Nice, Biot, Eze, Cannes film festival - Touring the south of France

This is in the beautiful town of Eze, halfway between Monaco and Nice.  It's just a little old village, hanging off the edge of steeps hills, and overlooking the azure blue waters off the south of France, Provence.

This is from the garden on the top.

Again...

And then, looking the other way.

Dinner again, at L' Univers.  Best food in Nice, ever.

 My new friends in Biot.  This is Lisi Lopez, and above is Pascal something, the glass blower.  The beach shot is Cannes Film Festival.  Notice the overabundance of yachts.  Okay, one Cannes red carpet shot...

This is me, getting a sunset swim in, last night in Nice.  Thanks for the picture, Ravi!

Nice is nice

We were walking to the center of town on the promenade and there is a constant of fancy sports cars here.  Just here is a Bentley and a bunch of Porsche s.   Then the sporty Audi.  See the engine in the rear window?

This was in front of the casino, another Ferrari and the Rolls Royce in the background.  

Almost so many cars, you might miss the sunset.   Lots of natural beauty here.

Moules and Frites, and Ravi had the schnitzel with spagetti.  Is that German and Italian?  Anyways, the mussels were really good, in a curry sauce.  We saw this on many menus, but only this place with the curry.  Ravi, sorry for cutting you off in the picture. 

This is sort of an interesting picture, but you really have to look to see it.  The jet.  Again, like the cars, there are many private jets coming in.  At the end of the beach is the airport, so these planes come somewhat close over the beach.  The water looks so blue, and beautiful.  You can see a few swimmers and tanners.  The beach isn't sandy.  It's like river rocks.  This is just off the promenade. 

 This is on the train to Monaco.  So beautiful.

Jib Jab
Okay, it's like 6am or something.  I should be sleeping.  I'm contemplating a swim, but we have an early morning training Ravi and I need to do.  Some things I want to add, hopefully later.
Dinner last nite (and the night before).  My new friends, the Taits (of which I include Betsy and Steve), but Doug and Karen.  Doug I met at Sun, about 10 years ago.  Anyways, small world, lots of fun.  We ate at Le Universe, both last night and the night before.  The best food I've had in France, since we've been here.  Okay, I am not including the Nutella crepe from the Nokia booth.

Grand Prix Formula One in Monaco

We're in Nice, the weather looks great.  It's the Cannes film festival and the Grand Prix in Monaco.  Both today.  Somehow, with virtually no hesitation we head off to Monaco.  It's a hike to the bus or train.  The front desk guy said either will do.  We head out for the train, since it stops in Eze, and I want to see it, and then goes onto Monaco, which secretly I am not looking too forward to, because I know it's going to be so frigging crowded, commercial, and crowded and commercial.  Anyway, don't let that creep in.  It could ruin an awesome thing.  So, we keep heading for the bus, and asking people which way to turn, every time we feel lost, which seems to be every third or fourth block, and low and behold, we end up closer to the train than the bus, even though they are in opposite directions!!  Oops.  Went straight for the jib jab again.

On the train
As is mostly the case, the train is awesome, and only 3.3 Euro.  Nice.  (especially in contrast to the $50 for a taxi to go 4 miles from the airport!)  Again, I digress.  So, we're on the train.  Beautiful, comfortable, and quickly we are on the rocky ledges of the coast, overlooking massive beautiful villas and mansions, and the yachts.  So many yachts.  Huge yachts.  Very huge yachts.  Everywhere.  It's just too too much.  So much excess.  Still, the water is pure blue.  So pretty.  The hills are gorgeous.  The ride total is like 20-30 minutes and immediately we know the day has already been a tremendous success.

Monaco

Monaco is, also beautiful, dramatic hillsides, huge villas, and more yachts.  And race cars.  Not the F1 cars, but for people driving around town.  On every corner- Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, Bentley's, Audi's - that 12 cyclinder one, where you see the engine from the rear window?  Yep.  So many of them.  Lined up, even.  They literally made the super fancy Porsche look second class, not to mention BMW.  So many people.  So much opulence.  So many concessions.  We did not get the $40 (about $60 USD) euro Grand Prix baseball hat.  Or the $75-80 tee shirt.  We looked though!  And we climbed the rock to the high point of the city.  Gorgeous views, but big metal sheets to make sure if you did not pay for a ticket, you do not get to see the race.  Still, we heard them.  Those engine sounds are incredible.  Instant adrenaline rush.  It was a blast.  So we went to a brasserie and watched on television, with the cars racing in the background.  Really an amazing day.

Jib Jab
Too tired to jib jab now, except;

- i swam on the roof top pool- views of the ocean and hillside.

- i ran the esplanade this morning, the strand off the beach.  when is the last time you went for a run and saw 4 Ferrari's in a row.  Seriously, they were everywhere.

Frankfurt Friends and a 7 hour layover

So, the age-old question.  How do you turn a 7 hour layover into the best part of the trip?  Sometimes you have to just go with what life gives.  I let the auto-flight selector pick my route to Nice, and the best fare included a 7 plus hour layover in Frankfurt.  I contacted Mette and Sascha, and said, hey, what are you doing May 14th?  Want to meet in Frankfurt?  Sascha had an additional request.... Tim, can you bring an iPad?  It's not available in Germany yet...

I was looking forward to it the whole flight.   Such wonderful people.  We last saw them 2 years ago, pre-Mark.  Look at him now!  Mr adventure.  I don't have pictures, but Ellen and Mark, both trying to figure out who this guy is in their car.... but as shown, in the pictures...  We re-bonded.  Such a wonderful time.  I love you guys.  Thanks for these pictures.

    Amazing visit, and back to the airport.  All in about 4 hours!!  I hope we can see each other in Denver this summer too!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy mother's day, to all you moms out there, and happy mom memories to all.

Yesterday was a girl-power day.  Kirsty and I went to a fund raiser, for an organization one of my super special sister-in-laws works for.  She is really excited about it, and has me intrigued about it too.  She is another woman who inspires me.  The recipient is Daraja Academy in Kenya, Africa.  It's a secondary school for girls who would otherwise not be able to go to school.  This couple(on left in the picture) started the school about 3-4 years ago with 25 girls.  It's a boarding school, to ensure the girls are in a safe, healthy environment.  Enough said.  The scholars are selected from very poor areas, and move into the school for 4 years of high school.  Amazing kids, crazy situations are common, like no living parents, two siblings dead.  And yet these kids are driven and determined, and so many smiles and love.  Anyways, I was moved, and doubled my donation in my mind.

Girl Power
We are listening to the founders (couple on left), and Deborah Santana (Carlos's ex-wife- yellow shirt, in the picture above), all dynamos.  And they start the 'bidding' with the highest numbers first!  And instantly, I see Kirsty and her mom put up their paddles.  Boom.  Done.  Just like that.  Ten times more than where I was prepared to go to, even with the doubled donation amount a had in mind. 

That's girl power. 

I feel so lucky and fortunate Kirsty is my princess.  She has a huge heart, and is making a difference in this world.  Her and her mom in kind.  Her mom is a special person.  Not vocal, but loud in her actions.  Afterward, I said - you really inspired me, going for it, in the bidding.  And her mom matter-of-fact, says, well, a lot of times it's the women in these situations who get forgotten.  BAM.

My sister-in-law is taking her family to the school this summer.  They are in the midst of a huge regimen of immunizations, etc.  The family will be there for 2 weeks, and Julie will be there an extra week, I am guessing at Daraja Academy itself.  What a fantastic trip for all of them.  Incredible for the kids to see, and the adults as well.  We take so much for granted.

 Mom, nieces Kallie (top), Lauren (below), Sheila, my sis in Santa Fe

Mom
You inspire me too.  Mom is mom.  I know I take you for granted too.  Sometimes I don't have the patience.  I know, it's dumb.  Something I can work on.  You instilled in me, the importance of connectedness.  You are the one who made family so special, and tight.  Mom, in a nutshell, you let worry creep in for the trivial stuff, but are a rock, when the proverbial doo doo hits the fan.  Even now, still working as a school nurse at impacted elementary schools in Denver.  I love you.

Blueberry and Pecan Pancakes

This is a quick and delicious breakfast.   Essentially, here's the thing.  I made a bunch of regular pancakes earlier in the week, when we ran out of toast for the kids....  So I took all the extra ones I made, and put them in the bread bag -since it was empty :-)  -  and put that in the fridge.

So, it may not sound as good as it is, but take those pancakes out of the fridge, toast them like toast, and not just warm, but actually add a little crunch to them.  Butter them, add blueberries, pecans and maple syrup.  Pure goodness.

Left-over pancakes, toasted, buttered
Frozen blueberries, thawed
Pecans, broken up
Maple syrup

Toast the pancakes, to a crunchy finish, maybe a little brown on the edges.  Butter them.
Spoon blueberries and juices over pancakes.  Squeeze nuts to crumble. Add maple syrup.

Jib Jab
There are plenty of variations here.  You can combine the blueberries and juices with the maple syrup and warm it.  You can also add sliced bananas.  And probably the first adaptation I would do is to toast the pecans.  I can hear your other suggestions too.  Add to comments section.

Dinner in Palo Alto

We went out on a double date last night, with our friends E and J.  They are friends from the neighborhood, that go way back, and we cross paths in a number of our circles, between church, and kids, and the gym, and book club and more.  They have two daughters and a son, our sons are the same age, and one of their daughters is the same age as Moira.  We have done soccer and I think baseball together, E and I used to coach the kids in soccer, Kirsty is in book club...., and already I digress...

Last night was the first time in a long time, we got together, and it really was a blast!  We went over
to their house for delicious margaritas before we left, and were into great conversation and laughing virtually immediately.

Reposado, Palo Alto
We had reservations for Reposado in Palo Alto, on Hamilton, just south of University.  I have seen the place from the street, and as you can see from the picture, it's one of those contemporary makeovers of an old something.  I think it was a creamery or something.  It really is a nice looking place, really impressive architecture and interior design, although I had this feeling of just a little too perfectly done, if that makes any sense - a bit too Palo Alto shee shee (try the link above, and you'll get an idea of what I mean with the flash website, music and animation- just a bit over the top).

Anyway, a really fun place, a bit noisy, but we had an awesome waiter, Mario, and he says, his kids call him Super Mario...which I called him all night long, largely because he was.  A number of us had the Cadillac margarita, which was very fresh, and tasty, and the appetizers came, and were totally impressive, even though it was simply empanadas and guacamole, salsa and chips.  Dang, those empanadas were so good.  Really good fillings.  I wonder what was in them!?

I had the lamb chops, which are not what I think of as a typical Mexican item.  Ironically, they were perfectly cooked, and drizzled with a nice smoky burnt mole sauce, and draped over what was mashed potatoes Mexican style, with chopped cabbage, cilantro, corn salsa sort of thing.  Actually, a really nice combo.  E had the short ribs, which were also delicious, definitely a little more of a Midwest flavor, and the girls had a fish dish, which I didn't get a chance to taste, or really even see.  We kinda huddled E and I chatting, as did the girls.  It was kind of loud to have a whole-table conversation.  Just a note, there is a crow's next area, with a small bar upstairs, which seemed a whole lot quieter...tips for next time.

After dinner, we went for a stroll down University, which would be dumb not to do.  It's such a happening place, and a really nice warm evening.  We were looking for a specific place, a frozen yogurt place.

L'Amour Frozen Yogurt Cafe
Okay, this place also struck me as, hmm, like I was being marketed to?  They have their own formula, different than most of these frozen yogurt places.  There are 10 self serve yogurt machines, I am not going into all the flavors, except for the ones I had, which the mango was stellar, and the red velvet was, mmm, okay, pretty good.  So, you self-serve your yogurt, and then your own toppings- a huge selection, all the usual, and then some.  Probably 50 or more choices.  Then, you weigh in.  It's 47 cents an ounce.  So, yes, it really was amazingly delicious.

Jib Jab
Dang, what a great evening.  One of those dates where you say, geez, why did it take so long to get this on the calendar, and we need to do this more often.  It was one of those times when I was happy to be.  Happy to be married to my princess. Happy to have good friends.  Happy to live in such a beautiful place, and have the resources to do what we do.  Basically, a pretty simple date, all in all.  Aren't they the best?

I really haven't seen their kids in a few years, and seeing them when we arrived was in stark contrast from how I remember them, as kids.  They are young adults.  Seeing them, I couldn't help think of how time is flying by.   And, somehow, I had this feeling of - mm, I look forward to our future, in their hands.  It was really nice to see them, and converse with the new adults, sensing their energy and passion and compassion.

This is my first post using someone else's pictures.  I was thinking I wanted to add some restaurants and so on, but who takes pictures at a restaurant?  Anyways, I think the pics add to the piece, just, they aren't mine.

There are a huge number of great places right around here.  Another of my favs, is the Italian Osteria.  Basically, kitty-corner to Reposado.  There is another place I like, Indian, buffet style.  Really good food.  A fun place to get a bunch of folks together for lunch.  No matter when people show up, lunch is served, and the food is great.  It's called Darbar .