Leonard Family Around the World Adventure

Tuesday February 26 th . One of the only complaints about the room is no internet – there is Wi-Fi but the fees are very expensive. I am going to have to break down and get connectivity soon – just not sure when. We got up at 8am – Pam and I got ready and then woke the girls. Left them to get ready and work on schoolwork while she and I return the car. As we emerge from the hotel we realize it is not only overcast but it is raining. Puts a damper on our mood. On the walk to the car we both get a Starbucks coffee – just black brewed coffee – I am in heaven and our mood improves. We arrive at the street where we left the car and there are 2 ladies, one on each side of the street – writing tickets – we hurry to our car relieved to see nothing on the window. We hope in and pull away – I glance at the clock – 9:03 am – had we been even 30 seconds later we would have had an expensive parking ticket. Our mood improves even more. Traffic is very heavy – it takes us 20 minutes to find a g

Monday February 24 th . I did not sleep last night – a terrible case of insomnia – I ended up watching a movie on my iphone – Next – which I enjoyed and reading a good portion of War and Peace. I cannot stop thinking about the impending end of our trip; all of the chores that we will need to accomplish when we arrive home and the upcoming re-immersion into work. Today we get up and hit the road by 9:30 am. Not too bad – I am not unhappy to be leaving our room. Although it was cheap it was very bare and people came in and out throughout the night – the walls are thin and the floors above us shook with their footsteps. We decide to stay on the toll ways and we make it to Paris a little after 3 – after paying about 55 Euro in tolls. Our only stop was for fuel and a quick lunch at a roadside cafeteria. We are hopelessly lost as we arrive at Paris but somehow stumble across the Garde de Nord as if we had driven there 100 times. We park the car underneath and head the less than helpful to

Sunday February 24 th . Up this morning I work on blogs a little and read some. We decide to stay another night which is nice so we do not have to pack our bags, we have been moving at a pretty fast pace and would like a full day here. Pam makes the arrangements for the room. We are heading out to look at sights, hopefully to find a wine tour and things open even though it is Sunday. I think tomorrow morning we will try to leave early - not sure if we are heading to Paris or to Mont St Michelle. I cannot believe that this Saturday we head back to the States. We ended up hitting the Modern Art Museum – the building was fabulous – what great space for a museum. As far as the exhibits– well Aria is the only one that really seemed to enjoy it. After the Museum, we walked around the city, had lunch at the L'Entrecote – a famous local food place. Very nice – no decisions to be made other than drinks and how you want the meat prepared. They serve a salad, thin delicious steaks – get t

Saturday February 23 rd . We get up and ask the girls if they want to surf or go to the aquarium. Allysha wants to surf- Aria does not. They go check out the waves as last night they were absolutely huge – too big for them to surf. They come back with discrepancies- Allysha said it is fine Aria disagrees. We pack up the car – I look at the conditions – it does not look to good – waves are ill formed and mushy – there is no real pattern to where they are breaking except for those breaking in the middle of a bunch of rocks. It is low tide and many of the ships in the harbor are resting on the bottom. The views and weather are spectacular. We walk a little and decide to head up the coast. Allysha is disappointed at not getting to surf. I think we are headed to Bordeaux but we decide to hit another coastal town - Arcachon We stop by the biggest Sand Dune in Europe and climb it. There are a lot of visitors. The climb for me is very painful and Pam is much winded when we reach the top.

Friday February 22 nd . Woke up this morning in extreme pain – having a attack in my left knee and right wrist. I take my meds and start some prednisone. I am so sad -there is so much I want to see but I cannot even walk. I wonder what triggers the attacks – too much cheese perhaps? So I start catching up on blogging while I lay in bed and the girls are getting ready. I actually take a vicodine – not sure what we are going to do. There is a chateau and a scenic walk we wanted to do here. I add up the days of the trip and realize to whole duration is only 96 days - up till now I have been thinking it was 110. So as of today we only have 15 more days. The duration of the trip from a perception of time passing has been neither long nor short – it is amazing when we think about all of the places we have been and how much we have learned and how our perspectives have broadened. I am not sure if the original goals have been met but it is an experience I would not trade for anything. I

Thursday February 21 st . After getting up we packed the car and walked and rove to the parking garage near the Nimes Coliseum. It is one of the best preserved roman amphitheatres in the world – although a little smaller than the one in Rome it is in much better condition – as a matter of fact it is still in use – for bull fighting. The audio tour is one of the best – not too be missed. It described the games and uncovered many Hollywood misrepresentations of the games and gladiators, described the types of gladiators – the fighting styles - a very informative tour. Included in admission to the coliseum was a 3D movie that was show a few blacks away in another roman building. A third admission was included to a tower but it was a long walk and we decided to grab a quick lunch which we ate on Rue Victor Hugo. My only complaint so far about France is how hard it has been to order food - menus age very hard for us to decipher. A brief fuel stop filling the tank for 55 Euros – yikes

Wednesday February 20 th Again we woke to glorious weather. On the way out of town we stop for a road map of France. Our next stop is Avignon, a walled city built in the mid 13 th century. I guess the bridge at Avignon is part of a famous nursery rhyme – which none of us had ever heard. We walked around the town and our plan was to eat lunch here and move on. The first place we sat down at was very expensive and was not serving the formulae or set menu since it was already a little after 2pm. We decided to move on and next door we found a set menu. Following lunch we visited the Musee Angladon – a donated private collection from Jaques Doucet (1853-1929). There was a Van Gogh – Railway Cars, works by Picasso, Vegas, Manet. A nice collection – I imagine what it would be lie to be surrounded by such works at my own house. The Picasso piece was my favorite a small painting of a guitar on a chair but I could look at it for ours. The Van Gogh used the natural color of the canvas

Tuesday February 19 th . We picked up the car at noon – drove back to the hotel got the luggage and the girls and hit the road. We had a beautiful coastal drive to Cannes where we ate lunch at a restaurant in the Sofitel. This whole region is so beautiful – the coastal towns – the roads what a wonderful adventure just driving along. The weather remains perfect sunny and 19 degrees. The roads are in great condition. We drive on to St Tropez where we find an apartment for 50 euro. What a great price. We walk along the beach to the town. There are many hotels that are closed for the season – the sun sets during the walk and the moon is out providing light. It is beautiful. We walk through the town and there are about 20-25 multi-million dollar yachts backed up to the dock. I think back to the boat we used to own and I look at the people dining in these floating mansions ad imagine how much money it must cost just to maintain them – and I wish I had enough money to enjoy such a priv

Monday February 18 th . I am writing this on Saturday the 22 nd – I have not blogged since last Sunday. It has been very busy and I am in love with France. The only reason I am blogging now is I have had a terrible attack of arthritis – my knee is swollen and my right wrist – I am laying in the hotel room in pain and wondering what I am going to do. Anyways, last Monday we spent time in Nice. What a wonderful city! In the morning we looked into a rental car – the plan that is emerging is to drive across the south of France seeing the sights e wish to – all the way to the Atlantic the city of Biarritz – supposed to be the best surfing in France. The Weather is spectacular. I really enjoy this place – I can imagine how busy it must be on the French Riviera during the summer. Although the beaches are small pebbles it is 6km long and bordered by a huge promenade. We got on a Tour bus that does a 1.5 hour circle with commentary. What a great way to see the city and the commentary add

Sunday February 17 th . We arrived in Trieste this morning at 6:30am. We had a few passport checks during the early morning hours – I think it was Slovenia and Italy but not sure. We start to explore our options and through a complicated process decide to catch a train to Milano via Meste. We have time for a Cappuccino before we head out. On the train I start to read the France and Milan Lonely Planet entries. I am very concerned about heading to Milan. It sounds preys and we might not get to see the Last Supper – at least Pam assures me it is not fashion week which means the place is even more expensive and impossible to find lodging. When we get to Meste we grab McDonalds – I feel guilty eating it but it also brings a little comfort to my day. Pam decides to talk to the information lady. When she returns she has found out that it is Italian Fashion week – our worst nightmare. Am has got some information regarding trains to Nice and Monaco. On the trip we decide to try and catch

Saturday February 16 th . We get up this morning and pack. There is a cab meeting us at noon to transport us to the ferry terminal. Even so it is a challenge to move our luggage up the flights of stairs to the designated meeting point. How does our luggage keep growing? The cab shows up on time – we talk about the war on the way to the terminal -I give him a generous tip. I am so disturbed –although I have witnessed and participated in a war it was never in my home town – I cannot imagine the suffering and fear and associated feelings being forced to defend your hometown. He tells us that more civilian's were killed than militia. He sounds bitter that no country came to their aid for a very long time – I feel embarrassed. We head into the ticket office – I am relieved – we have plenty of time only -the lady selling ticket says there is no Ferry to Bari – the information we had been given by the information center was wrong – the next ferry is Tuesday. Obviously this is not acc

Friday February 15 th . The plan today was to rent a car for 24 hours – drive t some of the surrounding towns and islands and to use the car to head to the terminal to meet the ferry tomorrow. We walked to the Hertz store where Pam had inquired about the car the day before – we have a very heavy day pack as we are planning on having a car. Well, we did not make a reservation so there was no car – not sure how that was overlooked yesterday –I am frustrated but we continue into town. We end up taking a bus t the newer part of town – Lapad and surrounding area. There is a beautiful promenade that runs aside the ocean. It is funny seeing the beaches that are carved out of boulders – metal ladders sunk directly into rocks making the sea look like a beautifully maintained swimming pool. We see many people swimming across the bay sans wetsuit. We wander around and find a Mexican food place – we eat and make our way back to the room.

Thursday February 14 th . Another day of glorious weather – we visit the city and another gallery. We walk through a number of churches and visit memorial war exhibit. So many civilians were killed. The Girls go shopping while I have a couple cold drinks at a terrace outside the city walls facing the ocean. The views are spectacular – the ocean so blue and sparkling, the islands and towns on the distance. I am making good progress through my novel. This evening we go to see Beowulf. The girls did not like it but I enjoyed it. I cannot remembered how true it was to the story – it has been years since I read it. We grab dinner and then we see Sweeny Todd. WOW – what an absolutely graphic movie – unexpectedly so. Many people walk out during the movie – perhaps not the Valentine's day flick they expected. Not sure why we are seeing so many movies – but has been a relaxing couple of days. We head back to the room and I enjoy a few glorious chapters of Tolstoy.

Wednesday February 13 th . Today we get up – there are some minor skirmishes – disproves my hypothesis that a nice place to stay helps us get along. The weather is glorious. We leave Aria in the room – she wants some time to herself. Allysha Pam and I explore the city and walk the top of the city walls. The views are spectacular – I have a couple instances of vertigo. There are people living in apartments that can only be reached via the city walls some of them even sell souvenirs right out of their windows. Allysha purchases a handmade bracelet – nothing too special except for the fact that she buys it on top of the wall. We have lunch at Arsenal – our waiter was here during the war and he describes the conditions – I can see the impact it has had on him. We go back to pick up Aria.     We hit the modern art museum. There are some temporary displays of photographer - one of them is a series of photos of featuring Pablo Picasso as the subject. There are also some interesting pain

Tuesday February 12 th . I get up at 8:30am – everyone else is still asleep. I check email and do some blogging. I also start my new novel – War and Peace by Count Leo Tolstoy. Not sure how I have never read this novel – I guess there are many classics that I have missed. Regardless – the forward by Pat Conrad makes we salivate at the thought of reading this work. It takes a few minutes before the novel grabs me and I am struggling as usual remembering the names of the characters – it is especially complex with the Russian Patronymics, formal and informal names of the characters but I am hooked. I have a hard time putting the book away and it is an instant addition to my day pack or jacket pocket and each time I heft t I am happy at its bulk. I have the feeling that I do not want this book to ever end – and right now given the 3.5 inches of processed thin trees behind my bookmark it seems like it never will. It is a beautiful day and I am excited with our new plan and the relief of

Monday February 11 th . Allysha ended up sleeping with me in the single upstairs – it was so cold downstairs. Pam basically froze and when she hoped into the shower this morning the hot water only lasts a few minutes. We are all in a foul mood and I think a lot of it has to do with us being uncomfortable. At first glance this place seemed adequate but there is some underlying subtleties that make it almost uninhabitable – only 2 towels, no hot water, no heater downstairs, the stairs to the second level are very steep and narrow – beds are the size of sleeping bags, the furniture is particle board – no decorations etc. We are all crabby and barking and nagging seems the main form of communication – I blame it on the accommodations. Pam heads to the information booth (she is fed up) and returns shortly telling us to pack up we are changing locations. I think we are all relieved – and pack in record time even in the cramped location. We leave the money and the key on the counter and h