Paris 2009

It is funny to think that this whole trip started on the back row of Annapolis Chorale practice! And since the trip in November it has just been crazy and since I did not take my computer to Paris (hard to believe) I have finally remembered that wooo I actually have a travel blog!

So this all start with a possible trip with my college friend Wendy to Dubai and Paris to visit her brother. When that sort of fell through I was telling the story to Marcy and she said...hmmm I could do Paris. I said really? She said sure...when? So with in like four weeks we made the plans, booked the hotel and flight and left for Paris. New friends, Marcy and chuckled that this may make or break our new friendship.

So...left out of BWI...well not really...when we got there our flight was delayed and the next one would not get us to Philly when we needed to to make our flight to Paris. So U.S. SWEAR taxied us up to philly on a rainy busy night.

We were unfortunately in the back of the plane and while I was uncomfortable my 6 ft traveling companion was even m

ore so.

We made our way through the Paris airport with our horrible French and managed a

cab to the city ($50), expensive but certainly the easy way to get there!

After regaining our sleep our first full day was the warmest and nicest so we set out to the Eiffel Tower. We stay at the Hotel Pont Royal i nthe heart of St. Germain des Pres. Although I was excited about the well know restaurant attached to it (it's a Joël Robuchon restaurant) we never really got around to eat there.

The hotel was lovely and in a PERFECT location. We walked everywhere afraid to mss a single thing.

Being that a month has gone by all I can say is that we got a long famously the whole five days and were rewarded with a business class seat on the return to the US. The food was fabulous, we spent too much and we enjoyed every minute.

Ah Paris, I miss you wine, your food, you quaint shops and beautiful views!

A Weekend in the City

Birthday celebrations are always fun, but when you add two birthdays and a town like New York wellllllllll....it can only be perfect.

The planning took some effort and coordination but in the end I think it was a success. 

The weekend adventure began with half of the attendees getting up to NY from Baltimore on Friday afternoon (Jan 30, 2009). I knew the weekend would be fun when we got in trouble on the train for being noisy in the "quiet" car of the train. Granted none of us knew

 it was the quiet car and the noisy person for once was not me! Upon arrival we went to the oyster Bar in Grand Central. One of my musts when I visit. I love the setting, the hustle and the pan roasts! The four Annapolis gals met up with one NJ girl and my sis from Colorado. After a lovely late lunch we headed up to the Waldorf  Hotel and the Bear and Bull bar that hosts a financial Fox tv show. After an expensive drink and getting a few mugs on tv we head to a place called the Stitch (in the garment district) to meet up with my sister's friend friends. What a great

bunch of New Yorkers....warm hearted...funny and just a joy to talk to. The only regret is a slight bump and pour of red wine all over my new white sweater. Oh well so goes happy hour in a bar in NYC! Here is the gang minus me...I am behind the camera. Still have not figured out how to get that stain off! All of this before 8! 

In the mean time we were in touch with the second movement of friends to the big apple. Seem Sharon was running late...not really anything new for Sharon but I was confident she would make the train...and in fact she did. With a few delays...they made it to the Hotel somewhere around 8 ish...ironically before we made it out of the bar!

More on the rest of the weekend soon...so exciting.

Sailing the Penobscot Bay

So John was right...Friday was a perfect day to go sailing. Maine=weather changes every half hour! Yep...foggy and cool at 11...sunny and warm at 1130! That said by the time we made it to the boat it was an incedible day and stayed that way the rest of the afternoon. We sailed out of Stockton Harbor over to Castine. Saw the Maine Maritine Academy from the water and the Castine Lighthouse...on the way back seals and ospreys welcome our return back to stockton. That evening we went to Woodman's in Orono...great little place...owners were great...we had great food and great drink. The owner, who was behind the bar even knew how to make a dark and stormy...yum all the way around!
Saturday we took a early morning walk then returned to take the canoe up the lake to what I like to call Eagle Island. The water was calm so canoing was easy. On our quiet arrival Jean and I saw the adult eagle on one end of the island. He/She was majestic and watching us closely! Still amazing everytime I see one that close in the wild...as we canoed around the island toward the nest we were sloghtly disappointed not to see one of the juveniles we had seen a few days earlier. then as we turned the corner to catch a few loons fishing we looked up and there on a baren tree hanging over the lake were BOTH juvenile. The one on is huge! To me seems twice as big at about 1 or 2 than the mature one was. His/her sibling is slightly small...they too watched us carefully as we just stopped to admire. Oh my! Headed back in for a lunch snack and a little fishing...then we all took Page out water skiing. The evening ended with some friends coming over to our hosts house for dinner. A short evening since we had to leave early the next moring to head home. What a great week in Maine...great weather, hosts, food, drink, water sports, nature! AMAZING!

Day on the Lake and Acadia

Yesterday was the first true sunny day here so we took the opportunity to go to Acadia National Park. Unfirtunately every other person in the whole world thought of it too. Jean and John said they never saw it so packed! Minus any parking anywhere we pulled in to Jorden Pound, parking illegally, everyone else was doing it, and dropped Page off to do her 20ish mile loop. We headed to Northeast Harbor and had a picnic...then the seal beach and then back to pick up Page. After getting the bike on the car we headed up to Cadillac Mountain. First time either Page or I had been up when it was not foggy. Well this time, spectacular views of Frenchman Bay, including Jordan Island...I think I finally pick out the right one Alicia.

Then we headed home, stopping at a lobster shack for some live Maine lobster...John cooked, we et and we all had a real nice time!

This morning was another slow Maine burn...so we slowly burned with it...blueberry pancakes at 1030...crazy! By one we were on the boat and my attempt at water skiing This is the first time in 20-25 years failed miserably! I was able to hand on the tube which was quite fun. What made it worse was that everyone else got up....argh! I hate old knees and old shoulders!

Then John and I went out to the market...when I go back I headed to the dock once more to try my hand at this illusive "sport" they call fishing. I have not had much luck in the last 4 or five days. So I tried John's super duper poll and lure and within 6 casts I had a pickeral...shouted for John because, it dawned on me that I had never taken a fish off a hook...and this fish was nasty looking, especially the teeth. Then John went back in to cook dinner...and within 4 casts I had a small mouth bass on my line...shouting for John one more time!!! This time John said...no more fishing I have to cook dinner...so alas, not knowing how to actually take the thing off the hook I retired, for now, after a somewhat successfull day on the lake.

Lake Pushaw, Maine

Caught a fish! That said, it was at 0700 with no one else to witness the event. Once I realized I caught it I thought "where is John"...I was not quite sure what to do with it! Luckily it knew that and broke away from the hook...whew...saved me having to a. detach it or b. run to the house and have John remove it (such a girl in some ways).
Slightly overcast today...so we headed out to Camden (about 2 hours). On the way we stopped in Belfast...no not ireland....but Maine. Maine it seems has mainly foreign countries in its state borders...Bath, york, Paris, lisbon, Poland etc. So we stopped right around lunch...too bad cause I had to of course have a lobsta roll....yummo! We ate at a walk up place at a picnic table. Straight lobsta...a very tiny bit of mayo on a toasted potato roll. I must say lobster could possibly be the only reason to come to Maine...if you need one.
One Camden...very touristy but a great waterfront with at least 5 to 6 Schooners in the harbor! Headed back to Bangor and had a fabulous italian dinner at massmimo's....this guy use to work and cook in New york...he is from Rome...great cheaf and a great host. Had a fabo osso bucco and a wine from Piemonte! In Maine! Really, better than anything in little italy in Baltimore.
On the way home avoided hitting a skunk...yeah!
Gotta love Maine! hopefully water skiing tomorrow...if the weather holds.

Summer on Lake Pushaw

Woke up to my alarm at 4am that I FOGOT TO SHUT OFF! Argh! but was able to fall back asleep. Woke up around 7 to a foggy chilly morning...being the first up I popped in the shower. The mornign was spent watching Olympics and waiting for the fog to wear off.
In the mean time John made some yummy omlets and momosas...what a great start to a vacation. The weather started clearing around 11am. Sat out on the pier/dock for about an hour...then John and I went for a canoe while Page and Jean floated and read on the Lake. Pulled up to meet a neighbor who seemed to own a good portion fo the land...he had built his own cabin. After the tour we continued on to a island in the lake and saw a HUGE juvinile (not showing the white head yet) bald eagle. He was so beautiful and big. Then canoed back to the house. John go the little motor boat running and we went back to show Page and Jean the eagle. When we got there the other sibling was there and they were flying around playing. It was incredible.
After a little tour of the lake...we stopped to dump Page in the water and watch her swim back to the dock ( part of her training for a mini tri she has in three weeks). A little shocked by the chilly water she had a shaky start but got stronger and stronger into the swim. Nice job!
A little fishing lesson and a few dark and stormy and we are now preparing for dinner...John is cooking...we are sipping wine...not a bad B&B this Nowak place.

Summer on Lake Pushaw

Have not done a road trip in AGES! But my roomie and I decided to drive up this summer to visit my friends Jean and John in Maine (Bangor). So I got four new tires on the old honda accord, woke at 4am to beat the traffic thru NY, and we were off...bikes in tow on the new rack attached to said old Honda.
We did indeed beat the traffic in NY and had a great day for driving. We took one detour through Ipswitch to visit a place Bob Coble told me I had to stop at...so out of Boston we hooked on to 1A...through a few little towns...Hamilton etc on our way to find the Clam Box. We arrived at 1:30 pm finding a open box shaped shack with a line about 20 people long on theoutside and at least 30 cars slammed in the parking lot.
I got in line while Page found the head...I struck up conversation with the people in front of me....he was not from here, she was...and filled me in that indeed this was the best place to get fried clams, scallops and shrimp. We waited...and waited...the people in front of us left because evidently the place switches out the oil at 2:30...granted this was still 25 minutes away....surely we will have ordered by then we thought. By 2:30 we got up to the door of the place and by the time they took our order (the oil was still being cleaned out) it was 2:50. We could not believe we were still waiting but we figured we already invested the time...what do we do...leave for another place at 3pm after an hour and a half? So we stuck it out! Got it to go. The scallops were my favorite and it was quite delicious. So back on the road we finally ran into traffic...at the toll to NH. My patience was being tested all day clearly. Once we made it through the toll all was better and we sailed in to Bangor with no issues other than almost running out of gas. Tired but happy we arrived to a lovely glass of wine, frech steamed mussels and anti pasta plate at the Nowak lake house. I crashed early while Page and John stayed up to watch the Olympics. End of Day one.