I am an Amazing Wife - Bordeaux, France

Yes it's true, I am awesome......

 
This was a surprise trip for Dave that I planned without him knowing. We were *supposed* to be riding the a portion of the Camino De Santiago through northern Spain this week, which would have involved mountain biking 45+ miles each day for 8 consecutive days......with panniers.......with unpredictable weather......with Dave having done ZERO training. In any case, it would have been amazing (amazingly annoying for me) - but Bordeaux was a pretty OK consolation prize. Plus, Bordeaux is actually along the French section of the Camino De Santiago - so cool. We can pretend we did the Camino.

I booked us at the Petit Hotel Labottiere, thank you once again Tripadvisor.com for finding me a unique, awesome place to stay. The Neoclassic hotel building is spectacular, and located just a short 10 minute walk from the city center. It was originally constructed in the 1780's and was painstakingly restored and period-appropriately furnished by the owners over the last 30 years. The hotel portion of the building has only two guest rooms. We felt spoiled all weekend.

One of my favorite pieces in the hotel was a large clock with the god Chronos on the top, the three Fates in the middle, and Bacchus at the bottom. You are supposed to look at the clock and remember that life is short (Chronos), and the Fates can mess with your life and kill you tomorrow, so drink up and enjoy life (Bacchus)! Could ANY single piece of furniture sum up the French outlook on life better than that.

Breakfast in the hotel courtyard, yes - it really was that cool.

Getting a personal tour and history lesson with the hotel owner.

Just small part of our breakfast, duck and pork pate - homemade just down the street.

The city of Bordeaux is gorgeous and didn't feel at all choked with tourists, like Paris or Nice. The architecture is fantastic, and there were lots of old churches so I was happy. What can I say, we ate well and drank well - it is France after all.

We used the Bordeaux cycle hire scheme VCUB to check things out after we got tired of waling. OK urban planning friends, check out these simple bike-friendly upgrades the city has made including dedicated bike crossings, dedicated lanes, and really clear signage. Again, why are we Americans so stupid that we cannot do this.......

Along the river after dinner, it was midnight and packed with people enjoying the evening.

Since I am so awesome, I also booked us a small group 1-day trip into St. Emilion to wine taste. We went to two vineyards; one tiny place, and one larger and much more Napa-Valley-esque. We actually learned a good bit about the Bordeaux wine classification system (complicated) and such during the tour. The larger vineyard was going for a higher classification. As part of this, they have to go completely biodynamic and organic - no small feat when you are talking about a multimillion dollar investment in your wines.

Look how happy he is.

The vineyard's first stab at biodynamic practices, and lovely too.

Our tour finished in the town of Saint-Émilion, which is a World Heritage site. We had about an hour here and it wasn't enough. Yes the tiny town is touristy and crowded, but the whole place is dug out of a giant piece of limestone - come on that is cool. There are churches, underground ruins, wine shops, monastery buildings, and other awesome stuff. Must go back......

That church is carved out of the limestone, sweet!

 

How cute - barf.

 

Are you wondering what the eff is going on in the photo on the left, besides Dave wearing the same outfit he wore all weekend?

It is a WINE BAR at the FARMERS MARKET. My two favorite things in life put together, and it was packed.

Someone needs to get one of these going in Mountain View at the farmers market. I can barely face the market crowds without wanting to stab my own eyes out. I am thinking a chilled Rosé pre-shopping would really help.

Lola - My Love

My darling, sweet Lola got adopted this weekend!!!!!

I arrived at Battersea this morning, walked over to her kennel first thing (as I normally do), and it was empty. I was elated! That poor girl has been at Battersea since March and it showed. She un-house-trained herself and was a pretty stressed little dog. Apparently, she was adopted by a family that already has a male Beagle, so they know what they are in for with Lola. Beagles are cute little criminals. I wouldn't advise many people to pick that breed as a pet unless you have an iron will and child-proof locks on your cupboards and trash can.

I really wish I could have said goodbye. I will miss her LOUD howling at me because I wouldn't let her pull on her leash (that is standard at Battersea, all dogs are trained to walk calmly on the leash, no pulling), which irritated stubborn Lola to no end. It reminds me of my sister Meghan a little - ha ha.

This weekend our friends K.R., H.R., and their little girl C.R. came to visit from the Bay Area, and we spend some time with them. The weather finally improved today and it was gorgeous. I hope maybe "summer" is finally here, well..... "summer" by English standards - meaning sunny and warmer than 65 degrees.

We don't let him around children normally.

NYC: Tolerant of Your Beliefs - Judgmental of Your Footwear

I love New York. To be fair, I have only been there in the spring or fall when the weather is really comfortable - avoiding entirely the worst of humidity in the summer and piles of dirty snow in the winter. However, it is the friends we have in NYC that make the place so special. To that end, here it is - the NYC report card.

The blessedly sunny and warm days served up by the weather gods, it could not have been any better. A+

Visiting Ronnie and Danny (and family) in Westhampton. A

Sitting on coffee someone had spilled on my seat on the Jitney from Manhattan to Westhampton – gross – though luckily I was wearing dark green pants. C-

Bike riding in Central Park, it was HOT. B

Dave having to actually work during his work trip to NYC. D-

My plantar fasciitis and metatarsaglia. F

The previously mentioned PICKLES (the owner of the company is now my Facebook friend, which I am hoping will get me some free pickles), this gets an A- because I didn't eat enough pickles. A-

Amie and Dave’s progressive party down 30 blocks to our 9:30 dinner reservation on Saturday night. While fun, we were too tired and full of beer to really enjoy dinner by the time we got there. C

Italian dinner in Brooklyn with M.A. and R.A. A

Managing not to get too drunk (like we usually do) with M.A. and R.A. B

Lunch at Great New York Noodle Town (recommended by chef David Chang of Momofuku). B-

Good but I am from Nor Cal where the noodles also kick ass.

Lunch at the world famous Russ and Daughters made especially for us by J.T., who we originally met while traveling in Brazil 5 years ago strangely enough. A

Lunch outside Russ and Daughters, very NYC.

Not having to wait in the Mother’s Day line at Russ and Daughters (thanks again J.T.). A

Dinner at Il Buco (divine) with J.T. A+

 

Brings me back to Brazil!

Oh wait - here we are in Brazil, years ago when I was blonde......

 

Yankee game, the Yankees lost to Seattle. C

Love/hate (mostly hate) affair with the Yanks.

The random piano player after dinner in Washington Square. B+

Coolness on a warm NYC night.

My two least favorite questions asked at the airport:

• "Do you need some bottled water," no I always bring a bike bottle that I fill at the drinking fountain so I don’t need your stinking $4.00 water in a wasteful plastic bottle - I HATE bottled water in case you can't sense that. F
• Would you like a bag with that," I bought a book WTF do I need a bag for? F

A 3 hour delay and changing planes after we had already boarded and were about to take off, due to a problem with the fuel line and engine. D-

 

Not dying in a firey crash, yay. A 

Coming home to our flat to find that the recent construction work was not complete, the furniture all over the place, and dust all over everything. D

Staying at the Savoy on my landlord (come on I got a CHEAP travel agent rate), oh eff yeah. A

Oh the luxury, this was an amazing treat.

 


So I am taking Dave on a surprise trip next weekend. Shhhhhhhh. He doesn't know where we are going, should be fun.