Right about now, oh who am I kidding, all the time, I think about Paris and how I see myself living there, six months out of a year to full-time at retirement. 🙂 It’s not a dream, it’s something I am definitely pursuing. You know what they say, if you put it out there, it will happen. But, in the meantime, have a great weekend:
I had a health scare Thursday, which somewhat put a lot of things into perspective. I mean, why is it that, we push ourselves to the limits and only react when we are faced with an emergency visit to the doctor’s office? I just don’t understand. But anyway, we are human and this is what we do. With that said, I have to say my doctor’s orders are much-needed rest and time to wind down. Something, of course, I hadn’t been doing. His instruction was to go home and think of ways to relax or find relaxation and hence, I spend the greater part of yesterday afternoon thinking of ways to do just that: 1. A walk through the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park – San Francisco 2. Spend an afternoon at a neighborhood old fashioned bookstore – West Portal, San Francisco 3. Spend a day at a hot spring spa in Calistoga, California (near Napa) 4. Rent a paddleboat for Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park and circle the lake while listening …
I woke up this morning with a sudden need to travel somewhere, even if only for the weekend. I guess it’s that time of the year again, when I get the travel bug and no matter what I shift my focus on, I remain distracted until I finally organize a holiday getaway of some sort. Baccara Resort and Spa is a place I’ve been to, twice. Once for a wedding and the other, just to run away. I had forgotten about the destination until I scanned my memory for quick get-away places from San Francisco and lucky for me, I remembered. The hotel is sprawled on the sandy beaches of the Pacific Ocean, in the middle of California, very close to the town of Santa Barbara and offers some of the most prestiges resort and spa amenities one would need to get their bearings back.
I love it when friends show up in town unannounced and beg to spend a day with you. I really mean it, I do love it, even though it throws me pleasantly off schedule (If that makes sense). Anyway, I got the word my friends were in town at ten in the morning and asked them to meet me at the end of Market Street at noon for lunch. When I asked, what they wanted to eat, they mentioned Sandwich shops and fast food and I basically rolled my eyes. I pointed to the Ferry Building and asked if they had been there and they both shook their heads NO and so we ventured into one of our proudest conversion of a historic building into an amazing waterfront hangout.
With freezing cold temperatures in San Francisco, I cannot help but want to be tucked in under the covers in a room of a beautiful hotel perfectly located near snow capped mountains. One place I have always loved and haven’t been to for a while is Lucerne Switzerland and this year, while I plan my annual trip to Europe, I am going to consider a day or two here – except I would prefer the destination during the winter months.
This past week I haven’t been able to focus much on the creative aspect of my life and rather stayed on track with work and managing a home. I actually hate that but someone has to do it. 🙂 So, in order to break the monotony, I signed up for a day of pampering myself and then volunteered to escort a dear person in my life on a 48hour road trip to pick up a puppy. I am hoping both experiences will enlighten me enough to get inspired so that I can bounce back to my old creative self again. Stay tuned to see what the outcome is.
During the rainy and gray Fall days, all I can think of is colors in decor and focus mainly on escaping somewhere warm and cozy, even if only for a weekend. Although Paris is approximately 12hours away from where I reside currently, I cannot help but search for colorful and extraordinary boutique hotels which fit my mood. La Bellechasse fits that very exact feeling. Check out the bedrooms below:
I am now back in the states and aimlessly trying to get adjusted to everyday life. I avoided it for a couple of days while I recovered from jetlag, but knowing there was no alternative, I put on my work clothes and commuted to work early Thursday morning. Vacations or holidays, as they are referred to, throughout other parts of the world, are the most difficult to return from, especially if they pan out to be as beautifully as you envisioned it while planning. I am aware of the fact. But it’s not so much that I regret it’s over, it’s the fact I had to leave Paris, once again as a tourist. The funny thing about annual vacations, at least for me, is that I use the time to not only regroup, but also to reflect on the past year and decipher what I need to do to improve my life and lifestyle. Whether it be, a career change, a move to a new neighborhood, or realigning our long term plans. And every year …
I had this bright idea of visiting London for a day, since I hadn’t been for 15 plus years. The reason for my madness was the fact I originally wanted to partake in attending the 2012 Olympic games in London but since I couldn’t manage such a trip a month ago, I wanted to be in London this year no matter what . So, from Paris we took the Eurostar early Thursday morning for our almost three-hour high-speed train ride to London. The important thing to remember is that although Gare de Nord (Eurostar station in Paris) and London St Pancras International Station (Eurostar station in London) are easily accessible and not too difficult to get around, consider showing up one hour before boarding the train to go through the customs lines and border control. It’s funny you don’t think there should be border control between France and England, but there is. The other thing to remember while embarking on such a journey is that the moment you cross border control and customs, the Euro …
There is no way on earth I would pass up Paris, no matter what other destinations I have included in my annual trip to Europe. This year, while the TGV pulled into Gare de Lyon from Cannes at a little after 9p.m. I noticed it had been raining in the city of romance. I didn’t care, the rain is always refreshing in Paris and I have actually been in the city every month out of the year and every single time it had rained. It usually bothered me, but I’ve come to accept it and now even embrace it. Paris isn’t Paris without rain. We hopped on the RER (urban rail network train) from Gare de Lyon to our Hotel in Charles de Gaulle Etoile (between VIIIe and XVIIe arrondissements) and within a five minute walk, landed in front of our quaint hotel with minimal frills and turned in for the night. I usually sleep with the windows open, normally for fresh air, but in the case of Paris, just so I could hear the …
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