Italy Day 2

After a tasty breakfast, we headed off for our appointment with Rinaldi Winery, makers of our favorite Moscatto d'Asti, "Bug Juice"! We found the winery fairly easily, and then the fun began! Andreas, the 30something winemaker, and his red-headed sister Pamela (who spoke English very well!) gave us a fantastic tour of the vineyards, the wine-making process, and their beautiful cellars too. They were very friendly, and concluded the tour by inviting us to their table, to share a great snack of coffee-cake, salami, and pizza bites, accompanied by "Bug Juice" and Brachetto (their sparkling red wine, very nice! Sadly rarely availabile stateside). We sat and talked Italian politics while lingering over the bottles, but finally had to say our good-byes. On the way out, we picked up a few bottles of Brachetto (to bring back home, 7.50E/btl) and a bottle of Bug Juice (5.50E/btl)for Susanne & Michael. Andreas then gifted us a bottle of Barbera! Very generous of him! We greatly appreciated their hospitality and friendliness, and extended an invitation for them to come visit us in California sometime.


Pete and Andreas and Pamela Rinaldi.


Pete showing Andreas his "work".


We went away with some wine - mostly to leave with Susanne and Michael, we're happy we can get Bug Juice back in the states!

After Rinaldi, we hit another winery nearby, tasting their Moscato and Brachetto ... we both didn't resonate with the Moscato, but I liked the Brachetto better than Rinaldi, so we picked up a bottle.
Next up: Refreshment and relaxation! We swung by the snack shack and snagged some tasty paninis. Adequately refreshed, we steered towards the renowned thermal baths of Acqui Terme. We chose the less presumptuous one recommended by our B&B hosts - Regina. It was kinda fun, but not as nice as we had hoped. Also, they nickle-and-dime you to death! They don't provide towels, bath robes, soap, swimming caps (required), etc., but would happily sell you all of those things. We left after a few hours, having enjoyed the experience nonetheless.
We stumbled upon a fun little maternity store, and bought a pair of blue toddler shoes ... for Peter's 2-week old cousin Marc!
Next, off to dinner ... Julie spotted a pizzeria, and when we saw that it was chock full with locals, we immediately grabbed a table for two. The food was to die for! Who knew that simple spaghetti with tomato sauce could be so incredibly tasty! Ditto for a simple cheese pizza, wow. Their house wine was great too. Yum.
We rolled into bed, our stomaches stupenduously satiated with scrumptuous food.

Italy Day 1

Today was officially declared Julie does nothing day. So I spent the morning strolling through the vineyard behind our B&B, communing with the local pets, catching up on my 5 Aspects of Women bible study and reading. So lovely!


The beautiful vineyard!


The little kitty likes me - either that or the cat nuzzle was too far away for easy commuting.


"Red" catching some rays.

Pete had his own adventures while I was relaxing.
(Pete grabs the microphone)
I had a blast visiting 4 wineries! The first few minutes of each were exactly the same:
1) I drive up to a house
2) A dog ("cane") barks viciously
3) Person appears
4) I use my standard phrase, with the help of Google Translate: "dove è la cantina?"
5) Big smile, followed by tour/wine tasting.
I ended up purchasing a bottle at each winery.


We joined up in the afternoon - had some Panini Pete picked up and took a tour of the local estates :)

That night we had the distinct pleasure of dining with our hosts Emy and Don Pablo and their daughter. We picked up Pasta Fresco which Emy cooked up and we dined like kings, sampling the wine Don Pablo makes from their vineyard (Yummy!), olive oil their friend from Turin makes, and the Honey another friend produces etc, etc. Ahh to live and have friends in a place like Italy!

France (2) Day 6 - Italy Day 0

Our last breakfast in France - we stopped by a bakery on our way out of Nice and totally indulged ourselves - totally out of control!

Pete displaying some of our purchases - he's been going to spokesmodel school.

It was a longish drive into the Asti region of Italy. One of those fairy book type experiences, the lovely Italian countryside, picturesque, if only fighting the urge to loose my pastry breakfast somewhere over the curvy country roads had occupied less of my time I could have soaked more in :)

We arrived and met Emy and Don Pablo, the owners of our Bed and Breakfast - Maggiora 131. We went into town to grab dinner at a great place that they suggested. It was like pizza only wrapped up on a hot tortilla and drizzled with olive oil.

The old town center has a monument erected over the point where some hot springs surface. The steam rises many tens of feet - an interesting sight. 

France (2) Day 5

We woke up to rain showers so we decided to hit the road to Monaco to go shopping (window only - who can afford those prices!!)

The drive up afforded a few interesting sites:

The special wine show at the local Champion supermarket.

A rich middle aged woman washing her Mercedes at the local U-Wash - dressed entirely in white linen. What you might not be able to see from the photo is that we are exceedingly close to the coast here - ocean is probably visible through the window in the back of the U-Wash stall. 

Pete getting friendly with a Lamborghini at the local gas station.

We loved the views on the drive to Monaco - this is still France - and in my opinion far less spoiled looking than the crowded Monaco harbor.

We managed to take a few self takes. This one was snapped from atop our Euro-Mobile across a busy 2 lane, cliff side road. We had to take breaks for surges in local traffic :)

Pete striking a pose in front of the Monte Carlo Casino.

This was dinner. After a heady day with rich movers and shakers it was nice to enjoy the simplicity of pasta. Doesn't Pete's marvelous presentation make it look gourmet though?

France (2) Day 4

We slept in appallingly this morning, managed to be on the beach by 3PM... got to swim out to the floating platforms, have Pete tow me around through the waves on our 4€ yellow floaty thinger. We also got to use the totally useless but hopelessly cute little beach umbrella I made Pete buy me - hopefully the Hettingers (Pete's sister's family) will be able to use it when we're gone :)

We stopped by a grocery store on our way back from the beach (note to potential French Rivera tourists - Nice only has rock beaches (nice smallish smooth beautiful white stones, but ouch, not great to lay out on), so we had wandered west to Cannes to lay out on their seemingly endless sandy strands - all totally fake we hear, every comfortable ounce trucked in.

Pete slaved over dinner while I took a shower. (Did I mention anything about "super husband"?)

It turned out spectacular. Yummy-in-the-tummy!

France (2) Day 3

Today the move to Nice. We hit several beaches on our way east 'long the French Rivera, or as the French call it, the Côte d'Azure.

Shops where eminently cute - think I have a new thing for small bush like plants in miniature terra cotta pots. Aren't these little olive tree plans surprisingly adorable?

We weren't too busy shopping to stop for a lunch of Crêpes :) The artist capturing the scene outside the Crêperie lent a bit of ambiance. 

Pete found our "retirement home" on the last stretch of costal road before Nice. We went out for dinner at a little restaurant around the corner from our hotel/hostel (Hotel Meyerbeer). I got the curry lamb, Pete had the shrimp flambée- we forgot that shrimp here come more fully endowed with legs, eyeballs, etc. in regions other than the sterile US. After a lovely diner, we were off to bed - we must rest up for a long day at the beach tomorrow :)

France (2) Day 2

T'was 9am in the morning, and all through our "Gite"
Neither of us was stirring, cause man were we beat
When in our living room, there arose such a clatter
we threw on some clothes to see what was the matter
our host had brought breakfast, piled high on a plate
we beamed joyously, as we munched and we ate
baguettes, rolls, jam, yogurt, fruit, and the like
zipped down our throats, suggesting a hike
But first Julie would sleep and Peter would read,
hours would pass before the hike's call we'd heed
...
We ended up exploring the gite property a bit, and then Julie's womanly urge to do laundry overtook her. We did a load, so that it would be done - ready to hang to dry - by the time we would finish reading. Around 3:30, we struck out to explore the countryside; our first stop: The winery close by that the pizza van dude had recommended. We found it easily, and luckily it was open this fine Sunday. The proprietress was more than happy to pour her wines, although she couldn't stay and chat long: seemingly noble grape stains and smears on her elbows attested to the hard work of grape harvesting and crushing. I had mentioned our love of the Sauternes district, and she let us try her "cooked" wine - they boil the grape juice right after the crush, and then allow the yeast from the air in the winery to begin the fermentation! Quite labor-intensive. The wine was very sweet and pleasant, so we couldn't leave without buying a bottle. On our way out, we asked her for a restaurant recommendation, and she pointed us at Louvradec(?), a short 20min drive away.

Julie discovered she was famished when we arrived, so Peter procured a mozzarella and tomato sandwich from a nearby bakery. We then shopped through the town, discovering enough nick-knacks to fill even the largest of land-fills (guess who's writing this :-) ).



We also tried various olive oils at the local Château - all very interesting and different - but Peter discovered his dislike for massive amounts of oil consumed by itself. Yuck!

Since the local restaurants didn't open until 7:30pm at the earliest, we burned some time by writing post-cards, chatting, and visiting more stores.



Peter especially liked one large modern wine shop, with a nice and large tasting bar. The French girl hardly spoke English, but happily poured a few tasty wines and lambics, two of which we ended up purchasing.



Since the city teemed with restaurants, we asked her for recommendation, and she steered us to the "Michel Angel" restaurant right around the corner. It was ok but not as good as we had been hoping. Our main beef was the lack of an "amuseé-bouche", which everyone else got except for us. How lame is that?! The rest of the food was good, but not exceptional. We did enjoy talking with the other restaurant patrons, and noticed that only one couple there was actually French. The rest of Europe was well represented - Two tables of English people, two of Germans, etc.

Spain Day 8 - France (2) Day 1

I woke up this morning to an apartment almost fully packed by my sweet husband who didn't want to wake me till the last possible moment! I am so blessed! We pulled the European "stop-in-the-middle-of-the-road-with-your-hazards-on" to load up the car - I feel like I truly belong now :) We stopped by Gaudi's Sagrada Família and Park Güell on the way out of town.



Long day of driving - we decided to cover a longer distance than we originally intended, because of the pouring rain. It totally worked and when we arrived in Aix-en-Provence (suggested by Pete's mom) the sun was shining brightly. We immediately pulled in at the first Château B, tasted the wine and inquired about lodging. We were directed to the tourist office where we promptly called through 1/2 the "Country Cottage" page before landing on a place with openings. After an "adventurous" comedy (the black kind) of directional errors, we finally arrived as the last sparkles of dusk retired for the evening. We settled in and after opting for cooked breakfasts instead of "kitchen privileges," we headed out to find a scrap of something to eat. The restaurant we had spied on the way in was closed by the time we circled back to the itsy-bitsy village near our gite. Plan B - the Pizza Van around the corner - in what could only be described as the itsy-bitsy town square.



We had a truly french pizza experience, complete with Chèvere chese, salted ham, bell peppers and creme, yup creme poured directly on the pizza before it was thrust into the wood burning crucible (the black smoke stack protruded obviously through the roof of the Mercedes vanigan, as if that wouldn't turn heads on the freeway.) With full tummies, we are ready to turn in - gotta be ready for an astonishingly early 9 o'clock wake up call for hot french breakfast!

Spain Day 7

Second full day in Spain, we slept in again - what is it with Spain that makes me so sleepy! Today we aimed to explore the shopping portion of the city we missed yesterday. In the middle of shopping we walked past Picasso's Museum, and decided Pete should add this to his Museum experience repertoire - I'd been the time I was In Barcelona with my sister Amy. We did the hour pass-through :) Always interesting - but slightly incomprehensible for me. We finished the day with a long reading session and snacks at the "Taller Tapas Cafe". Left over Paella for dinner - still yummy. We were distracted from our post-supper movie by the sound of fireworks overhead (literally)!


Larger than life patron saints march through Barcelona on parade.

The square a block away was the center hub for Barcelona's Patron Saint festival - which was (apparently) this weekend. Of course, we went out too see the festivities and get some Gelato. The music was interesting - semi-classical ensembles mixed live with techno beats by the onstage DJ - only in Barcelona. Fell asleep a little after the last act (which ran from 1:30-2:30 AM!!!)

Spain Day 6

First full day in Barcelona - slept in and enjoyed our last bowls of Crock Cocoas cereal for breakfast :) We shopped in the morning and hit the beach in the afternoon after the morning cloud cover had burned off. Tonight is the night we attempt to re-create Naomi's awesome Paella. Pete was at the helm of cooking efforts and it turned out great - but not really resembling Naomi's - we'll have to get the recipe :) The day ended with a good games of Settlers - I finally got my vengeance.

Spain Day Five - Off to Barthelona

Yes, I know it's officially Barcelona, but you would never know from the thick Spanish lisp of it's natives. We said a sad farewell to the Smith's this morning (after our last café con leche, of course) and drove to our next destination - Barcelona. Pete found the cutest apartment on Hostelworld.com - don't be deceived by the pictures, it's a postage stamp!

We decided to put our cute red kitchen to use tonight, so we hit the local supermarket, and came home with lots of goodies: Churizo, olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, pasta, warm bread, ripe tomatoes, and a few more goodies too. 

When we got home, we opened a wonderful bottle of Sauternes, threw some garlic, olive oil, and churizo into a frying pan, and cooked the night away! It all turned out really tasty - the Sauternes was Peter's favorite yet, and Julie's second favorite.  After dinner, we were summoned by the blogger gods ;) and here we are!

Spain Day Four

First order of business today was to experience Spanish Tapas. Joshua and Naomi took us to one of their favorite spots for a late breakfast/early lunch (we had just rolled out of bed at the godly hour of 11 am, the Smiths had been up for hours :).

They look so beautiful under the glass.

We had the privilege of watching Josu for a few minutes, while Naomi and Joshua picked up Malachai from school; he found the swing particularly entertaining. (Note to the "Julie-an-Peter-should-be-Parents-Soon-Club"- this is the closest we've gotten so far :)

A supermarket in spain is an experience:

From top to bottom, left to right: Jamón on the hock; the Spanish version of wine in a box; a refrigerator full of fake baby eels - a Spanish delicacy; chorizo (my personal favorite) a unique snausage made from fatty pork, paprika and garlic.

Spain Day Three

We spent the majority of the day working on the Smith's new ministry website - check it out at alternativacristiana.org. They are doing very exciting work, planting a house church in Baranain, a suburb of Pamplona, Spain. If you know anyone in the area spread the word!

A highlight in our day was the afternoon meal, which we partook on the Smith's beautiful porch.

Our Ride

Per Amy's request here is our little Europemobile :)

Spain Day Two

We had the privilege of observing a service of the house church the meets in the Smith's home. It's a small group right now, having just started this last August and has 3 local families attending - all of which have recently immigrated from various latin american countries. The ethnic diversity means yummy food at the meal they share together after the service and boy did we have a feast!

After the service we had a chance to relax, take a walk in the local park and enjoy catching up with Joshua and Naomi over a long dinner on the balcony.

France Day Four - Spain Day One

Today we did a little shopping in the morning and took the drive to visit Joshua and Naomi in Pamplona, Spain. It was a gorgeous drive!



We arrived just in time to be a part of the Banana-Rama party they were having with some of the members of their house church and a few others from the local community. All the dinner dishes had bannanas and the evening's activity was Wii bowling. Totally fun.

France Day Three

There will be noticeably fewer pictures in this post- remember that wonderful restaurant from last night? I left my camera there and we didn't have a chance to retrieve it (they still had it praise the LORD) till late this evening. Today we "do Sauternes": Château La Tour Blanche, Château Guiraud, lunch, Château Suduiraut, and Château Climens. Here's some pics:






We were a bit late to the Sauternes district - our GPS doesn't do lat/long correctly :-( ... so we missed our first appointment :-( We were, however very impressed with Château Guiraud. The gentleman that gave us the private tour was very knowledgeable, and the Château Guiraud 2002 Sauternes he poured was very pleasant! A surprisingly good showing for an off year for Sauternes.

Then, we had lunch at a small bakery, where the baker made an incredibly tasty sandwich for Julie and I: Thick slices of creamy Brie cheese and ham, on a freshly baked and thickly buttered baguette. Wow.

Next, off to Château Suduiraut! We had to wait about 45min for our tour guide to show up, but it was worth it. She showed us all around the winery, and then we even got to watch some of the grapes be pressed! It was really cool ... the press moves very slowly, and the juice flows into a big plastic container, from which it is pumped into large vats. We were then treated to a glass of the grape juice - WOW, very very tasty! These were the grapes for their dry-style wine, but even so the juice was very nice.

Finally, we stopped at Château Coutet. The grounds were fairly pretty, but small. The woman showed us around, and we got to barrel sample the recent '06 vintage. Nice, but not overwhelming ... maybe it'll become so with more age?

We then headed back to La Maison de Sauternes to taste a bit more. It's a tasting bar sponsored by a bunch of Sauternes wineries, where you can try their wines and then purchase them. I asked the very unfriendly lady what "off-the-beaten-path" Sauternes she would recommend, and she introduced me to this very interesting bottle, which actually was a blend of every single Sauternes wines! It wasn't too bad, and for about 10€ + tax per 750ml bottle, I couldn't say no, and got 3 bottles. I got 2 more tastes out of the Wicked Witch of the West (Ch. "R" and Ch. La Tour Blanche) before waving goodbye to the Sauternes district.

We then headed back up to St. Julien to retrieve our camera, and then fell into bed.

France Day Two

Time to hit the wineries. We slept in after a late night - we couldn't stop playing the Settlers of Catan card game that we bought - we got the German version so that I could use it as a "learning tool". I blame my loss entirely on the language barrier :)

The first winery was Château Mouton-Rothschild. Arriving half way through the tour that we had signed up for, we were generally underwhelmed with the château - it seemed to have an identity complex: not knowing who they were after having been purchased within the last century :)


Pete in action


Pete and I with a bottle so expensive we probably won't get our hands on one again :)
Château Mouton-Rothschild 2005


One of the more interesting things at Château Mouton-Rothschild was this label designed by Marc Chagall for the 2007 vintage.

Our second winery was Château Margaux. beautiful place. We arrived a few minutes late, fortuitously ran into the tour we had signed up for just as they were beginning to walk about the grounds.


The beautiful wine caves.


The wine library was very impressive here are some of the oldest bottles. ( I read 1802 though our guide would only recognize the 1848)


Pete talking notes on Château Margaux '01, '06 and a smidge of '05.

We had dinner in St. Juilian at the Restuaruant St. Julian, where we sipped a local St. Julian wine called St. Julian. It was a delightful spot.


The cheese course.


The vino.

A bit of French translation - "Vous ne pouvez pas le manquer" while literally "You can't miss it" actually means "It's impossible to find, and there are no signs!". "Ouvert" while literally "Open" appears painted on every business sign regardless of their current operational status.

France Day One

Rolled our of bed famished. To Pete's dismay none of the 15 local kabob shops open until 11 AM. Someone need to capture the untapped breakfast kabob market! Julie had settled for continental breakfast a la hotel, Pete picked up a French Panini.

This is our shopping day - time to try to look European :) I found a few discount stores that seemed to carry lots of Paris fashions (at least according to the labels), and of course there is always H&M. We also it up a few wine shops and grocery stores. Selections of the wine and cheese sections in a TINY street shop put most US stores to shame.

Lots of brie!

Lots of Vino!

Some for as low as 0.99 €!

France Arrival

After a 10 hour flight to Munich, a flight delay - during which we purchased lots of German books and a game as my German lesson for our time in France. After our two hour flight to Bordaeaux we finally arrived at 10:45 local time - just before rental car closing!

We drove to our hotel, settled in an hit the town for a bite to eat. Thank heaven for the arab invasion - the kabobs are amazing and everywhere. One block hosted 4 shops in a row with two more across the street - you know, for variety. We topped off our kabob with a hot chocolate (Julie) and Pete's first glass of French wine on French terroir.

Europe '07: Day 0 - Packing lists!

Julie in her natural habitat - buried in lists of things to pack :-)