food and drink, while watching the sunset. We met up with Frank and Joanne later while we sat at the pool area. Later, we had snacks and drinks at Drysdale's, located at the Keauhou shopping plaza.

October 22: What a long day for us! We drove up to Kohala after picking up our laundry and dropping of more film at Costco. Got gas too - best prices for gas in Hawaii is at Costco. First stop of the day trip was at the Waikoloa resort. We walked along the area to see the Hawaiian Anaehoomalu petroglyphs. Awesome sight. We saw many petroglyphs. Lots of figures and circles. We also had lunch at Island Fish and Chips, located in the food court. I had Ono fish and chips, while Tony had a fish sandwich. It was very good and quite filling.

Next, we stopped at the Puukohola Heiau, which King Kamehameha had built after being told he would be able to conquer all of Hawaii if the Heiau was built. Building the heiau would favor the war god, Kuka'ilimoku. Thousands of "volunteers" helped build the heiau. See http://www.nps.gov/puhe/ for details. It was quite impressive.

Waimea is a pretty town. The hills are lush green. We shopped a little before heading north on Rte 250 to the small town of Hawi. Cute little artist town. We headed east and at the end of the road, we enjoyed the wonderful views of Pololu lookout and valley. We were told it takes 1/2 hour hike to the black sand beach below and almost an hour to get back up, so we decided against it. We stopped to see the original King Kamehameha statue. The copy is located in Honolulu.

Hapuna beach is beautiful! We didn't go swimming since it was getting late, so we just sat and enjoyed the views for a short while. With a quick stop at Costco to pick up my film (and mai tai mix) we headed back to our hotel. We had also stopped and picked up some dark rum. These two purchases was about the cost of two mai tai's at the hotel. It's a great way to save on the cost of drinks, especially if you are on a budget.

We had dinner at a Filipino restaurant in Kona - Tante's. Very good food, but they didn't have any lumpias! We were so disappointed. I found the restaurant listed in the Alternative Hawaii web site. It's a good source of information on where locals go do dine, as well as sights to see throughout the islands.

October 23: At the grocery store at Keauhou shopping plaza, we picked up sandwiches for breakfast. We didn't want to dine at the hotel and didn't want a whole lot of food. After stopping at Costco to get gas, we drove to Mauna Kea (http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/) on Saddle road. It was a rainy day in that area. Once we got to the Onizuka visitor's center information center, we were told because of the rain and possible ice, we would need a 4WD to get to the top of Mauna Kea, as well as being able to participate in a caravan to tour the observatories. Free tours are provided on the weekends. We stayed to watch a movie, which lasted an hour. The other reason for the hour long movie is to get everyone acclimated to the elevation. Pregnant women, people with respriatory problems and children under 16 are advised not to go to the top of Mauna Kea. That also included anyone that had scuba dived within 24 hours. After the film, the tour guide announced that 2 couples were in need of a ride. No one volunteered. One guy said NO to Tonys request. One couple finally said to use we could ride with them (Daryl and Phyllis). Nice couple. They had overheard our conversation about not having a 4WD and said to themselves they would ask us to join them if no one else volunteered.

The first 5 miles was unpaved and within seconds of getting onto this unpaved road, we all understood the need for a 4WD. Average speed was 17mph. As we got towards the top, the sun would peek out but it still rained lightly. We saw several rainbows. The first visit was to the Keck observatories. We were allowed to see them, but behind glass. The room was quite cold! See http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/. We also drove to see the University of Hawaii telescope. There are 13 telescopes in use today. It would have been a beautiful sight if it had been a clear day. Instead, the temperature was in the low to mid 40s. We both wore pants and I also had a sweatshirt and jacket. It was very cold up top.

I think the drive down the mountain was worse than going up. I kept thinking the jeep would go over the side. Back at the information center, we warmed up, and then headed down the road. Along the way, I stopped to take photos of the sunset. It was beautiful! We were about 2,000 feet high and we could see all the way towards Kona. Since it was getting late, we decided to have dinner in Waimea. We found the Waimea Ranch House, which had excellent steaks. It was expensive, but well worth it...well, except for my $9 glass of wine. I should have asked to see the wine list.

October 24: Breakfast consisted of bagels at the Internet café at the Keauhou shopping plaza so Tony could check his work schedule. Ran into a guy that Tony used to work with at USAirways 15 years ago. We talked with Rick for about 40 minutes. I was anxious to head out for the day. Once on the road, heading to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (http://www.nps.gov/puho/home.htm), we stopped at the little town of Captain Cook and picked up a plate lunch for the road. Grocery stores are a great place to pick up inexpensive lunches, especially the plate lunches. The trunk of the car would be hot enough to keep the chicken and kalbi ribs warm. The historical park entry fee was $5. Sitting along the ocean, the park grounds are beautiful. The skies were blue and just perfect for picture taking. Turtles sunned themselves while they slept either on rocks or the beach. Everyone must stay at least 15 feet away from any turtle. Hawaiians who broke any laws (kapu) could go to this place of refuge and be saved from death. A lot of the area has been restored, including some of the thatched buildings. There is also a part of remains of a structure, which the waves had destroyed. Long gone is the name of this structure.

Next to the park is a great place for snorkeling, just right of the boat ramp. We had lunch there while watching people snorkel. For $7.50, we had four sections of Kalbi ribs, 3-4 shoyu chicken thighs, two large scoops of rice and 1 scoop of macaroni salad. It was very good.

I should have bought my mask and snorkel when we first got to Kona. I wanted to see Kealakekua Bay, so we headed there after lunch. People were kayaking and swimming. The area was clouding up, so we drove back to our hotel and hit the beach next door: Kahaluu. It's one of the best places for snorkeling. There are only two small areas to enter the water that is sandy; the rest is lava rocks. We wore our reef shoes, which is highly recommended. We had a nice swim and laid out in the sun for a short while. I decided we would purchase a mask/snorkel in the evening to use the next day.

For dinner, we headed to town and dined at Rios Seafood restaurant. My dinner was excellent; however, Tony was very disappointed with the portion of his fish. It was quite small. The waiter took off a few bucks, but that didn't appease Tony's stomach. Not thinking about it, we should have returned his plate for another order.

We walked around Kona, purchased a few things, including the mask and snorkel from an ABC store. I bought one set since we would have to take turns watching our things on the beach anyway. I also bought a large floral bag for my purchases. After Tony paid with his credit card, he noticed the man didn't return his card. We checked his wallet and the guy just stood there and stated he did return the card. Not so. Well, he had it under the register drawer, but had pretended to look around for it. We felt he was just hoping we would walk off without the card.

October 25: This was one of my favorite days and I kick myself for not snorkeling the first day we got to Kona. We snorkeled at Kahaluu beach and it was such an awesome experience. Turtles were everywhere. One just "hung out" and munched on coral. I was only a few feet away from the turtle who didn't mind being watched. Another one swam directly towards me, so I just floated and let the turtle decide which way to turn. She (or he) turned to the right and brushed my arm with its flipper. Cool! I saw many types of fish: Yellow tangs, puffers, Moorish Idols, butterfly fish, trigger fish (Humuhumunukunukuapuaa - the state fish), etc. I would have snorkeled every morning and afternoon had I known how great Kahaluu was with the abundance of fish. I felt it was better than at Hanauma Bay on Oahu. Oh well, lessons learned: Don't wait for the last day to do something special. AND bring an underwater camera!! I totally forgot to buy one.

After our showers and checking out, we drove to Kona for lunch at Lulu's. Again, Tony had a bad meal. His burger was way overcooked, so he had it returned. The second one came out better; however, he thinks it was one of those pre-cooked patties that just get heated up. My spicy chicken quesadillas were pretty good. Service was very slow - only one cook - yet there were only 6 customers when we arrived.

We had time to top off our gas tank, pick up my last roll of film, and then head to the airport. We didn't wait too long for our flight. I liked the openess of the airport. It reminded me of an outdoor shopping area. We sat separately, since I wanted to be at a window seat on the right side. Tony sat a few rows back. It was neat seeing Kahoolawe, the smallest island in the chain, which is uninhabited. Coming into Honolulu, the views weren't as good as leaving from there.

Since we were spending one night only in Honolulu, we didn't rent a car, as it was not cost effective. Instead, we took the Airport Waikiki express bus ($14 per person round trip). No need for advanced reservations - just head outside and to the bus stop (pay on board). There are workers in bright yellow shirts to assist passengers.

Back at the Hale Koa, we checked into room 839, a room at the end with a corner balcony. We had views towards the mountains and on the other side towards the ocean. Not bad for garden view prices. We had to have one last round of mai tai's at the barefoot bar. Ran into Geri, one of the waitresses.

Last minute shopping at the PX, then off to Duke's for dinner. Doris, Tony's sister, arrived an hour late. We had appetizers (ahi poke rolls - the best!) and a round of drinks to tie us over before Doris arrived. Both of us ordered the Opah, which was prepared with a macadamia/breadcrumb crust and pan fried. Yum! Tony wanted the Ono, but they were out of it. In fact, the waiter knew we were waiting for Doris, so he put two Opah's on hold for us. There is also a nice salad bar, which I enjoyed the Caesar salad and fresh baked bread. There is live entertainment nightly. We had made our reservations the week before; otherwise it would have been a very long wait. For dessert, we all shared the hula pie. Save room for that!

October 26: Before heading to the airport for our 6:30pm flight, we spent the morning on the beach, checked out and stored our luggage and had lunch at Tiki's (yes, we went back for their kalua pig quesadillas). Window shopped on the way back to the hotel; showered a second time, as it was a hot day, even though we check out. We were allowed to use the showers in the gym, where towels, soap, etc. were provided. We only had to show our checkout receipt.

We were the only ones heading to the airport at 4pm, so we had the van to ourselves. The driver, from America Samoa, was very friendly.

Knowing the food is lousy on Continental, we had an early dinner - saimin soup. Yes, Ezogiku is the best! Smooth flight home. Dinner on board was pizza - it was worse than a store bought frozen pizza. Do all American flights have such lousy food? I must be spoiled with my international flights. We enjoyed the last of our mai tai mix, which we placed in a large water bottle and brought on board in our carry on bag. Saved us from the $5/drink charge.

Our vacation is over. I wish we had a few more days in Hawaii. I wish I had snorkeled every day at Kahaluu beach and other snorkeling spots. I wish we could have gotten much closer to the flowing lava - like 10 feet away! I wish I shopped more at the flea market or at least gone back a second time - prices are really the best there. However, I don't regret a single minute of our trip. We had a great time with what we did and saw. Hawaii will be there for our visit again in a few years. Lastly, since we saw so many sights on the Big Island, the next time we go there will be a lot more relaxing and plenty of time for the beaches and snorkling.

Aloha!

Monica

Web sites:
http://www.gohawaii.com/
http://www.frommers.com/
http://www.bestplaceshawaii.com/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Hawaii_Volcan oes_National_Park/
http://www.fodors.com/
http://www.top-10-hawaii.com/
http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/index.html
http://www.thisweek.com/ 'This Week On Oahu' They will send up-to-date brochures for a few bucks. Also This Week Maui, Kauai, Big Island.
http://www.spotlighthawaii.com 'Oahu Gold' They will send up-to-date brochures for a few bucks. Also Maui Gold, Big Island Gold, Kauai Gold.
www.101thingstodo.com
http://www.visit-oahu.com Oahu Visitors Bureau, for free brochure 1-877-525-6248
http://www.hawaii.com Good site for comparing hotel locations, prices, etc.
http://www.hawaii-hotels.com Compare hotels
http://www.bookit.com Compare hotels
http://www.alohafriends.com
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com one of two main Honolulu newspapers, has dining & entertainment guides, TGIF calendar
http://www.starbulletin.com one of two main Honolulu newspapers, also has dining & entertainment
http://www.alohatower.com
http://www.konaweb.com/
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/
http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt-dyn/content/article/200 5/08/19/AR2005081901179.html
http://www.driveguidemagazines.com/hawaiimaps.html

Hiking on Oahu:
http://www.hawaiitrails.org/
http://www.backyardoahu.com/
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/oahuhikingtrails/home.html
http://oahuhiking.com/

Dining:

Oahu Dining

Tiki's Bar
Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel
Second Level
2570 Kalakaua Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
http://www.tikisgrill.com/home.html
Kalua Pig Quesadilla: Grilled taro tortilla filled with Kalua pig, Pepper Jack cheese and island corn relish served with guacamole, caramelized Maui onions and sour cream. This was an excellent appetizer that Tony and I shared with our friend Melissa. I wouldn't wait to return to Tiki's to have it again! This is a definitely "must order" dish. For my main entrée, I ordered the Ahi w/cajun seasoning and kalua mashed potatoes. Tony ordered the Opah. The bill was very inexpensive, as Melissa had a coupon for the quesadillas and the manager came by and took off $20. Total for the two of us came to about $40, which included a round of Mai Tai's.

Big City Diner
108 Hekili St.
Kailua, HI 96734
Tony and I dined here with his sister Doris and her husband Bill. The place was packed with locals enjoying the variety of food that the diner serves. I enjoyed the pan-seared salmon with fresh sautéed spinach, along with fried rice and a salad. Tony ordered the meatloaf, which he liked. We all shared some appetizers, including the calamari and steak appetizer. My sister-in-law likes this location better than the one at Ward avenue (less crowded and friendlier service). Portions were large, with the exception of the appetizers - better for 2 people than 4.

Duke's Canoe Club
http://www.dukeswaikiki.com/
At The Outrigger Waikiki Hotel
2335 Kalakaua Ave., Suite 116
Honolulu, Oahu, HI
tel. (808) 922-2268
This was our second visit to Duke's. We ordered the ahi poke (raw ahi with Maui onions and sautéed in rice paper), which was wonderful! Tony wanted to order the Ono, but they ran out, so he ordered the same dish as me: Opah, lightly covered with a parmesan cheese/macadamia nut/breadcrumb seasoning and pan seared. With the salad bar, which we enjoyed the Caesar salad, and fresh baked bread, I couldn't finish my dinner. The dish also included rice. We ended our meal with the Hula Pie. Yum! We had a nice table facing the beach and enjoyed the live entertainment that went from table to table. The next time we're in Hawaii, we'll head back to Dukes. Since this place is always packed, be sure to make dinner reservations. The bill with a few round of drinks (and included Doris' dinner - Tony's sister) came to $140.

Keo's Thai Restaurant
2375 Kuhio Ave.
Honolulu, Hawaii
This was our third visit to Keo's and enjoyed our meal. We started with their famous spring rolls, which you wrap in lettuce and top with chopped peanuts. Our other appetizer was their shrimp, which was wrapped in a pastry with mushrooms, water chestnuts and chives and deep-fried. We shared the Pad Thai and Pork with Basil dish. Everything was very good and tasty. With wine and beer for our drinks, our meal totaled $66, which we felt was quite reasonable.

Ezogiku
2146 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
This is a ramen-type noodle shop filled with Japanese tourists. In addition to the many noodle soups to choose from, they have fried rice, gyoza, and fried noodle dishes. Tony had the lunch special: Charsui ramen, which came with fried rice and 4 gyoza for $9. I believe my soup was close to $8. The lunch special was a great deal but there was no way I could eat all that food for lunch. $22.

Plumeria Beach House at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel
5000 Kahala Avenue, Honolulu HI 96816
We dined here with Doris Ching, who treated us to a wonderful meal. This restaurant had an excellent buffet. We had sashimi, which included tuna, salmon, shrimp, etc; main entrees were baked salmon and prime rib. There was a nice selection of salads, fresh baked bread fresh fruits, and of course desserts Our table faced the ocean. Part of the restaurant is under roof, while the rest of the tables are under large umbrellas. Service was exceptional. I believe the buffet was about $35 per person.

Yummy Korean BBQ
Koko Marina
Hawaii Kai Shopping Center
Excellent plate lunches here. I ordered the Kalbi ribs and spicy chicken and Tony ordered the Kalbi ribs and an egg battered steak (thinly sliced). The place lunches include 2 scoops of rice and four choices of vegetables. There must have been 15 vegetable choices. We had the kim chee, pickled sprouts, tofu, pickled cabbage, pickled radish, etc. $19.

Big Island Dining

Lava Rock Café
Volcano, Hawaii
http://www.volcanovillage.com/LavaRock.htm
We both had the saimin soup for lunch. Just average. Certainly not as good as at Ezogiku. $20

Thai Thai
19-4084 Volcano Road
Volcano Village, HI 96785
(Volcano District)
Tel. (808) 967-7969
Tony only had their spring rolls, as he wasn't very hungry. I had a curry dish with chicken (or pork - I didn't write it down), which was very good. It wasn't the typical panang curry that you can order in most Thai restaurants. This had a unique flavor. $32.00.

Keauhou Resort- Veranda Bar
We snacked on the kalua pig quesadillas. Not as good as Tiki's in Waikiki, but still enjoyable. We had a bunch of drinks, so the bar bill was expensive: $48 A couple of days later we bought a large bottle of Mai Tai mix and dark room and were able to save on our bar bills.

Keauhou Resort - Main dining room
I Ordered Ono, which came with mashed potatoes and sautéed bok choy. Tony ordered the fish and chips.

Kimo's at Uncle Billy's Kona Bay Hotel
Breakfast buffet. Decent food for breakfast and cheap! $16

L&L Drive In
75-5595 Palani Rd., Unit A-6, Kailua-Kona
http://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/
Good plate lunches, especially the chicken katsu served with 2 scoops of rice and macaroni salad. Tony had the pork cutlet, which had a gravy on top. Sodas. $13.

Drysdale's Two
Keauhou Shopping Village
78-6831 Alii Dr., Keauhou, Hawaii
Late evening snack of chili nachos (average) and drinks. $27. This is a sportsbar, which wasn't crowded the evening we were there. This place was recommended to us by a waitress at the Keauhou resort. The hotel's dining rooms were closed for the evening.

Tante's
75-5591 Palani Rd, Kailua Kona, HI
ood Filippino food but they didn't have any lumpias! We were very disappointed with that. I ordered a combo of squid in a tomato sauce and chicken adobo. Tony had the pork adobo. Salad and rice were included. Lots of locals were dining here. This is located/attached to a bowling center. $17.50.

Waimea Ranch House
65-1144 Mamalahoa Highway Kamuela, HI
Very good dinner here. Expensive but worth every penny...with the exception of my $9 glass of wine that I had at the bar while waiting for our table - I switched to a house wine for dinner. We started with a baked mozzarella and fontina cheese with marinara sauce appetizer. With this dish, we knew the portions would be huge. I had their filet mignon, topped with gorgonzola and merlot sauce. It included mashed potatoes and zucchini. Tony had the NY strip. It wasn't as thick as he likes them but he stated his steak was cooked perfectly. Salads were extra, but we certainly need need anything else. $90.43. I highly recommend this place.

Choice Mart
Captain Cook, Hawaii
This grocery store had a small selection of plate lunch options. We ordered one to share: kalbi ribs and shoyu chicken. As usual, it came with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad...all for $7.80! Grocery stores are a good option for inexpensive lunches. We had picked up some sushi another night for about $6 and there were 12-14 pieces. Very reasonable.

Rios Seafood Grill and Bar
Coconut Grove Marketplace
75-5805 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Tony was disappointed with the size of the fish (Wahu) he ordered (although he liked the flavor). The waiter stated he always checks to make sure everything is correct, but apparently didn't see Tony's dish. The waiter took of the price of my Mai Tai. I had the macademia pesto Opakapaka, which was excellent, and mashed potatoes. Dinner and drinks: $64.08.

Lulu's
75-5819 Alii Drive. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Average food and slow service (only 1 cook working). I had the spicy chicken quesadillas with a tomato tortilla and Tony ordered a burger topped with peanut butter. The burger came out over cooked and very dry. We were getting impatient, as we wanted lunch before our flight back to Honolulu, so we asked the waiter if they could make another burger in a timely manner. No problem with that and the burger came out properly cooked: however, the burger looked like it was one of those pre-made patties that they just heated up in a pan for a few mintues. $26.15.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/3/1202501760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/3/1202501760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/3/1202501760/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:27:19 -0500 7-Night Cruise to Bermuda

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Hamilton, Bermuda

October 17, 2006:

Tony and I returned from a wonderful 7-night cruise to Bermuda. I booked this cruise in June after my friend Shaun invited us to join him and his fiancée Melonee after I invited him to join us on a Mediterranean/Black sea cruise for October 2007...I'm still trying to convince them to join us.

Tony and I have never been to Bermuda and thought the price of the cruise was very reasonable. We liked the idea of cruising to Bermuda rather than a land based trip since Bermuda is a very expensive place to visit. Hotels start around $250, which is out of our price range. Dining is very expensive too. With the cruise, we had our room and board, tons of dining options and entertainment.

Planning this cruise was really easy since it was just one place (two port stops) we would be visiting. I met fellow passengers on Cruise Critic and even organized a sail away party for our group.

Friday October 6, 2006:

This was the first time I packed my suitcase "last minute." I did have most of my things out (my home office was a mess!) but I sort of panicked since I gave myself just a couple of hours to pack. And I over packed. I figured since we were driving to the port, rather than flying, I could take extra clothes. No worries about luggage or weight restrictions. In addition to the usual items, we packed our beach mats, reef shoes and my mask & snorkel.

We dropped Lucy off at my in-laws house. She was NOT a happy dog that we left her there. She stayed overnight and then was taken to a friend's house to take care of her for the rest of the trip. We left Frederick at 11 am and got to our hotel in Avenel NJ at 5pm. We stopped along the way to get a bite to eat and fill the car with gas. We drove via Rte 78 through Allentown PA to avoid any Friday traffic on 95 and the NJ turnpike. It had rained in Frederick, but no rain the rest of the day. However, there was a tropical depression near Ocean city, so lots of rain and winds on the east coast. The hotel was located in a real crappy area. We met up with Vicki, a fellow cruise mate, who got us a discount at the room since she works for Marriott. She was traveling with her mother Fay and Fay's friend Darlene. Our room was only $35 plus taxes. The room was nice and the bed was comfortable. This was a Fairfield Inn and Suites, so our stay included continental breakfast. Thanks again Vicki!

Before dinner, Tony and I went out to get cash from an ATM and also pick up some bottled water for our cabin. We found a Shop-Rite store, which reminded us of Wegman's, a wonderful grocery store. We thought we'd stop there before heading home to pick up some meats and cheese, but later decided against it.

For dinner the five of us dined at Dominic's, a very good family style Italian restaurant. We didn't know it was a BYOB, but the waitress gave us each a glass of wine from the kitchen. I thought it tasted liked cooking wine! She later asked us how we liked it. I just told her, "It's not bad." She wasn't too happy with that answer. Well, I didn't want to say it was bad! The osso bucco was delicious!

After dinner, Vicki opened a bottle of wine and we had drinks in our room while the ladies went to bed.

Vicki arranged our car service for 10:30am but it arrived at 11am. We got $10 off the bill for their tardiness. The driver Anthony picked us up in a Lincoln but it was not large enough for 5 people. I had to squeeze up in front. Thank goodness the trunk was deep and all of our luggage fit. None of us were pleased with this, but at least we were on our way to the port.

Saturday October 7th Bayonne NJ/Cape Liberty

We arrived to the port at 11:30am. There were plenty of porters to take the luggage but man, they were rude and pushy. I only had the large suitcase for them to take. The rest Tony and I carried directly to our room. My wine and champagne, for our in cabin consumption, made it on board without any problems. Based on other people's comments, no wine was taken away from any passenger.

Check in literally took 5 minutes and absolutely no waiting in line. I had checked in via the Celebrity web site prior to leaving home. This was the fasted that I have ever checked in on a cruise. It was a breeze. We had our photo taken and then on to the bus to take us to the ship, which was just a 2-3 minute ride.

We walk on board via deck 3 (deck 5 was open too but you have to climb two flights of stairs) and I was surprised to see NO champagne! We walked up 1 flight to our deck and there standing near the elevators were two waiters with platters of champagne filled glasses. We quickly dropped off our luggage and went back for our glass of champagne. Let the cruise begin! Up on deck 11 we ran into some cruise critic members (Misti, John, Carol, Dolores, Ken, and Lee) while in the food line at the windsurf cafe. We had lunch with friends Mike and Maureen.

After lunch, the 4 of us checked out the dining room and found our table, #136. It was very close to the entrance and the piano and seemed like we would be in the way of the waiters; however, we were very comfortable there. We checked out the various areas on the ship. The Zenith is much smaller than the Millennium and Constellation, but I felt very comfortable on board. The Zenith has a cozier feel.

At the Marina bar we met up with some of the cruise critic members for our sail away party. We hung out for a while before having to do the muster drill, which went by quickly. We went to the top deck to watch the scenery as we left NJ. We could see the skyline of NYC, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We sailed under the Verrazano Bridge. It was very cold outside with the wind and the temperature was in the low 60s.

My camera started to act up and didn't work properly the rest of the trip. It was accidentally knocked out of my hand a couple of months ago but Tony fixed it...or so we thought. The lens wouldn't retract completely, so I had to be very careful with the lens so that I wouldn't get it scratched or filled with dust. At least I could still take pictures. I'm not sure if this is covered under the 1-year warranty. If not, I lost a lot of mula on this purchase.

We went back to the room and unpacked our clothing. I was glad that my suitcase got there early. Our room, cabin 4102, was pretty nice but does show the age of the Zenith. The bed looked like it sagged, but it was actually very comfortable to sleep in. Our beds were pushed together and against one wall, so getting out of bed at night meant scooting down to the foot of the bed. Our room had upper bunks too, but they were not in the way. We didn't have any mini refrigerator, but I didn't miss it on this cruise. There was plenty of closet and drawer space. The shower was large enough to move around. Our cabin attendant was Santano Rosario from India. He always had a smile on his face and kept our room clean. We never saw him he was that good!

At 7pm we met Mike and Maureen in the Martini bar for the martini tasting. I've done this before: $10 for six different types of martinis. I gave Tony the regular martini. I loved the Flirtini!

Dinner was at 8:30pm. Our table of 6 included Mike, Maureen, and Shaun and Melonee. We had a nice time together. For dinner I had their veal picatta, which was excellent. I started with a mushroom pastry appetizer, while Tony had the shrimp cocktail. I had the tomato bisque and Caesar salad. Tony had the prime rib. And for dessert: Crème Brule!! Yum!

I was tired so I went to bed. We didn't go to the welcome party, but we didn't mind.

Sunday October 8th at Sea

Sunday was a beautiful day. I woke up about 8am, but it was actually 7am, as we lost an hour due to the time change in Bermuda. The seas were pretty rough, although I slept well. Many people were sick and barf bags were placed throughout the ship, including next to the elevators. We didn't get to the cruise critic party at 9:30am because of the time change. Only 17 people showed up. I was told Celebrity would give it a second try on another day since so many people missed it. There were about 71 people signed up. It turned out they hosted it again on our second sea day, but what was the point?

Tony and I had a light breakfast on the aft deck 11. I had a part of a bagel with smoked salmon and grapefruit. The breakfast buffet was the same every day: assorted breads, pastries, a variety of fruit, smoked salmon, cream cheese; assorted meats, cheese; scrambled eggs, bacon, corned beef hash, cereal, etc... There was also a waffle and pancake station. At the aft at the Windsurf café, there was an omelet station.

At 11:30am Celebrity held an anniversary and honeymooners party, which we had received an invitation in our cabin. One couple had been married for 67 years! Anna and Hooch, another cruise critic member, were married 18 years ago on the 8th, just like Tony and me. Champagne and cake were served...well, one small glass of champagne and a piece of cake for each couple. We were told "the champagne will be flowing," but it wasn't. Tony got up and got 2 more glasses from the bar. Tony felt the whole event was cheesy. They should have either skipped it completely or done a much better job. Once the cruise director left the spotlight, he and the rest of the crew (minus 2 bartenders) disappeared.

I had a small lunch on deck at the pool area while watching the pool events. I also like to people watch. All the deck chairs were filled with people enjoying the sun and outdoors. Yes, people do hog the chairs. I felt a little queasy because of the rough ocean. I took another seasick pill and felt fine the rest of the day.

While on the pool deck, there were several events: Sherbet was served (I do like the little things that Celebrity does for its passengers), a chef did a fruit carving demonstration with watermelon; and there was contest with four guys who had to dance, sing, yell like Tarzan and serenade to a woman. It was pretty funny.

Every day at 5pm, the sushi bar opens up. We enjoyed the variety they had every day! We enjoyed this before our 8:30pm dining time.

Sunday was our first formal night and our 18th wedding anniversary. My travel agent had informed Celebrity that we would be celebrating our anniversary, so we received a cake after dinner. However, we already ate our dessert, so we didn't eat it. In addition, I think they use the same cake to celebrate other people's events.

We didn't go to the captain's welcome party. It was at 10:45pm and we just decided to skip it.

Monday October 9th Hamilton

We arrived in Hamilton about 9am. We got up early enough to watch as we sailed into the harbor. We saw many beautiful and expensive homes on the way in. I saw a few that I would love to call home! Hamilton is a lovely town with very colorful buildings.

After our usual breakfast, we took the bus to Horseshoe bay with Mike, Maureen, Shaun, and Melonee. We all purchased the 3-day bus and ferry pass ($28pp) at the bus station, which was located a block up from the ship and two blocks inland. We all loved the beach with its wonderful soft powdery sand. The weather was perfect too. I spent most of the time in the water playing in the waves. I also took a few photos with my underwater camera. Later, Mike, Tony and I walked to other parts of the beach. There are lots of secluded spots; however, we enjoyed the far end of the beach away from the rest of the crowd. There are changing facilities, which I used. I took a very cold shower, as I wanted to get the salt off of me. We were surprised at how salty the water was, more so than other beaches.

After our time at the beach, Mike, Maureen, Tony and I headed to the Dockyards, while Shaun and Melonee stayed at the beach. We took the $1pp van ride to the top of the hill. Now, it wasn't overly steep, we just decided to 'splurge.'

Once in the Dockyards, we headed to the Frog and Onion pub for some drinks and snacks. I had their fish chowder, which was pretty tasty and one of the few reasonably priced items on the menu. Shaun and Melonee popped in and joined us. Sitting at the next table were Misti, John, and Carol who were enjoying their lunch. Anthony, our waiter, kept joking with us, so when our bill came, we all gave our boarding card for payment. He laughed!

Just before heading to the ferry to get back to the ship, we ordered drinks in to-go cups. I was surprised we could do that, but we were in Bermuda! Ferrying over to Hamilton was very nice and relaxing. It took only 20 minutes to cross the bay.

After dinner we went to the Island Night at the pool deck. It was fun to watch people dancing and having a good time. Of course, they did the typical line dancing that should have died in 1987. Lots of food was served but we were still full. I suppose that's the one negative thing about eating at the late seating. The advantage is having more time to prepare for dinner after getting on board the ship or even going to the gym...which I never saw. Ribs, chicken, fruits and assorted desserts were served.

Tuesday October 10th Hamilton

While having breakfast on the pool deck, we saw a Royal Caribbean ship come in to port. I learned that there was also a ship in St George and one at the Dockyards. It made me realize we made a very good decision to go to Horseshoe bay when we did, as I'm sure the beach was packed on this day.

We walked around Hamilton after breakfast and met up with Mike and Maureen at the ferry dock at 9:50am to catch the 10am ferry. We ferried over to the Dockyards and toured the maritime museum ($10pp). I felt the price was great for all that we saw, including the dolphins at Dolphin Quest. I was surprised we could see them. I thought they would be in a different area. On the grounds were sheep and goats. We wandered through the museums and grounds.

Mike wanted to have drinks at the Frog and Onion, but I suggested we go to Somerset Village for drinks and lunch. Something different to see. The bus ride was just about 10 minutes. Somerset Village is tiny. We dined at outdoor terrace of the Somerset Squire Country Pub, located along the water. Tony and I had the fish and chips, which were very good and probably the cheapest on the island ($12.50). Maureen had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken and Mike had a fish sandwich, all good. The place had a few other customers, but overall, it was a nice quiet place to have lunch and relax. I think Somerset Village is a place most people don't visit based on the number of tourists I saw. It did rain a little but we were sitting under large umbrellas.

After lunch, we wanted to go to the lighthouse, but after three busses passed us packed with tourists, and also discovering the place closed at 4pm, we took the bus back to the dockyards, Maureen and I window shopped while the guys had a beer.

We did see a moped accident with some locals while waiting for the bus in Somerset Village. There were two guys on mopeds and we could tell they ended up with "Bermuda tattoos," i.e. road rash. They tried to pass a car that was turning but cut the driver off and they ran into the back of the car. A woman at the bus stop told us not to think about renting mopeds. There are just too many accidents on the island, especially with tourists who are not comfortable driving on the left side of the road.

After taking the ferry back, Tony and I walked around town. We even checked out one of the local grocery stores. Some of the food products were reasonably priced.

Dinner was fabulous! Appetizers included salmon mouse and duck parfait. I think we all ordered the rack of lamb, which was just amazing. It was cooked perfectly and size/portion was very good. Desserts were delicious too and always a nice variety to choose from.

After dinner we attended the newly and not-so newlywed game. It was very funny! This included a couple who was married for just a few days and one couple married for 67 years.

Wednesday October 11th St. George

Tony and I woke up at 8am so we could watch as we entered the "cut" into St. George. The cut is a narrow entrance and only smaller ships like the Zenith can go through it. As we entered the cut, the town's crier greeted the ship with a single canon shot and his welcome. By the time we arrived at the pier, so did the town crier, where again he greeted us. It was a beautiful clear, sunny morning. I took lots of photos as we entered the port. St. George is just lovely with its colorful houses. It's smaller than Hamilton and has more charm.

We ran into Mike, so the three of us ate breakfast in the dining room. Tony and Mike both had eggs Benedict while I had a Spanish omelet. We sat with a couple from Canada. So far everyone was enjoying the cruise.

We decided to go to Tobacco Bay to do some snorkeling. We went ahead of the rest since Maureen, Shaun and Melonee hadn't had breakfast yet. It was a nice walk from the ship through town to the bay (just over a mile). We stopped along the way to see the Unfinished Church. As we continued to the beach, the clouds came in. I snorkeled for a short while. It was too cloudy to take any good photos, so I just took three. Soon after I got out of the water it rained. We packed up and started to walk back to the ship and it came down in buckets! Fortunately I spotted a small shelter at a golf course, which we sat and waited out the rain. After about 45 minutes, it turned to a light sprinkle. We headed to town and to King's square. There, the town's crier was in the middle of "punishing" two people. The square has stocks, a pillory and a whipping post, and the crier was reenacting what might have happened 400 years ago. One person was a tourist and the other an actor. She was "charged" with being a gossip and nag. We got to see her being dunked in the water several times.

We ran into the four others, who obviously didn't make it to the beach because of the rain. We all had a drink at the bar in the town square, White Horse Tavern, and then Tony and I headed back to the ship to shower, while the rest went on a glass bottom boat ride.

After our shower, we window shopped in town and again ran into the gang. They were taking pictures of each other in the stocks, so Tony and I had our picture taken too. We all tasted rum cake at a store and then took the bus to the Crystal/Fantasy caves. We toured the Fantasy caves ($15pp), which was quite interesting. For our reward of going up/down 88 steps each way, we had drinks and nachos at the Swizzle Inn. Everything tasted great. The pitcher of Rum Swizzle was $22 and pretty strong. It started to rain again just as we finished our food. It lasted just a few minutes.

We caught the bus back to St. George and window shopped. I wanted to buy a few water color prints, but didn't see anything close to the ones I saw at the shop at the Fantasy caves. I should have remembered my motto, "If you see something and like it, buy it!" They were much nicer than the ones I saw in St. George. At the time, I didn't realize there were several local artists doing the same kind of art work.

It rained again! Time to get back on the ship.

Back on the ship and before dinner, we had drinks in the Michael's bar. This was a very nice bar. Gabriel, from Romania, made my cosmopolitans.

Another delicious dinner. I had the salmon, while Tony had the rack of veal. After dinner we attended The 60's Show. It was pretty good. It lasted about an hour and the singers/dancer sung various tunes from the 60s.

Thursday October 12th St. George

This was our last day in Bermuda. Since it was an overcast morning, Tony and I decided to skip the beach. This helped us from having to carry bags, towels, and beach mats. We spent the morning visiting the Unfinished church, walked back to Tobacco Bay and to Fort St. Catherine. We circled back and probably walked 2.5 miles total. The Fortress was interesting and included replica British Crown Jewels.

Back in town in King's square, we window shopped and I finally decided to buy three small water color prints. Tony picked up a couple of nice shirts for only $10 each. Everything else was pretty expensive. I looked at some jewelry but didn't see anything that I liked. After tasting the Rum Swizzle drink the other day, I wanted to buy some Gosling's black rum. We headed to the liquor store where we were told we couldn't buy any duty free liquor. We were told we had to purchase the liquor before 10am. We didn't know that. If it was in the Celebrity Today I didn't read it. However, we were able to buy it on board the ship at a better price than in town.

Celebrity hosted an Oktoberfest in the Fleet bar. The food wasn't that great and it wasn't all German food! I expected to see knockwurst and Wiener schnitzel. The potato salad was NOT German potato salad. Tony said the hotdogs were very good. I should have had lunch at the buffet area. I did win a Celebrity tote bag during the contest that was held. They were all questions about Oktoberfest.

Our ship left port at 3pm, so I wanted to be on a lower deck to take pictures. We hung out on the deck with the lifeboats. The afternoon started to clear up. Too bad we didn't have perfect weather, but it was still a nice visit to Bermuda. As we passed through the cut, we saw several people on the shore waving to everyone goodbye.

That evening was our second formal night. Tony and I never did get to have any formal pictures taken. We attended the Captain's club cocktail party with Mike and Maureen, as well as Nick and Diane, who we met at the Martini tasting. Drinks were definitely flowing at this cocktail party! This time there was a larger list of drinks to choose from, rather than the usual wine and champagne, including Mai Tai's and Martini's. I ordered a Mai Tai and 15 minutes later the waiter still hadn't returned with one. In the meantime I ordered one from another waiter, who promptly served it to me. About 10 minutes later, the original waiter came up to me and apologized for not bringing my drink. He had been bumped by another person and his tray spilled all over him. I had heard the crash and looked over. He had left and changed his shirt. I thought it was very nice he remembered my order and came to tell me what happened. I told him I understood and that I was taken care of.

My dinner was delicious (yes, every night was delicious - Celebrity did not disappointment me one bit with their food on this cruise): Chicken Terrine, Caesar salad, and Prime Rib! The baked Alaska was served after all the waiters paraded through the dining room. The midnight buffet was soon after. I took a bunch of photos of the displays of food, which were beautifully displayed. Tony originally wanted to have some food but he was still full from dinner, so we headed to bed.

Friday October 13th Day at Sea

Saturday was a relaxing day. We gained back the hour we lost the previous night, so we slept in. It was a day of packing, reading, and just hanging out on the ship. I sat out in the sun for an hour, and then headed in for lunch while Tony read his book in the library. By the time I finished eating, the clouds rolls in and the temperature dropped. I walked around the ship visiting the various areas. Back in the cabin I showered and packed my suitcase. It was much easier and faster to pack - just dump in suitcases.

We had one last round of sushi and drinks (at Michaels') before dinner: Beef tenderloin. A few nights before we asked the assistant maitre'd if we could have escargot and Crème Brule for our last night. He did for us. It was a great beginning and ending to our meal. We passed our tips to the waiter (Yusuf from Turkey), assistant waiter (Carlos from Honduras, I think), and assistant maidre'd (didn't get his name). They all did a great job.

Back in the room we finished our packing and went to bed.

Saturday October 14th Home again

Our original time to disembark was at 10:20am; however, since we were traveling with Vicki and two older women who needed wheelchair assistance, we made plans to meet them at the Casino at 9:30am...with all the people in wheelchairs. After breakfast in the dining room, I headed to the Fleet bar to say goodbye to Mike, Maureen, Shaun and Melonee. I also ran into a few other cruise critic friends too. It took a while to get the wheelchair folks off the ship, but overall the debarkation went very smoothly. Celebrity should have blocked one set of elevators for just the wheeled chaired people. By the time we got to the luggage area (we were in the lavender section) there were only about 8-10 pieces sitting, so it was very easy to spot ours. This was a nice change after being on our Princess cruise and having to go through thousands of pieces of luggage!

Again, our limo service got a car where I had to squeeze in the front. We certainly won't use their services again...unless it's for 4 people or less. Back at the Fairfield Inn, we put our luggage in our cars and headed home. It took 4 hours to get home, after stopping to pick up Lucy. She was so excited to see us and she was ready to go home.

Cruise Summary:

This was a wonderful cruise and I loved sailing with Celebrity. Tony loved it too except for the noisy pool atmosphere with all the games and the cheesy anniversary party. We both thought the food was exceptional, as well as the service on board.

The Zenith does show her age but is still in very good condition. I did like the smaller ship feel, and especially enjoyed seeing friends again and again while on board. That's hard to do on a large ship. Tony also likes the smaller ships. I hope when they retire the Zenith, they'll replace her with a same size ship.

Tony and I certainly got our exercise while on board. Every morning we would walk from deck 4 to 11 for breakfast (126 steps). We used the elevator only two times.

Our next cruise will be on the Galaxy and we'll be heading to the Mediterranean and Black sea for 14 nights (plus 3 pre-cruise nights in Rome). I'm looking forward to sailing with Celebrity again!

Other Comments:

Luggage:

I found out that one woman never got her luggage! She told me Celebrity was giving her $200 to buy clothes on board. I recommend that anyone traveling (whether it's a cruise or land based tour) split all clothing into two suite cases, one of which should be a carry-on. This way, you'll have half of your clothing. I did this on my Baltic cruise. I divided all casual to formal clothing between both suitcases, down to the shoes. If I lost one bag, I would have been fine and probably would have used the laundry services on board. Even though our room was not ready until 1pm, we were able to bring our luggage on board and place them directly in our room.

Passengers:

I would say the average age on board this cruise ranged from the 40's to 60's, along with the elderly. There were also children, who were well behaved and seemed to have a great time too.

Food and Drink:

I thought the food was better than on my other Celebrity cruises. I always order the filet mignon and prime rib cooked rare and that's how I got them. I wonder if the food was better because the chefs and cooks dealt with 1300 passengers rather than 1900 like on the Millennium and Constellation. I loved their cream soups but didn't have them every night. Everything was well presented but not too fancy.

The nice thing about Celebrity is that you can order other items that are not on the menu, such as steak, salmon, and chicken; shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad. In addition, you can pre-order an item, like we did with the Crème Brule and escargot.

Sushi - There was a variety of sushi, including salmon (my favorite!), tuna, tilapia, eel, shrimp, as well as rolled sushi: spicy tuna and California roll. In addition, there was a miso soup bar, where various items could be added to the soup. I didn't have the soup since I just wanted the sushi as an appetizer before dinner.

There's also:

- Pizza and pasta station
- Burgers and dogs, as well as other sandwiches
- Mini-sandwiches and cookies around 4pm
- Pastries in the Cova Café

Drinks - we enjoyed some of the Drink of the Day specials, including the Mai Tai's (I had to ask for a float of dark rum to make it authentic), Cosmopolitans, and Sea breezes.

Casino and Cigarette smoke:

We played the slot machines and lost our $10. We're not gamblers but know others did win $200-$300. The casino is small and we didn't like the fact it was filled with cigarette smoke. Even walking through the Rendezvous lounge was not pleasant. Smokers hung out on one side of the room.

Money in Bermuda:

We were lucky that Bermuda accepts USD. We didn't have to exchange any money and the value of the USD was the same as the local currency. Master card and Visa were widely accepted.

Photos:

We didn't purchase any photos on board. They were expensive. It always amazes me that these cruise companies charge so much when I see so many thrown away. I'm sure if they were to lower their prices, more people would purchase them. I would. It's all done via digital camera and the development, I'm sure, is cheap.

Web sites used:
http://bermuda-online.org/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/
http://www.10best.com/Bermuda/index.html
http://www.bermudatravelnet.com/
http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/ Cruise tip calculator
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1178631360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1178631360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1178631360/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:11:19 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Paris, France


Ah, Paris! Venice Italy is my first love, but Paris runs close behind. I wanted to take a trip in the spring (as usual) but didn't want to spend two weeks (half way through this trip I regretted not spending two full weeks in Paris!) because I have a big trip coming up in the fall. Since I enjoyed my solo trip to Italy last year, and since Paris is a place I know reasonably well, I decided to return to one of my favorite places.

I ended up inviting my friend Louisa, who was very happy that I asked her to join me. I had asked Louisa if she was willing to spend some time apart. She said yes. I feel that having time on my own allows me to slow down and really get to know a place. I also love to take pictures and take my time composing them. Meeting up for dinner is always fun because we can talk about our own day and experiences. So we both came up with our own itineraries and worked on them so that we both had our time apart, as well as our day trips and evenings together. It worked out very well and I really enjoyed Louisa's company on this trip.

A few of my goals on this trip was to hit a lot of the Paris markets, enjoy some outdoor time at cafes, museums I hadn't visited yet, and a couple of walking tours.

May 9th, Tuesday: I arrived on Wednesday after a good flight from Philadelphia on US Airways. Talk about a cheap company. Drinks and headphones now cost $5 each. Fortunately I brought my own headphones and watched a movie. I guess I got spoiled flying on Air France. I didn't sleep on the plane, as usual, but managed well on Wednesday. I flew on USAir because I get a family discount. It would have been better to fly from Dulles on Air France and pay the extra bucks.

I took the Air France shuttle bus, line 4, to Gare de Lyon after purchasing my round trip tickets (located just outside of gate 34 at terminal 1, 22 Euros rt) and then a taxi to my studio apartment on #32 rue Vieille du Temple, a fabulous street in the Marais. It was a short taxi ride and under $10. I met Louisa, who was sitting at the café (Au Petit fer à Cheval) next to our apartment entrance where she was drinking an espresso. She had arrived two days before me and had stayed near the Eiffel Tower in the 7th Arr. It was great to see her and I was beginning to get excited by the fact I was in Paris again - I was in Paris five years ago.

Jean-Pierre, one of the apartment owners, showed up about 30 minutes late and carried our suitcases up the three flights of stairs to our studio (75 Euros/night). He showed us how to use the washer/dryer, TV, answering machine, etc. The place is quite small but we managed. The 20 square meter room has a pull down murphy queen bed, which we kept down the whole time, a small table with the TV and VCR, phone, answering maching, a small kitchen, a tiled bathroom with a partial glass "door" and combination washer/dryer next to the sink. All of the usual amenities were included (hair dryer, utensils, dishes, coffee maker, etc). The rental advertisement stated a fresh bouquet of flowers would be in the room upon our arrival; however, there were none to be found in the apartment.

The building is located right off rue des Rosiers, the Jewish quarter of the Marais. Rue de Rivoli is just 2 blocks south of the building with the Seine a little further south. The Pompidou center is a 10-minute walk to the west and Place des Vosges is 15 minutes to the east. Two metros (Hotel de Ville and St. Paul) were just about a 10-minute walk from the apt. Another plus for the area were the large number of cafés, bistro's and restaurants, as well as many bars. The whole area is busy day and night and our street, rue Vieille du Temple, is one of the main streets for Paris' large gay population. It's a safe area and we were comfortable the whole time we were there.

On the ground floor of our building is a Boulangerie (bakery), which every morning we would open our two windows, which faced the interior court of the building, and smell the aroma of the fresh baked breads and pastries from below. The smells were unbelievably delicious! We later met Nadia at the bakery, who treated us to extra goodies every morning. She would even give me a croissant from the tray that just came out of the oven rather than one from the display case (although those were quite fresh too).

Our first afternoon together was spent wandering the Marais area, including quaint Village St. Paul. There are some wonderful ancient streets, including rue des Barres, with half-timbered buildings from the middle ages. There is also the remains of an ancient Roman wall on rue Charlemagne, built by Philippe-Augustus in the 12th-century.

Lunch at chez Julien was wonderful, although expensive. We were the only tourists having lunch with about 10 others. The restaurant is small, with dining rooms on the first and second level. Great atmosphere. So very French with the decor and foods we had. Well, every place was so French!

After lunch we visited the Baudoyer market at Place Baudoyer, which was fairly small, but with fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood. The display of radishes was beautiful! The roving market is located on rue Rivoli a couple blocks east of Hotel de Ville. (Wednesday 3 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Metro: Hôtel-de-Ville). At one point we stopped in La Vaissellerie, a wonderful kitchen gadget shop. We both purchased small ceramic wine pitchers. There were so many great things to purchase, I decided to come back another day (but I never made it back!). We walked along the Seine up the place de la Bastille and back to our neighborhood.

In the apartment we unpacked the rest of our things, and then headed out to explore the nearby streets of our neighborhood. We found a small café and sat outside enjoying a glass of wine while writing in our journals.

We decided to have an inexpensive dinner at L'as du Falafel on rue des Rosiers, to make up for our expensive lunch, as we didn't want two expensive meals each day. We shared a small bottle of red wine and both of us ordered the falafel special: pita pocket stuffed with falafel, eggplant, hummus, cabbage, and radish. It was absolutely delicious and quite filling! This is the most famous falafel place on rue de Rosiers, as well as all of Paris. There is usually a long line at the take out counter and the tables are always filled inside. The restaurant inside is tiny but the tables turn over pretty quickly. There are other falafel places on the same street, but apparently this one is the best and I just loved the flavors of the ingredients of their falafel special. I could easily have gone there for another dinner or lunch, but I had too many places on my restaurant list to visit. This just gives me the opportunity to go back to Paris again!

After dinner, we walked around our neighborhood - we walked around after dinner most nights. All the restaurants, cafes, and bars were packed and people were enjoying the evening with their friends and significant others.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179403440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179403440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179403440/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:05:02 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Paris, France

May 17th, Thursday: My last full day in Paris! It was drizzly all day long, so I was glad to have my umbrella with me. I focused on a few markets, to include the one at Bastille, which had a special food and arts/crafts market, the Marché d'Aligre (12th arrondissement) with its outdoor food and flea market and indoor market, as well as Asian and North African shops located around the area, and then back to Place Maubert Market on the left bank. Louisa had purchased a necklace in St. Germain-en-laye, which after we got back to Paris I kicked myself for not buying one. The latest fashions in Paris are silver necklaces that are a jumble of designs. I had seen some at this market last week and I was lucky and found two that I liked. They were very inexpensive! I bought two necklaces (one came with earrings) and paid 17 Euros! I never did see any Herbs de Provence at any of the markets, so I'll have to plan a trip to France in the next few years.

I had lunch at Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor, which I had enjoyed on my previous trips for dinner. I was glad to arrive early (about 11:30am), as the main dining room filled up quickly. The main room seats about 80 people and there's another room in the back. Lunch was good, but the prices have gone up at this old establishment (from the mid 1800's).

For the afternoon I wanted to walk along the St. Martin Canal, so I took the metro up to the Stalingrad stop. Well, I must have started too far north because I saw many campers or homeless people, and drunks hanging out along the canal. I was uncomfortable and at one point a man walked towards me with his bottle in hand and was weaving as he walked, so I quickly made a turn and headed to the nearest metro (Republic). It was not an enjoyable walk and with the all-day drizzle it put a damper on my afternoon so I decided it was time to head home. Maybe the canal area closer to the Bastille is better, so I'll give it another shot on my next trip to Paris.

Back in the apartment, I packed my bags while enjoying a glass of wine. I had dinner plans with Susan (a fodorite), who lives in Switzerland and arrived this day to spend time with her mother (arriving the next day). I took the metro over to the left bank and walked in Bon Marché, an upscale department store. It was just about to close for the evening, so I headed out and found a café across the street and enjoyed a Kir. Unfortunately, the group of German tourists next to my table was smoking up a storm and the breeze was blowing towards me. I quickly finished my Kir and walked to L'epi Dupin where I found Susan waiting outside for me. Susan had arrived earlier and noticed the place had started to fill when it opened at 7pm. We had dinner reservations for 7:30pm. We both had a very nice time together talking about what I did in Paris and her life in Switzerland. Dinner was very good. I enjoyed the asparagus starter with cabbage and a cream sauce followed by the filet canette (duck with vegetables - peas, carrots, shallots). For dessert I had a baked peach, vanilla ice cream and a cookie wafer. L'epi Dupin has a 32 euro menu, with several choices to choose from in each category. There were two waves of diners that filled the restaurant: the tourists and later, around 9pm, the locals. It's a non-smoking restaurant and I was glad for that. I was quite impressed with our waiter who spoke Japanese to the tourists sitting behind me. If he spoke Japanese, a difficult language to master, I'm sure he knew at least five or six other languages.

After dinner and saying goodbye to Susan, I took the metro over to the 5th arr. and shopped around rue de la Harpe and the St. Michele area, as I wanted to purchase a few souvenirs. The area was crowded and all the tourist restaurants were filled. I took some final night photos of Notre Dame. While in the area, a young French man asked me for directions to the Place St. Michele on the left bank. I smiled and directed him. I loved it! Twice now on this trip I was asked for directions. I walked back to the right bank. My street, rue Vieille du Temple was hopping. People were walking on the sidewalks and in the streets. I wanted to have one last drink at one of the cafes, but since I needed to get up early to head out, I went back to the room.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179316980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179316980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179316980/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:04:07 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Paris, France

May 16th, 2007, Wednesday: I slept in a little while Louisa got ready to leave to go to the airport. We both went to "our" bakery for breakfast. I took mine on the run after saying goodbye to Louisa, as I was heading to Montmartre for a 10:30am walking tour with Paris Walks (12 Euros). The tour started at metro Abbesses. Malcolm, a British man, was our guide for the 2-hour walking tour. There were probably about 28 people in the group, including Anne and Jim! I was very surprised to see them. The tour was very informative, as Malcolm talked about the various artists (Picasso, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Lautrec) who lived in the area. We walked along the various streets of Montmartre while Malcolm pointed out various sights, including the working houses; rue de la Mire (0 meridian line), etc.

Anne, Jim and I had lunch at Bistro Lepicurien, a lovely small place that seats about 25 people, located on rue Lepic. My Salad Perigourdine was fabulous: mixed greens topped with a nice thick slice of foie gras terrine, thinly sliced duck and gizzard. I had a filet of Rouget a la Provencale, which is red mullet, on top of an eggplant puree. I wasn't thrilled with the flavor of the fish but eating it with the pureé was fine. I could have just eaten the salad and been happy with that. I think the salad was one of my best entrées on this trip.

I said my goodbyes to Anne and Jim and I walked around the Sacre Coeur and Place du Teatre with all the artists working the tourist crowd. Young girls were having their portraits made. I even saw the same Asian man that did my silhouette portrait back in 1999! He was still cutting out portraits with his black paper and scissors. I headed out on the east side of the Sacre Coeur and down some stairs and ended up in the fabric district. Shop after shop was filled with any type of fabric you could think of. There were even shops selling belly-dancing outfits. Along Boulevard Clichy, men were trying to sell belts and sunglasses. I took a few shots of the Moulin Rouge before getting on the metro and heading back to the apartment. I wanted to go to the Musee Carnavalet, but I spent more time than planned at Montmartre. At least I was at the museum on one of my previous trips. Too much to see and do in Paris and always never enough time!

Before dinner at Le Caveau de L'Isle, I had a kir at the café/bar next to my apartment building. Sitting at a table nearby was a woman and her small longhaired daschund was sitting on the chair next to her. She fed him some of her snacks and fed him water that she poured into the coffee cup saucer. I talked to her for a few minutes and she told me she used to live in New Orleans but now lives in Paris and loving life.

I walked over to the Ile St. Louis and window shopped before dinner. At the restaurant I sat next to a woman who was traveling alone. We chatted for a few minutes before she left - she must have arrived when the place opened. There were 3-4 other couples in the small dining room. For dinner, I started with their terrine de foie gras de canard, confiture de figue, duck pâté which was served with three slices of crusty bread and decorated with thinly sliced carrots. The fig purée on top of the foie gras made for a very nice combination of flavors. Next I had Cotes d'agneau grilles, ail en chemise, gratin Dauphinois (two lamb chops served with potatoes au gratin) - delicious! I ordered a small bottle of red wine. Although the food was very good and beautifully presented, the terrine foie gras salad at Bistro Lepicurien was much better and with a larger portion of foie gras. Also, one disappointing thing was that all of the diners were tourists. All other places I dined in had a good mixture of locals and tourists. Very good dinner, but I might not return here because of the tourist-only atmosphere. During dinner, a woman asked me if I'd like my picture taken, so just as her son was getting ready to take the picture, one of the waiters jumped in. We all laughed. Overall, it was a nice night. I walked back to the apartment taking some night shots of the Seine and boats along the way.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179223260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179223260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179223260/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:01:59 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Amiens, France

May 15th, Tuesday: Louisa and I had an early wake up call (5:30-6:00am) so we could take the train from Gare du Nord to Amiens. The bakery downstairs was not open yet, so we grabbed a bite at the station. Gare du Nord is huge and quite confusing with its many signs, levels, and doorways to the various tracks. I couldn't access our pre-paid tickets from the ticket machine, so I stood in line for about 10 minutes at the ticket office. It wasn't a big deal, although one couple was in line complaining how slow things were in Europe and that they couldn't wait to go home and never return to Europe. Good, they can stay home! Travelers like me don't need people like them to give us a bad name.

The train ride was about 1 hour 10 minutes and it was a lovely sunny day, although in the low to mid 50s - probably our coolest day on this trip. Amiens is a lovely town and has the largest Cathedral in France. Construction began around 1220 and after going through several phases of construction, was completed in the 1500s. Amiens was bombed in both WW's but the Cathedral was untouched. We enjoyed the Picardie museum after our visit to the Cathedral. This museum has fine arts (I saw one painting by El Greco), sculptures, and archeological artifacts. There was a special exhibit on paintings by Clovis Trouille, a Surrealist. Lots of sex involved in his paintings and quite colorful. On display was a "confessional," which we were each given a token by a man working at the museum that had a grin on his face. Inserting the token and peeking through the small hole, one could see a woman ....er.... giving a very personal "oral" confession to the priest. We warned a sweet older couple not to look through the peephole. Fortunately they told us their eyesights were very poor and couldn't see anything inside.

The Saint-leu-quarter is quite lovely, which is called the "little Venice" for its many canals. It's quite picturesque. After our lunch of crepes, we took a walk along Hortillonnages, or gardens. Tourists were taking boat tours along the waterway. Two beautiful swans were along the waters edge, while ducks and their chicks swam in the water. I had some bread in my bag, so I fed the chicks.

Amiens has other sights, including the Jules Vern museum but was closed when we were there. Our train back to Paris was delayed by about 10 minutes. Upon arrival back at Gare du Nord, we hit the rush hour on the metro. Wow, we were packed in the metro like sardines in a can! We had to make one change, and as we got closer to our stop, it became less crowded.

Louisa packed most of her suitcase before dinner, as she was heading home the next day. We met up with fellow Fodorites/Slow Travelers (Sam, Anne and Jim, and Jan) at Bistro de L'Oulette (previously named Baracane) located one block east of Place des Vosges. We had a great time and we all really enjoyed the food at this place. We all started with an aperitif followed by a few bottles of house wine to go along with our meals. I had their house pate w/mushrooms and a wonderful Cassoulet, which is a heavy kind of stew with beans, sausage, gizzards, and duck. It was just wonderful and I couldn't eat it all, as it was indeed quite heavy to eat at this time of year. It's definitely a winter dish. Now I need to find a recipe! Louisa had duck with a side of potatoes au gratin. I had a taste and it was delicious! With dessert, we each paid 50 Euros, which was well worth the price for the quality and portions of the food, the service, and especially the company. Josie, the young waiter, took care of the entire room, including the bar, while two chefs cooked the meals in the tiny kitchen.

After we went our separate ways, Louisa and I walked back via rue Rivoli and then up to rue des Rosiers. We met a young couple along the way; Clinton and Julien had been looking for someone to translate a note that was written in French, which someone gave to them at a bar. It seemed a lesbian couple propositioned them. We overheard their conversation and he looked towards us saying, "Oh, I bet they understood everything we just said," and I turned to him and said, "Yes we did." They broke out laughing in total embarrassment, as they thought we were French. After talking to them for about 10 minutes, we headed on and were stopped by two women who were looking for directions to the nearest metro.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179150960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179150960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mjpileggi/2/1179150960/tpod.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:56:47 -0500 Paris, May 2007 - Return to Paris after five years. Markets, markets, and even more markets!

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Paris, France

May 14th, Monday: Today Louisa and I went our separate ways for the day. Louisa headed to Montmartre and I returned to the left bank. I headed to Notre Dame first visiting the park behind the Cathedral and then the Memorial de la Deportation. Many roses were in bloom and it was a beautiful sunny day. I didn't go into Notre Dame, as the line at the entrance was long. I've been there several times, and in any case, Saint Chapelle is my favorite Cathedral in Paris! I wandered over to the left bank and stopped inside Eglise Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, one of the oldest churches in Paris. I walked over to rue Saint Andres des Arts towards rue de Buci. I found an internet café on 10 rue Git-Le-Coeur, which has cheap internet service! It was my first chance to stop and send out an email. I couldn't access my blog page, so I sent out an email.

Continuing on, I walked along rue de Buci (one of my favorite market streets) to check out the food shops before metro-ing over to rue Cler for lunch. I missed most of the market street action, as it was about 1:30pm, so I found a bistro to have a croque monsieur and a small salad for lunch. It lightly rained while I was inside. La Terrasse du 7eme is located on a great corner, place de l'Ecole Militaire. There's a metro there too and I watched people come and go as I sat at my window seat. After lunch, I walked to La Tour Maubourg métro station and met up with Louisa about 2:45pm for our 3pm French revolution walking tour with Classic Walks (12 Euros) www.classicwalksparis.com. Jason was our tour guide and there were eight women in the group. He told us he was happy about having an all-women group and we chuckled at his comment. It started to rain and Louisa and I ended up sharing Jason's poncho as an umbrella for a while. We usually carried our umbrellas, but not this day! The weather report on t.v. called for sunny skies. It did stop after a while. The tour began at Les Invalides and ended near the Conciergerie. Jason talked about the events leading up to the French revolution (and afterwards), King Louis VXI and Marie Antoinette and their beheadings, the guillotine, the Bastille (only seven prisoners were released), etc. It was a very informative tour and Jason seemed to enjoy his job of guiding tourists in Paris. The walk was about 2.5 miles and quite comfortable since we stopped along at various points.

After our walk back to our apartment (maybe another half mile or so) and some time relaxing with our feet up and a drink in hand, we went to dinner at Chez Janou. This was a very lively restaurant near the Place des Vosges and was packed to the gills by the time we started our second course. We sat on the terrace with their standing heaters and plastic covering, as it was a much cooler evening. Everything was delicious: Moules gratines provencale and a risotto with scallops. Louisa had the same starter and a pasta dish with escargots and we shared a bottle of white wine. We were glad to be on the terrace, as the dining room was filled with cigarette smoke and was very noisy. We both felt this was a great place and a very good value for dinner.
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