for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[alidor]

We have a Seabourn trip coming up in a few days and we are flying into Heathrow.  I thought about buying the Apple tags but then realized I thought they were a waste of money.  So if you lose your bag and can locate it, do you honestly think an airline is going to go through thousands of bags to find yours?!  Not likely.  So I didn’t buy them.  Just didn’t make sense for me to know where my bag is but the airline is not really going to care!

[Lois R]

Hi girls, Kat, I have been really enjoying your postings and thanks for taking us along.

Cynthia, good luck with the business travels.

 

Had to go to Quest this morning for blood work.......2 different Dr's orders.......they needed a total of  8 tubes AND a urine sample.........my veins are always small and it took the tech nearly 10-15 minutes to get all the blood she needed😲.......and she couldn't use my arm. She used my hand which is ok with me. At least she found a vein there. 

[rrraydon]

No, I barely do that now on my cruises... I'm on vacation, I have too much going on for all of that. It's touch and go if I make it to dinner on time after dressing and putting on make-up.🙃

[slidergirl]

Cynthia- safe business travels!!!

 

[slidergirl]

All righty.  After my flight to Paris,  I checked into Hotel Des Marroniers.  Definitely not my style, but it will do for a couple of days.  I dropped my bags, fell on the bed and fell right asleep.  The couple of hours I got last night did not work.

 

The concert.  Wow.  Absolutely worth the cost and time to extend my stay.  
The company that did the transportation, Arianna and Friends, was first rate.  They also do day excursions.  We did a stop at a winery for some tastings and pre-concert snacking.  The winery also makes its own olive oil from the trees on their property.  It had some good peppery spice to it.  Meats, cheeses, rice salad and tomato bruschetta - yum.  The winemaker told us the ingredients all came from neighbors and the local butcher.  It was a nice little stop and many on my bus left with boxes of wine and olive oil.  
Now, the concert.  It was magical.  The theater is set up once a year just for this one concert.  It gets taken down starting the next day and goes back to part of the park.  You have to hike in about 1km downhill to get to the venue.  The surroundings are gorgeous.  
The concert itself was better than what I had hoped for.  Usually this isn’t all Bocelli but it was this time.  To me, it followed his concert pattern but with bells and whistles.  Maybe because they couldn’t do the concert the last 2 years they decided to change and have it more Bocelli.  I’m not complaining at all! It still had the backgrounds and extra animation that Teatro usually has.   Opera done with Bocelli and a knockout redhead with a huge voice.  He had an old friend of his and they bantered and sang.  He said a highlight for him was having his son, Matteo, on stage with him for the first time.  They did 2 songs,  Fall on Me and Perfect.  They both were at pianos, and you could just see and hear the pride of both.  Bocelli joked that Matteo was taller and better looking.  I’m not going to dispute.  Matteo did his new song, a pop/hip hop mix.  Then he brought on a special guest - Michael Bolton.  Who knew!!!  Matteo played piano while Bolton belted out “When a Man Loves a Woman.”  He can still knock it out.  Great night of Bocelli and a great mix of music.  Just having this in his tiny village made it extra.  
The big surprise happened after the concert.  The couple of thousands of us were making our way back up the hill.  From behind people starting cheering and clapping.  It’s Bocelli riding up the hill on a gorgeous black horse with 2 others riding with him. Right along the fence line.  They turned around at the top of the hill and rode back down.  I was so shocked that I couldn’t get my phone out of my bag to shoot it.  I was also in the middle of a moving herd so I don’t think I could have done it anyway.  But a wonderful memory.  And I know why the horse was on the poster!

And a rare photo of me, pre concert.  I wore my hi tops instead of my white sneakers.  Good choice given the dirt and straw at the venue.

[awhfy]

Kat, what a fabulous memory you made!!  I’m so happy it was even more than you hoped for!!!

[cruisemom42]

Wow, super exciting for you. Thanks for sharing the pics. Kudos to you for making the whole dealio happen.

 

P.S.  And I agree, his son is fine!  Are you saying he did "Fall on Me" the r.e.m. song? 

 

 

 

 

[purduemom1]

Kat, what an amazing experience, so worth all the planning that you did. You looked great-perfect outfit choice.  Loved all the pictures and details. Thanks for taking us along. 
 

 

[purduemom1]

Lois, sounds like that blood draw was not fun at all. I hope that good results make it worth it all. 

[slidergirl]

Cynthia - this Fall on Me is the one he and his son did for his next to last album.  Don’t know if it is a cover. And Perfect is the Ed Sheeren song.  Bocelli and Sheeren performed it on the album.

lois- sorry about the blood draining.  I absolutely hate the needle in the hand!  At least they found a place.  
 

I have a couple of days here in Paris and a couple of days in Bordeaux before heading home for a few days.  

[awhfy]

Lois, I feel you with the massive blood draw. They always want to use my right arm (& that vein is awful). Just hope they never try your foot (that really hurts). Hope all the tests work out well. You leave for Alaska pretty soon don’t you???

[Lois R]

Good morning girls, thanks so much.  Good news and not so good...not sure if you know this, but you can check your results on line and mine already came back......my sugar was slightly high (and yes, I had fasted) but my cholesterol was really good..........and seems my hemoglobin was slightly low and my creatinine was high. I know my PCP will be calling me Monday and I have a follow up appt with the Kidney Dr on August 11th.........will let you know what they both say.

 

Melody, I fly out on August 21st so another 3 weeks. Thankfully my leg is feeling MUCH better. 

[slidergirl]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:02 PM, alidor said:

We have a Seabourn trip coming up in a few days and we are flying into Heathrow.  I thought about buying the Apple tags but then realized I thought they were a waste of money.  So if you lose your bag and can locate it, do you honestly think an airline is going to go through thousands of bags to find yours?!  Not likely.  So I didn’t buy them.  Just didn’t make sense for me to know where my bag is but the airline is not really going to care!

I bought them because I do more than fly.  I use trains, rental cars, leave luggage at a hotel if I am too early or will leave later.  

[slidergirl]

Cynthia - it isn’t an REM cover.  Written by Matteo and 2 others.  
 

spent 7 hours walking around Paris.  Everyone was out and about.  Jardin Tuileries was full of people enjoying a sunny day.  The plaza around the Louvre was jammed.  I did get to my kitchen store and picked up a couple of new knives.  Yes,  I am checking one bag (I’m nonstop).  Found a place that had good big salads and fresh juices.  Got an Asian style chicken salad and a passion fruit and lime juice.  Nice and light.  Not sure if I am doing dinner or not tonight.  Have to check if my restaurants are open tomorrow.   I ended walking by the restaurant with my favorite icon and he has a friend now.  The Pig’s Foot - aka Au Pied Del Cochon.  
 

If anyone wants to buy those Louboutin hi tops for me, only 695EU…😉
Some pix from today’s wandering.

[Lois R]

Kat, beautiful photos..........

 

Well, thought I would post some positive news........after I got home from this last trip I filed a claim for the Dr bill on the ship and for the hospital bill in Valencia...........I got a check today for 245.00 from Blue Cross😀...that is a partial payment of what I paid out.....who knew? I didn't realize my primary carrier would cover part.......nice.  So, I just filed another claim with the travel insurance company (I bought insurance for the trip).....lets see if they will pay me for the balance of what I paid out.  

[slidergirl]

Dinner porn.  One of the places I wanted to eat at was open and doesn’t take reservations so I went and got in line.  Didn’t take too long.  Excellent dinner!  Some of the best tomatoes I’ve had in a long time.  Perfectly seared tuna.  Rhubarb under a mound of Vanilla cream.  
Spent an hour trying to go half a mile back to the hotel.  At midnight I gave up and took the taxi ride of shame.  Not sure why I have so much trouble following walking directions on Map…

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Dinner porn.  One of the places I wanted to eat at was open and doesn’t take reservations so I went and got in line.  Didn’t take too long.  Excellent dinner!  Some of the best tomatoes I’ve had in a long time.  Perfectly seared tuna.  Rhubarb under a mound of Vanilla cream.  

 

I've wanted to go to Le Comptoir but didn't have the patience to wait. Looks like you were amply rewarded.

[awhfy]

Kat, fabulous looking dinner!!

[purduemom1]

20 hours ago, Lois R said:

Kat, beautiful photos..........

 

Well, thought I would post some positive news........after I got home from this last trip I filed a claim for the Dr bill on the ship and for the hospital bill in Valencia...........I got a check today for 245.00 from Blue Cross😀...that is a partial payment of what I paid out.....who knew? I didn't realize my primary carrier would cover part.......nice.  So, I just filed another claim with the travel insurance company (I bought insurance for the trip).....lets see if they will pay me for the balance of what I paid out.  

That is good news, Lois. Hopefully your trip insurance will also pay. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Some policies require you to submit claims to your primary carrier and you have already done that. Good luck!

Sharon

[purduemom1]

Kat, that is one amazing dinner! Everything was so artistically presented. What an experience!

[slidergirl]

Rarely do I do 3 courses like that, but it was so good and light that I decided to go for it.   A couple came and sat next to me.  They ordered the hard boiled eggs appy.  Looked really good- eggs cut in quarters (2 of them) with some sauce over them.  
I went to the restaurant across the street from Le Comptoir for brunch, Breizah Cafe.  I had read about it before the trip so it wasn’t a blind pick.  Crepes are what they do, buckwheat crepes.  I got the ham and Comte cheese with an egg in the middle.  Again I chose wisely.  Yummy.  I wanted to keep going and get a dessert crepe, but I resisted.  Proud of myself for that.  
Did a little church trip in my walking today.  I hadn’t been to St Chappelle before and I wanted to see how Notre Dame was faring with reconstruction.  At one point my body said “you need to eat”.  So I went to the touristy cafe outside of St Chappelle and got a croquet monsieur.  Don’t judge. 

Totally worn out today.  A good time in Paris.  The St Germain area is a fun area to base in.  I never felt uneasy walking around, even at midnight.

Tomorrow it’s off to Bordeaux.  

[purduemom1]

Wow more yummy food pics! Good thing I had already eaten when I looked at them.

 

The stained glass windows in Sainte Chapelle are just amazing! I bought a silk scarf in their gift shop and it is a lovely reminder of our visit. Notre Dame was under construction when we were there in 2019. So sorry to have missed it. Also walked along the Seine so your pictures brought back good memories. 
 

You are doing so much walking that those  “delicious” calories just won’t count:)

 

Been meaning to ask you if all your pictures were taken with the iPhone 13? 

[slidergirl]

I’m using my new iPhone 13 Pro.  Spent all my winter tip money on it.  Got the Pro because it has the 3 lenses instead of the 2 on the 13.  Some outdoor shots are done “blind” because the screen gets too dark in the sun.  I keep the flash always off to prevent accidental flash where prohibited.  Pretty idiot proof.  I will have to study more on how to best use it.  

[slidergirl]

Real fast here.  Leaving for the train in an hour.  
Cynthia - I know you were intrigued by the garden area at the hotel.  I took 2 photos for you.  It is a nice little place for breakfast.  Usual French petit dejuener: croissant, mini baguette, juice, caffe crème, 

yogurt.  There was also some meats and cheese,  scrambled eggs and bacon.  

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Cynthia - I know you were intrigued by the garden area at the hotel.  I took 2 photos for you.  It is a nice little place for breakfast.  Usual French petit dejuener: croissant, mini baguette, juice, caffe crème, 

yogurt.  There was also some meats and cheese,  scrambled eggs and bacon.

 

Thank you!

 

I did note that you said earlier the hotel wasn't for you. I didn't want to bother you right now but when you're back I'd love to hear more about your thoughts, since I was going to book there when I get my plans up and running for my 2023 Bordeaux river cruise + Paris trip.