In Barcelona

October 13, 2010 The Hartleys slept like babies! So it was their good fortune to insist that we take the master bedroom. The back bedroom, I guess, is too far away to be affected by the nightclub craziness. Well, that made me feel much better. So I make a note: find earplugs today. Today we… Continue reading In Barcelona

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Off to Barcelona

October 12, 2010 We are off to Barcelona today! The Hartleys are bleary-eyed because they just got the news that Stephan’s son has a particularly aggressive form of melanoma last night. His surgery will be in a month so they won’t know until then how extensively it has spread. We tell them to go the… Continue reading Off to Barcelona

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Categorized as France, Trips

Montpellier

October 7, 2010 After a jet-lagged restless night the four of us set off for near-by Montpellier. We have visited this dynamic city several times and love it more each time we come. The city has been a commercial hub for over 1,000 years for traders from all parts of the known world. Its university… Continue reading Montpellier

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At the Hartleys

6 October 2010 We dived back into French culture today after a 2 year hiatus when we went grocery shopping at the street market in a near-by town with Catherine. That meant asking for help in French; exploring food items that we would never see in California (the fall mushrooms are incredible); trying to figure… Continue reading At the Hartleys

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In France

October 5, 2010 Our flight was a dream compared to what we would have experienced in “economy.” Our food was the same “just OK” meal in economy but the premium included “digestives” after dinner”: I got Liqueur de Poire Willams, a pear liqueur that was very good and H got cognac. Even though we had… Continue reading In France

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Off to France

October 4, 2010 We regretfully left our sweet babies, including our new arrival, Lucky, and we are now in LAX waiting for our flight to leave. Since our economy tickets only allowed us one piece of checked baggage, we were surprised to see so many people with well more than one bag. The couple ahead… Continue reading Off to France

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Categorized as France