A lazy Sunday. Nonna and Logan both very tired, and rested all day (following an early lunch of croq

My journal of  a 49 day, nearly 5000 kilometer, driving tour through France and Northern Italy during September and October of 2006. I was accompanied by my mother (aka Nonna) and joined by Michael Logan (twice) and other friends along the way. A long trip, and a long story…
So through security (some special alert today…who knows why; fortunately we had a town car and that could bypass the roadside checkpoint…apparently terrorists aren't smart enough to hire town cars?) flight one way ticket to florida under 100 and waiting flight one way ticket to florida under 100 in the WorldClub lounge to board the plane to Paris. Everyone thinks I left 2 days ago, when I really just went to Tustin to pack and to work until today. Air France check in very nice; security the usual annoyance. Not excessive, considering. Have decided Airport Check-in should be one event in the Modern Triathlon. One is exhausted by the time one gets to the lounge. Not to even mention boarding the plane. flight one way ticket to florida under 100 And it is prohibited to take water on board. Silly. Oh, and I packed too much stuff. flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Too many t-shirts. Next entry from Paris.
Arrived flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Paris. Flight uneventful, almost pleasant, despite coach seats. Very good dinner. Slept a bit. Watched To Catch a Thief and Transamerica on video. Slow, trafficy taxi ride into Paris. Hotel Malher (across the street from the Sevigne) would be nice, except for the scaffolding and constant parade of workmen in front of our street-facing windows. It's seven o'clock. You'd think they'd go home now? Only had time to have a coffee and quick walk around the neighborhood. Nonna broke her purse strap on the plane! So I found one very similar, just by luck, at the pricey Manderina Duck store just down the street, and bought it for her. Saw a new restaurant on the Place de Vosges that had a nice menu—but it is on the touristy Place de Vosges, so you never know. Cloudy and occasionally drizzly flight one way ticket to florida under 100 here but not cold, and no real rain. Hope it stays like this, more or less.
A lazy Sunday. Nonna and Logan both very tired, and rested all day (following an early lunch of croques at the Palais flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Royale and a short walk). I'm feeling a bit melancholy, for no particular reason. Perhaps the inactivity, flight one way ticket to florida under 100 though I'm a bit tired myself. The weather's good—the threatened rain has never materialized, and though the sky is gray, the temperature is mild. Except for the gray sky, it still looks like summer—the trees green and full of leaves, the tourists in shorts. This weekend was some kind of open monument days. Buildings not usually open could be toured (the Hotel de Ville, for example, though I didn't stand in the line to walk through it) and the courtyards of some private hotels particuliers. We got into the Orangerie for free yesterday, and into the Orsay at a reduced price. I thought about popping into the Louvre today, flight one way ticket to florida under 100 since we were at the Palais Royale, but I didn't. Took a long walk, this part of town very busy today, as it's Sunday; mobs of people shopping in the Marais, a long line to get into Notre Dame, crowds on the illes. A typical Sunday. Dinner at Willi's last night; I had crab, and then duck. Tonight we are trying flight one way ticket to florida under 100 the restaurant on the Place de Vosges, instead of our usual Sunday night at Balzar. I went out last night, but the nightlife at my usual haunts flight one way ticket to florida under 100 was rather dull.
I forgot to change the pick up date of the car! (We have a Peugeot lease/buyback flight one way ticket to florida under 100 through Auto Europe; much cheaper than renting a car, but slightly less flexible.) I called today, but they can't try to fix it until tomorrow. The guy I talked to seemed to think I would be able to pick it up a day early but he wouldn't promise until he talks to the France office tomorrow. I'm hoping it will be taken care of; I don't quite know what I'll do if it isn't. Trying to remain optimistic, and calm. Was careless of me; I had simply thought I had changed flight one way ticket to florida under 100 the date, when in fact I never did. I'm not going to write anything else now. I'm going to get dressed for dinner.
This morning we took the Metro out to St. Denis, to see the Cathedral, and the tombs of the French kings. I was really happy to have my new Leica digital camera…what a pleasure it is to have manual exposure control again! Great for shooting in cathedral flight one way ticket to florida under 100 interiors. After that, we took the metro back to the Galleries Lafayette. We had a mediocre flight one way ticket to florida under 100 lunch nearby (in hindsight, I think we should have eaten in one of the department store's multitude of restaurants.) The store was wild—it's huge and beautiful (enormous atrium with belle epoch glass dome, women dancing in cages, make-up artists doing make-overs, Kenyan acrobats!) Nonna was tired though, although she did make friends with one of the acrobats while Logan and I explored the food hall.
Some disappointments. Last night's restaurant, Cocona's, I wasn't too impressed with. And it seems it is not new, but has been there fifty years. How could I have never noticed it? I am still trying to figure that one out. Possibly it has been closed for remodeling for a time (everything looks new inside) but I don't really know. Nonna and Logan both really liked their dinners, while I found mine sort of mediocre. flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Maybe I just ordered the wrong things. I had a starter of mushrooms fricasseed with ham. It was large and salty. Then I had a wild duck served on choucroute; both seemed fine (though the duck didn't taste that wild) but together I didn't find them so happily paired. The atmosphere flight one way ticket to florida under 100 was a bit too sedate. It's owned by the famous Tour d' Argent. Tonight we went to Benoit, which though pricey, I have always enjoyed. It too is now owned by a conglomerate (celebrity chef Alain Ducasse) and I think it suffers for it. The food was excellent, but it just wasn't as festive. The waiters more restrained…it seems to have lost its unique personality. There was always a sense of fun there, that balanced its seriousness. I missed that tonight. Nonna had foie gras (always reliable) and Logan had a marinated salmon that was quite good. I had a pate that was good, but perhaps the tiniest bit bland. They always had such interesting entrees there…I flight one way ticket to florida under 100 remember the mad ballotine they used to serve. My veal main course was excellent though, and Logan liked his veal cheeks. My mother was not that impressed by her fish (a st pierre) but that was because the fish was too intensely flavored—not the fault of the fish at all, but rather Nonna's own aversion to fish. For dessert we shared a perhaps definitive version of the classic profiteroles—delicious little cream puffs, served with a scoop of excellent vanilla ice cream, and a separate pot of warm, bitter chocolate sauce. It was a deconstructed profiterole, and it worked beautifully—each item was delicious on it's own, and they combined perfectly. Still, I think I miss the old, more quirky, Benoit. Benoit flight one way ticket to florida under 100 was one of my favorite places to take people…it was pretty, the food was good, but mostly it was fun, and the staff always made a big fuss over you…they'd show you the food, they'd discuss it, they'd bring you extra desserts. None of that happened this time, and it all seemed rather soulless. I don't think I will go back anymore. It's rather sad to see its character lost to another corporate entity.
flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Nonna cannot flight one way ticket to florida under 100 walk at all at night. We had to take a taxi one metro stop from Benoit to the hotel! I don't know what she will do at Versailles tomorrow. The palace is huge with long staircases (forget it!) and the grounds are enormous. flight one way ticket to florida under 100 Hopefully she will be up to walking from the entrance to the tourist train that takes you around…but even that is something of a hike as I recall.
I needn't have worried about Nonna and Versailles! After a bit of a trek (for her) from the Hotel to the chateau, I discovered that at the entrance to the gardens you could rent golf carts! I rented a golf cart for an hour (28 euros an hour and well worth it) and drove her around the chateau gardens! She loved it, and what a relief for me. We didn't go in the house…she would have never made it up the all the stairs; besides, the palace is really pretty ugly inside, and the whole place (including the famous hall of mirrors and the front court) is under renovation. Well, you see how big it is from the outside, and its bigness is its outstanding feature. Logan didn't come with us, he stayed at our pleasant little inn (the Hotel du Barry) to work. He's working far too much on this trip; it's hard to get him to delegate and to schedule, but it does no good for me to tell him so. I guess I can't complain about the compulsiveness of others.
We ate across the street from the hotel at the Café des Arts, a cute little modestly priced restaurant. I had a tomato and feta salad, and veal liver. It was actually flight one way ticket to florida under 100 quite good. Nice breakfast room at the hotel.
We had no trouble picking up our Peugeot. They didn't even ask for my driver's license(!) and it was ready before two. The cab ride across Paris took forever. As did the driving around Versailles looking for the hotel. The actual drive from La Defense to Versailles only took about 20 minutes though.
Logan's TomTom navigation device, was cranky and wouldn't work yesterday. It magically started working on our drive to Orleans, and seems happy now. The car is nice; it's a huge four door sedan, very comfortable—a little too big for easy parking or navigating tiny streets, but just big enough to hold all the luggage in the trunk! It has an easy to use five speed stick, and plenty of power. It does, however, take 70 euros to fill the gas tank! I like the way it drives better than driving a diesel, but it is more expensive.
We got up and on the road by 10. We had no trouble finding our way to Orleans—and as I said, the navigation device started working on our journey there. We met Sebastien, from the Loire tourist press office, for lunch in Orleans. He took us to the Brasserie Place Mertroi in the center of town, where we all had plates of raw beef (either tartare or  carpaccio). Got the latest press kits from him and some suggestions for dinner and activities. It was nice of him to meet me again.
After lunch we walked flight one way ticket to florida under 100 to th