slidergirl

I was in Bordeaux Aug. 1-4. one of those days I took the train over to Arachon Bay. No indication of any fires on the way or once I got to Arachon. Living in the Mountain West and asthmatic, I am very sensitive to smoke. I didn't see or smell any smoke. The skies over Arachon were nice and blue. Other than being scorching hot in Bordeaux and Arachon, it was a very nice time. I've included 2 photos - one of part of the Arachon beach and one of Bordeaux, with the AMA Amadolce docked on the river, Hopefully this will give you just a glimpse of an idea of the skies.

Anita - if I listened to the "appropriate for my age" babble, I wouldn't have 90% of my clothes!!! I'm not a matron and I refuse to dress like one. 😸 Dress in what you like and what makes you feel good and what makes you happy.

oh man, I'm sorry 'bout the ulcer Lois. The hits just keep coming for you. I just hope this is the last issue a loooooong time for you!!

It was just the 11 of us plus the crew. it's not a working barge. Think of them as a tiny river cruise ship. If you go to the Croisieurope website and look at the Provence Rhone trip that goes from Arles to Sete. the barge we had was the Anne Marie. It will hold 22 guests, but the company i went with chartered the whole thing. The staff changed up the dining room to be one long table for us. The food was excellent! The staff was fantastic and just so engaging with us. They handled us 11 drunk old women just fine. We had some excursions that were tailored just for us, as the company likes to feature female owners and the role of women in the spots we visit.

That is why i wrote that they need to contact their embassies/consulates for Egypt.

Finally got an idea of what I will pack for the girls weekend. The hostess said shorts & Tshirts and flip flops are all that we need. No fancy dinners - she said everyplace in San Juan Capistrano is casual dress. So, i'll just do my jean shorts, one pair of my new linen shorts, a couple of my Woolx tops and maybe one of the new linen shirts. oh, and the bathing suit and rash guard. if i don't wear it there, I'll surely wear it back East for the wedding week. Talked last night to one of the girls. Out of the blue, she asks if I want to go to Paris with her and her hubby in November!!! Sure, let me grab some money out of the air... The 3 of us did a 3 week-er a couple of years ago in Barcelona, Tuscany and Paris, so we know we are comptable travelers. I think they liked they had their personal photographer with them 😸 As much as I'd like to go, there's no way in he!! that I could afford it!! All laundry is finally done! I ran out of spots to hang things! Now I get to iron those linen things I will take with me. And, pack again... OOTD: running shorts and one of my Athleta Tshirts. p.s. Cynthia - if you need a hotel in Bordeaux, I will recommend where I stayed - the Hotel de Tourny. nice litle place, the single room was rather spacious, a more modern/clean decor that I'm used to and a helpful front desk staff. The location was perfect and I could walk everyplace from there.

Woolx should pay me as an influencer 😸 The shirts feel nothing like what you think of wool. The lightweight ones feel more like silk, i'll say - very soft and not an once of scratch to them. I started with their leggings a couple of years ago and expanded into their shirts and the other month, their dress. I have a couple of the heavyweights shirts and hoodies, too. But, the lightweight shirts are another whole world. i've got short sleeve, Vneck, those Bella tanks. i can wear them alone when it's hot, as a base layer when it's cold, and just with a cardigan over when I go go work. P.S. they have a 30% off sale right now.

Wow Lois, I'll think good thoughts for you!

I wear my bras under the shirts. they are very lightweight but opaque. The ones I took with me were the Bella "tunic" top. Not really long enough to me to be called a tunic, no longer than my other Tshirts but have a curved hem. The Lexie dress is made of the same lightweight wool as the Bella tunics. Don't let the idea that they wouldn't be cool because they are wool fool you - they were better than any of my cotton Ts!!

Absolutely have your friends check with the authorities in Israel and who they can find for Egypt. I know it is a very delicate situation. back in the day (last time 2009), I had my passport stamps for Israel put on a separate piece of paper and kept in my passport because Egypt and some Middle East countries would not allow you to enter if you had an Israeli stamp. And, for awhile, vise versa. That was with a US passport, so I could imagine some difficulties may arise with an Israeli citizen with an Israeli passport.

As I unpack from my trip, here's a few things that I never wore: nice black pants - didn't need them on the barge and it was too hot at night to wear them 3 cotton Tshirts - it was just too hot to wear cotton plus the sweat would show all over. white button down - it was too hot to add this over a tank even unbuttoned. denim jacket - never got cool enough for a jacket trail runners - well, I wore them once at ranch but I could have done without them scarves - too hot to have something around my neck, even at midnight. long sleeved T - too hot to wear, even on the barge at night. This particular one couldn't roll up the sleeves to make it usable in the heat. ' the long linen pants I bought in Aigues-Mortes with the shorts and 1 shirt: I didn't do anything that I felt like wearing them. If I was going to wear pants, it would have been these instead of the black pants. Now, I did buy 3 linen shirts and 3 linen shorts on the trip and wore them a lot. The linen shirts made up for those cotton Tshirts. The black Chicos shorts and the shorts part of my 3-way zip pants were worn, but they were very hot because of their fabric. After I picked up the first pair of linen shorts, I saved the Chicos for my evening wear. Things I wore a lot that I brought with me: Again, I'm going to sing the praises of my Woolx shirts that I took. They were so pleasant to wear in that heat - never stuck to me. Easy to wash & dry. And, they didn't stink after a day of intense activity. The dresses - OK, you all were right and I'm sold on them. That Faherty dress, the Isha, that we all liked, was sooooo worth the money! I started wearing it for dinner on the barge, but then I wore it out in the cities a few times. I did a quick wash of the armpits at night and let it dry. The Woolx LBD was just like my Woolx shirts - sooo nice. I left it to wear for the concert. Even though I was sweating all over, it didn't show and I didn't stink! I may use this in the Winter with a pair of leggings for work! The denim linen dress I picked up from Sundance with my $50 discount was a nice evening dress to wear around towns. I kept it for evening since it would show sweat marks in the day. My American Giant sleeveless T dress - it was cool, but its color showed every bit of sweat on every part of my body. I'm still not sold on dresses for everyday wear at home, but they were definitely good to have on the trip. Next, I'll maybe do the same with the miscellaneous stuff I brought with me.

Now that I'm back from my month in Europe... Yes to using the contact lens cases for cosmetics. I have a patch on my nose that I put concealer on. I just need a little dab and having it in the case was perfect. Outside of my brow pencil and a light swipe of SPF moisturizer, this was the only "cosmetic" I used after I discovered 97+ temps and humidity was not a good environment for anything else on my face. One weird thing I discovered: Out of the 8 places I stayed, including the canal barge, only 1 place had a separate hair conditioner. 2 places had a combo shampoo/conditioner and the rest just had shampoo. It was so hot and humid that I had my hair up in either a pony or a clip each day so my hair didn't care that it was not conditioned but clean and frizzy. I almost bought a bottle in the pharmacy, but I decided to give my hair a vacation too and just let it do it's thing. But, when I go back again, I may put some of my conditioner in a Toob and pack in, just in case...

I leave Friday. It's a group of girlfriends - we've been getting together for a weekend every year since the late 70s. All I need for this one is a bathing suit, a pair of shorts and maybe 3 Tshirts. We're not going out to dinner, just hanging out at the house. BUT, I leave from there for my grand niece's wedding. So, I have to pack my stuff for that too. I'm using the tie-dye dress from River & Sky, my booties, and my trusty hat for the wedding and the pink hi-tops (my other ones need to be washed desperately) for the reception. I just need shorts and Tshirts for the non-wedding stuff. It doesn't matter what I pack, I have to check the bag since I'm taking some knives with me for part of the wedding present. Bought them at E.Dehllerin in Paris. Everyone needs a good chef's knife and a paring knife. Cynthia - welcome back from St Paul. Sharon - have a good time in MN. All I remember from a business trip to Mineapolis was the mosquitos the size of B-52 bombers! Heat + humidity is a bi!th. OOTD: a pair of running shorts and a tank top. I still have to do laundry today. Oh, it appears that I did lose lose a little weight or it re-arranged itself on my body. The denim shorts I got just before my trip fit not as tight around the waist. All that walking in the heat and not eating all that much - well, that is going to be hard to keep up! When I get back, I may have to start some hiking in the hills.

I flew back from Paris yesterday. It was a full flight. FAs were making announcements to please put little bags under the seat so that people in the back might have a chance at having overhead space. I was up front, so I didn't care. If i'm on a nonstop i'll check my carryon anyway to avoid the overhead scrum - it's now habit. I went for a month between France and Italy with my carryon and my backpack. I did a lot of trains, so it was important to be light and nimble. If something happened to my luggage and I had to wear my sweats, I wouldn't care and I wouldn't care what people thought. Never know if and when it's going to happen to you!!

Good afternoon all. I had a pretty good sleep. Went to bed at 9, woke up 4, watched TV for awhile, back to bed at 6, up at 9:30. And, so nice to have daytime temps in the upper 70s!! Lois - the iron infusion does not sound like fun. I sure hope it does you some good. Oh - on the medicare front: keep an eye on the new bill going through the Senate. One of the provisions is to limit out-of-pocket prescription costs to $2000. I don't know all the details since I just heard about it but it could help us all depending on how it is worded and if it includes all meds. I got up and went to my coffee store for a latte then on to the supermarket. Not a TJ's but I had a "holy cr@p" bill after just stocking up. Got to get on the unpacking, laundry and undoing the jet lag today. A little foggy-brained. OOTD: denim shorts and a gray tank. had on my hi-tops until I got back home, then they came off. Later!

Yes I did get the email both directions. Picked the fish each time. It was actually tasty. Today was a cod in a mild yellow sauce with baby bok Choy, carrots, potatoes and spinach. Potato soup and an arugula salad with tomatoes and mozz balls. Ice cream for dessert. I do have photos 😉 I was able to nap a little. Just listening to some music now. The pier K lounge wasn’t as nice as the pier M lounge (first time I haven’t flown out of there.). The duty free was meh and not the food options like in M. You didn’t miss much. I get free unlimited Wi-Fi and texting onboard with my T-Mo account. SLC has some local food stands now - not that bad. When more opens up my favorite Park City coffee place (Hugo) and restaurant that I get takeout from frequently (Vessl Kitchen) are going in. In the meantime get your coffee at Millcreek. Still have 1.5 hours left..

I bought some wine corks and another corkscrew at Cite du Vin. Nothing else from Bordeaux. well, Delta said to be at the airport 3 hours ahead. So I rolled out of bed at 6am, showered and zipped up my bags. Left the room about 6:57. Walked to T2C, checked my bag, went through passport control and security by 7:25. In the Air France lounge and enjoying breakfast by 7:30!!! My flight is at 10:10…. Yes, it is a nonstop to SLC. My driver already called last night to verify my ride home. I’m not going to hit TJ’s until I get back from the wedding trip. I think I can deal with regular supermarket food until then. OOTD. My overalls, white T, pair of the new socks and my hi tops. Head adorned with my trusty hat. The sneakers are dirty from the roller bag running over them all month. More on that in my wrap up later.

Sitting on the train from Bordeaux to Paris. Last day in Bordeaux was fun: some church outsides, oysters for lunch at the Marche du Capuchins, a craft beer for dessert and window shopped on Rue St Catherine. When I got hot, l’d duck into a store. Galleries Lafayette had both overalls and hi tops on display mannequins! I have to try to get to sleep as soon as I get to the Sheraton at CDG - I have to get up at 6am to be able to start the check in process at 7am for my 10am flight. The powers that be still say 3 hours for procedures. Hoping it’s faster than that so I can dive into the Air France lounge for a bite. Later!

I’ve been in France and Italy for a month (leaving tomorrow). Every place I went, from the Med to the Adriatic to Florence to Bordeaux to Paris and places in between, it was stinking hot!!! I did it because a barge trip I went on was the 2nd week of July. I sure hope I lost weight because I was sweating like Rudy Giuliano all day. You know it’s hot when it’s still 96 at 9pm… Sometimes businesses will close for awhile in August so they can take their vacations. Go in September

That crepe was da bomb. Buckwheat is way better than the white one. Better depth of flavor. The crunchy edges- I could eat that all day. That dog was pretty cute. It would take 2 tries to jump high enough to get in! my photos are strictly “point, shoot and pray”. They are still better than what my old SE did. Quick porn. Joint down the street had modules frites as the special. Decided to eat there rather than wander more. Yummy choice. With a spritz.

Nothing that I would disqualify it for. I’m not meant for the Parisian style, I think. That wall seam just bugged me. I would put the room out of order for a day and run a line of matching ribbon down the seam. Done and would look much better. My eyes went to that seam all the time. Remember that I did room inspections for luxury hotels…. I would stay there again just for the location.

I forgot to mention that the hotel is in a good spot. Even at midnight I felt comfortable walking around. Le Comptoir is an easy 7 minute walk away,

TGV and OUIGO are both part of SNCF. I just did a OUIGO train from Paris to Bordeaux. I say OUIGO is like a LCC airline. The overhead is only big enough for a purse and maybe a SMALL daypack. A very small big bag storage. No in between seat space. I spent 3 hours with my roller carryon and my pack taking all my space and I had my legs up on the bags. Not comfy but all I could do. From now on, I will wait for a TGV. The price is worth the space.

I just left Paris today. Stayed in the St Germain area. I thought it was a great area. Metro and RER access. Easy walking around. Very active still at midnight. I felt perfectly safe walking around and back to my hotel at midnight. Don’t know price points around though. Stayed at Hotel des Marrionniers.

Hmmm. Maybe I am still too picky. Definitely what I’d call “Old French”. Lots of florals, some flowered carpet that matches floors in the walls in hallway. Bedroom walls covered in fabric and needed repair on one vertical seam that bugged me. Antique furniture but modern bathrooms. I’d say a step up from “basic but clean” but I’m not used to 3 star accommodations yet. A true single room with a twin bed and desk. TV on top of 5’ tall wardrobe at foot of bed. Enough room to not feel crowded.