France Art show opens

I have more than 600 photos from Europe and I finally have the sketches that I like digitized and printed for display at a nearby coffee shop. It is super cool and I have 27 drawings from India and France. (13 from India and 14 from France.) If you want to order, it is $20 for prints and 35$ for prints with frames. (Frames only if you're local.) I picked some of the more popular Europe ones for the blog, but if you have an interest in the India prints, please let me know. I think I will charge $6 for shipping the prints. This is just the start of trying to sell these so, we shall see. (The actual size of the images are 4" x 6 ".)

State of Denial..back in the US:)

Back in the US and I feel like a balloon when someone sticks it with a pin. I have a wonderful life here in Niwot, CO and I am definitely excited about framing some of my sketches from France and adding them to the art show on August 15th.

Some of my favorite things about the trip? The blurring scenery of the Mediterranean Sea up and down the Coast of France to Spain and then to Italy, drinking coffee and eating pain au chocolat every day at the local shop, sitting quietly on the terrace, smiling while looking up at all the cool architecture, biking in Provence....and on and on and on.

So..I will try to keep my sense of self and contentment. Where to next year? I love "The Sea"...I love new adventures...I will takes any suggestions from the peanut gallery...keep on livin' people...this is Le Petit American and so many other nicknames signing off for now...A Bien Tot!

C'est le fin. Je suis triste.

Once again..no time to look up spelling errors in French as my plane leaves in about 9 hours. I am a bit..shall we say...well a had some wine and then this lovely French couple bought be some Aperitifs? It is after all Bastille day and the fireworks on the beach were awesome. Actually, I loved riding the bicycle back to the house because I felt a bit French. Well..I felt like an American who has been here a month and has disguised herself as a French person because there are no other Americans on the beach this evening. At least I have mastered the phrase excuse me in French. Excuse my bad accent and the fact that I am about to run you over on the bike!

As I am once again about to head off to bed for the last time on this wonderful vacation...a few words about Paris en general. Fantastique! S'Amusant, culture, food, art, attitude, fashion, ARCHITECTURE, le monde, the crazies, the traffic, the artistic, ARCHITECTURE, history, people in love (...please people...get a room...where do you think you are..a Paris?) For two days I just kept walking and taking the metro and talking to people in cafes...whole conversations in French! I don't know how many pictures I will be able to add tonight as I am more than a bit tired after two overnight trains. (by the way..I did miss my train to Paris and Reims is a lovely town yet a bit rainy...more on this story later.) Until very soon...I will write more on the other side of the ocean. I don' want to go!

People...listen to me...quit your jobs...sell your children...eat crackers and water...tell your boss you have a rare flu that will probably last a month...do whatever it takes but please, please, please...get the heck out of town for a bit. Love ya'll! A bien tot

...And the Road goes by

I'm convinced now that the old cliche is true. 'Life is what happens when you aren't paying attention.' For the 2nd time, I set off for the Medieval village of St Paul de Vence. If Simone Debouvoir used to hang there...it had to be cool. My friends, listen to the guidebooks! This place was filled with overpriced bad art. But alas,...I kept searching for at least I would have pictures of the Foundation de Maeght which was built by Jose Sert. How Cool. Well...the camera did not charge properly. OK..so I had some lovely sketching time prior to setting out on the short 20 min walk to the Foundation. Well, why did they make this road so narrow? Why are the cars zipping by? Oh...this is the freeway in the middle of nowhere...apparently I had missed the signs to the Musee. Finally found it and it was a serene place with Giacametti's sculpture which reminded me once again of my Aunt Debbie. Perhaps that's why I was meant to come here. Even though she died so young...I can see the influences of these famous artist's in her work. So...once again determined to see it all, I took the bus and walked uphill again to the Renoir museum (all public museum closed on Tuesdays!) So I peaked in the gates to see where Renoir had lived the last few years of his life. The best part of my day...getting lost again in France and then heading to the beach and calling it quits. Pictures this entry are of moments during the last three weeks. Perhaps we miss because we are too busy doing life the way the way we think it needs to get done. C'est la vie. (Two more days 'til Paris:) Tomorrow...sit in a cafe, go to a market,..and try not to get too lost.

39 hours in Italy...it's the American Way

We had planned to stay at least two overnights in Cinque Terre. I had read about hiking the 5 towns yet I did not for some reason expect that every other American and their brother, sister, mother and father had also read the same guide book. We left the house here in Villeneuve at 8:00 am and arrived after 7 hours and 4 connections to Vernazza which sits incredibly in the landscape with dramatic cliffs as you can see from the photos. The deal is that if you do not have reservations...you simply knock on restaurant doors until someone gives you a room. Kinda crazy because the later in the day that you arrive...the higher the prices go...(We did well for a room at about $120 but apparently at 9am sometimes the same room is $75 huh?) Very pleased with a place to stay we started hiking. Amy and I kept joking about this being the beginning of our training for at least an Olympic distance triathalon. The funny thing is we were wearing our Ironman hats and someone passed us running on the trail and it turns out he actually just finished the real race. (He said he did it twice? Huh.) Jumping in the water in each town was great. Getting away from the Americans who stop on the train was great (funny...we are American but where we are in France...there aren't any so suddenly we found our own people very annoying!) Exhausted by sunset..we found a highly recommended place for dinner and made reservations. They only have one seating at 8pm so at 9:30 when we were done eating..the owner made a face at us and came out with some grappe. (strong Italian liquor) We understand now that you do not ask for the check until all 10 tables are done eating...and some of those Europeans can eat for hours! So..we stayed and laughed at ourselves and the owner asked us when we were coming back. Unfortunately, we missed the train to the town we were staying in...(because we had hiked to Corgnilia) Luckily, at 11:30 pm I rested on the train platform and the last train back to our town arrived. The next morning we woke up and saw the last two towns. My advice on Cinque Terre...book your place to stay a year in advance (Corniglia,) bring losts of cash, plan to be held hostage by a lovely restauranteur, and if at all possible plan to stay at least three days!

Tired in France...poor me

When we got back from Barcelona Monday evening I thought I wanted to lay on the beach for a week! Two days was great and today we were back at checking out the sights. Turns out traveling is sometimes a bit tricky. I ended up taking Amy and I somewhat the wrong direction on the bus to this town which is actually only about 30 minutes from where we live! So..we didn't make it to St. Paul de Vence and instead we waited in the Eurorail line for reservations to Cinque Terre (even though we have a pass it is tough to get anywhere w/o paying extra for a reservation...you gotta love Europe) So..we kept going and eventually ended up at the Chagall Museum which was so beautiful and the his work reminds me so much of my grandparents home! Especially because if my Aunt Debbie and my Granny Annie's art work. I did not realize how prolific Chagall was. So..exhausted and loving everything...I am headed to bed. The Matisse Museum closed early...A guy on the bus told me to write to the Director of Culture in France. He was serious and ya'll know me...I may just write to the guy! Ah yes....off to Italy in the morning 'til Sunday night and I also made my sleeping reservation car for Paris July 10-13th...if I am still moving by then. I'll have to rest-up at the beach Monday the 7th, 8th and 9th....eek...how I am going to catch the tour de France. Ok..really going to bed now. Miss ya'll

Wild Ride in Europe-Provence & Barcelona

Since my last post less than a week ago...now I think I've taken about 300 more photos and I can only post one at a time to this blog so I will have to just tell you the highlights here and now. It is in the wee hours of the morning and here's the shortlist since last Wednesday. Two nearby villages called Eze, VilleFranche sur La Mer (see previous post for photos)...one awesome boat ride to Monaco...one brilliant dinner and two horrible ones (don't order pork patties by accident or trust a flower lady in Barcelona)...one fabulous bike ride in Provence...*the words for help us we have a flat tire and we forgot to bring a pump* have escaped me*...several, several, several amazing architectural wonders in Barcelona (I got to see the Barcelona Pavilion..can you believe that?...any of you architecture geeks are just amazed right now.)...oh and a partridge in a pear tree! Seriously, I will write more coherently when I am more awake about the past few days...but here are a few photos to make you smile. Miss ya'll moocho! (Many more photos to show...yet you get the idea for now...how cool is it...that's me at the Barcelona Pavilion!...wow I am a geek!)