Christmas in Algiers

The weather has been unseasonably warm and sunny here.  It has been averaging about 75 every day!  It was interesting celebrating Christmas here.  There are obviously no decorations up and no one wishes you a Merry Christmas (or Joyeaux Noel).  We actually did see one of the florists who had some small Christmas trees but they are very expensive. 

We decorated our house with our Christmas stuff.  We had a few people over on Christmas Eve for some cocktails, appetizers and even a little salsa dancing!  We have some Christmas movies and music with us so we have been enjoying those.  We also have AFN (Armed Forces Network) which has been showing some good Christmas shows and movies. 

Christmas morning, Kirk and I ran a 5k Fun Run at the embassy.  We had to wear our best Christmas hat.  I had on my red Santa hat (as did most of the others) but Kirk got very creative.  He won the prize for the best hat.  See photo below!!

That is a 6 point reindeer and the antlers measured 14 inches!  I won't tell you how much hair gel that took!!   LOL  He also was the first male finisher so he won 2 prizes. 

After the 5k run, we came home and opened presents.  We then went to a Christmas Open House at the embassy where some of the local staff brought their children to see Santa and get a gift and some refreshments.  It was a little strange seeing an all Muslim staff with their families showing up to see Santa. I guess the free food and gifts had something to do with that.  They couldn't get enough of the soda and food. 

We missed being with Abbie for Christmas this year.  I can't believe my baby girl is a young adult living on her own! 

We are getting ready to host a New Year's Eve party.  I hope this lovely weather holds out so we can spill out onto the patio if needed.  We have about 25 guests confirmed and another 10-15 who did not respond yet.  We ordered some party goods online to decorate and make it festive.  There are no bars or clubs here or anywhere to celebrate so we have to make our own fun.

Backyard "visitors"

We have had some excitement here in the backyard.  In the past 2 weeks, we have found 2 "visitors" in our backyard.  The first visitor was on our back patio.  Kirk heard a noise in the backyard.  (Keep in mind there is a public park in the back of our house and we hear stuff all the time.  Also, the hooligans throw rocks at our house occasionally.  Yeah, great neighborhood!)  I was on the computer Skyping with my mom.

Kirk goes to the kitchen to look out the window and yells "There is a man in the backyard."  I think he is kidding with me (those of you who know Kirk can understand why I would think that.)  Then he yells again "There is a man in the backyard!"  By the tone of his voice, I knew he wasn't kidding.  He grabbed our two way radio to alert the Marines at the embassy that we had an intruder.  I grabbed my cell phone and called the Regional Security Officer (who called the Mobile Patrol).  Kirk saw the guy go down the side yard of our house.  Kirk went into the hallway of the building to check the pool patio door.  Someone had left it unlocked! So Kirk locked it, let our neighbor across the hall know what was going on. 

In the meantime, I turned on all the outside lights and was standing watch by the kitchen door when I saw the guy pop his head around the corner of my building and look at me through the window!!  I thought I was going to pee myself!!!!!  I called for Kirk to come check it out.  There is a vacant lot on the side of our house and we think the intruder climbed the wall into the vacant lot.  By the time the Mobile Patrol got to the house, he was gone.  They did a walkthrough of the building and the yard.  The found the cushions from my patio furniture stacked by my living room window, some cigarette butts and 3 beer cans (1 partially gone and the other 2 unopened).  It seems this guy was trying to find a dry place to sleep for the night and was probably watching TV through my living room window!  HOLY CRAP!!

The Mobile Patrol called the local Algerian police and about an hour later had someone in custody.  I had to go outside in front of our building (in the rain) to identify this guy.  And this is not like in the states where the suspect can't see you or is kept in the police car.  The guy was standing in front of the police car smoking a cigarette and I had to go right up in front of him to identify him.  That was so uncomfortable.  The guy was a homeless man who had just been released from jail for stealing.  He was very scruffy and wearing a long dark coat with a pointy hood (very popular here in Algiers).  We call them "Jedi" coats.  He was pretty creepy looking.  So needless to say, I did not sleep well that night.

About a week later, I heard a noise in the backyard and Kirk went to check it out.  He looked out the glass patio door of one of the bedrooms and yells "There is another man in the yard!"  So again, we radioed the Marines, called the Mobile Patrol and tried to see where the guy was going.  He was very close to the door that would let him into the building (which was again left unlocked by one of our residents).  We heard another thump outside which we think was the guy scaling the wall to escape.  He was gone by the time the Mobile Patrol arrived.  They think that it was another homeless man.
We have an outdoor shower and toilet by our pool area and we think they have been coming over the wall to use the facilities and possibly even come into the building to get warm. 

They will be installing concertina wire (razor wire) on the wall next to the vacant lot and trimming back the tree branches that hang into our yard.  They will be installing anti climb fencing on the back wall by the park.

We now make sure the pool patio door is locked when we get home from work and turn on all the outside lights.  It is a little disconcerting knowing that it is so easy to get into our yard and we are on the ground floor with all glass doors & big windows without bars.  You think you are safe and protected but then it turns out not so much.  I will feel much better once the fencing goes up!

Thanksgiving in Mallorca

We got back from Barcelona on Sunday, worked 3 days and then took off for Mallorca Spain on Thanksgiving Day to spend the holiday weekend there.  We  flew Air Algerie again on a dual prop plane.  We were sitting at the gate that the flight was scheduled to go out of when an announcement was made and a whole bunch of people got up and left for another part of the terminal.  It was about the time that our flight should have been boarding so I went to the gate agent and asked, in my very bad French, about the flight to Mallorca.  He told me, in his very bad English, that the flight had been changed to another gate and they just didn't change the information on the display boards. Good thing I asked!!  We had to take a bus from the terminal out onto the flight line where we boarded the little crop duster.   This flight was, you guessed it, also not on time!

We were scheduled to sit in the very last row....oh crap!  Thank goodness Kirk's seat didn't have a seatbelt and the flight wasn't full so we got to move up a couple of rows.  I wish I could explain the odors to you but I just can't find the words.  Not bathing every day and the spices/foods that are eaten in Algiers make for a very pungent aroma and it is hard to escape when you are on a plane!

We landed in Mallorca around 8 pm and caught a bus from the airport to a very busy square in Palma, Mallorca.  We then had to find our connecting bus, at night, in a foreign language and figure out which direction we were supposed to be heading!  Thankfully, alot of the people at the bus stop spoke English.  I was trying to pull out my Spanish but it was coming out as a mix of French, Spanish and English all jumbled together!!  I was really trying to speak Spanish but my brain was thinking in French and then my English would just come out automatically!  It was quite humorous.  I tried to say yes and this is what came out....oui, I, mean si, yes!!  Even the clerks and waiters got a laugh out of my language jumble.

We had a beautiful seaside room at the hotel with a balcony.  We were hungry so we wandered out into the neighborhood to find something.  We didn't want a big dinner so we ended up at a little tapas bar that was in a neighborhood full of signs in Russian (don't ask, I have no idea why).   We ordered cheeseburgers and fries to go and bought a cheap bottle of wine to take back to our room.  We opened the sliding door to hear the ocean and enjoyed our Thanksgiving cheeseburgers with a great view of the Mediterranean while watching NFL football telecast in Spanish!
 

I guess there are alot of German/Russian and English tourists that visit Palma in season because everywhere we went the signs and menus were in Spanish, English and German, which worked to our advantage.

We spent the first day with a map and just walked all over the city.  Palma has the most beautiful architecture and the coolest little alleys with cobblestone streets.  There were beautiful old cathedrals, castles and houses.  The shopping was fabulous!!  Even Kirk tried stuff on and even bought himself some things!  It was great to have shopping options and there was a store called El Corte Ingles which rivals Macy's.  There were Christmas decorations up and Christmas music playing in some of the stores.  We soaked it all up since we certainly won't get any of that in Algiers!

We were down by the water and found the Hard Rock Café, where we bought a souvenir glass to add to our collection.  Somehow, we started that tradition years ago, so now when we go to a new city with a Hard Rock, we have to buy a glass for our collection.  (Yes, we also bought one in Barcelona!)

The desk clerk at the hotel recommended an Italian restaurant just up the street called Il Paradiso.  WOW!!!  The building itself was spectacular and we got a table near the window overlooking the sea.  The atmosphere was wonderful, the music was relaxing (think Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett). We had a bottle of Prosecco (one of my favorite sparkling wines) and the most excellent meal I have had in a very, very long time.  We lingered for almost 3 hours and enjoyed every second.  Looking back now, I wish we had eaten there every night!!!

The next day, we decided to have a more relaxing day.  We wandered out into our neighborhood and headed toward the marina where we found a cool place called Mojo Beach.  There must be alot of English tourists who use the Marina because all the menus were translated into English and they had mostly English type breakfasts on the menu.  Most of the people eating there had British or Australian accents. We ate here both mornings and enjoyed eggs, bacon, sausage and fresh squeezed orange juice (again really enjoying the pork!!). 

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped a local grocery store where we bought some fresh bread, ham, and cheese for a picnic on the beach.  We spent the afternoon laying on the beach, soaking up the sun.  My first clue that we were in Europe was that I was the only one still wearing my bikini top!  And it wasn't just the ladies enjoying their freedom...one guy gets out of the water and strips off his bathing suit to dry it off on the rocks!  We are not in Kansas anymore Toto!!  LOL

All in all, it was a great way to spend the day.  We got cleaned up and caught the bus back into the city center to walk around and find somewhere for dinner.  There was a street festival going on down at the port and we wandered around there for awhile.  I bough a glass of wine (in a solo cup) for 1 euro and bought some jewelry.  We found a steakhouse where we were so surprised to enjoy our salads so much!  We don't get much salad here in Algiers because it is such a hassle to make it (bleaching, rinsing and it is expensive).  It is funny the little things you miss or take for granted, like getting a good salad whenever you want.

The next day we did more shopping, loading up on (you guessed it), more pork, cheese and alcohol to take home.  LOL  Whatever it takes, we find a way!

We headed back to the airport, dragging our feet, because we didn't want to leave.  On a positive note, our flight was on time! 

Barcelona

We finally got to reschedule our trip to Barcelona (the one that had to be cancelled in October due to the visit of the SecState).  We were supposed to leave at 615 in the morning but found out the afternoon prior that the morning flight had been cancelled and we were rebooked on the 445 flight out.  It was disappointing to lose a full day in Barcelona but it was nice to have the morning to relax and pack without the stress.  We flew Air Algerie.  Their flights are often delayed and it is a bit disconcerting to hear the safety briefs in Arabic!  They also do them in French.
We arrived at the airport to a 10 foot sign at the door that says No Smoking....as we entered through the door, we walked into a cloud of smoke!!!  It is certainly not the States!!  The Algerians smoke everywhere.  We checked in and went to our gate, only to find that this flight was delayed more than an hour.  We started to wonder about this trip and we hadn't even left Algeria yet.  We boarded the plane, enjoyed a tuna sandwich and a water on the 50 minute flight.  At least there was no one smoking on the plane!! LOL

We took a train from the airport to Sants Estacio, a large train station, which just happened to be right next to our hotel.  There was also a Metro station there, which proved to be very handy.  It was after 8 by the time we checked in.  We upgraded to a room on the 20th floor with a super view of the city.  We went down the bar to grab a bite to eat and discovered some really great white wine.  We proceeded to drink 2 bottles.  It was called Le Perro Verde, the green dog, and the corks were bright green!  We kept the corks and added them to our collection when we got home.

The next day, we got a map from the concierge and took off to explore.  We found a bakery just around the corner from our hotel where we enjoyed our breakfast each morning.  We walked all over the city, enjoying the architecture of the buildings and the wonderful shops & restaurants.  Antoni Gaudi is a famous architect and his most famous building is called La Sagrada Familia, which is a huge cathedral that has been being built for over a 100 years by different architects.  It is from where we get the term "gaudy", because there is a whole lot going on with this building.  The style is quite unique!  But once we walked inside the cathedral, our jaws dropped.  It is the most impressive building I have ever seen.

We ate lots of ham while we were there.(since we can't get pork in Algiers).  There is a special type of ham called Iberian ham.  It is so good!!  We got lots of sandwiches, made with a baguette, ham, cheese and olive oil/tomato spread.  Yummy!  We brought a bunch home with us, along with 6 bottles of wine and a big wedge of fresh parmesan cheese!!  Thank goodness we packed a cooler bag in our suitcase! You learn to work around the restrictions in Algeria.

We walked along the beach, enjoying the Mediterranean coast line and watched the surfers.  I thought it was pretty chilly to be in the water but the surfers didn't seem to mind.  It was sunny but cool and we had jackets on.  There was a great shopping center down in the old port, along with wonderful old buildings and great statues.  There were fountains and statues everywhere. 

The main street running through Barcelona is called Las Ramblas.  It is a huge street, filled with shops, restaurants, street vendors, and street performers.  There is a section called the floral district, where all the street vendors sell flowers.  We walked this street several times, shopping and eating along the way!  We had tapas (a variety of small dishes, like appetizers) and paella.  I had some great sangria! 

There were a wide variety of street performers to entertain us, including a little dude dressed in this white fuzzy costume which made him look like a tiny version of the Abominable Snowman!  He was just following people around on the sidewalks, scaring them, posing for pictures, and stopping at the tables asking for money.  There were the people dressed as statues, just posing and waiting for you to take their picture (which they then expected you to pay for the photo).

The second day we walked around more, finding the shopping district on Avenida Diagonal.  We found a great little place to have lunch, which served the ham sandwiches along with a glass of cava (the local term for their champagne).   What better way to take a break from shopping and walking
than eating a delicious ham sandwich on a baguette with a cold, sparkling glass of cava.  We were the only tourists in the place...everyone else were locals on their lunch breaks.

We found a bullfighting arena that had been renovated into a shopping mall.  The concierge at the hotel told us that they don't do bullfighting in Barcelona any more.  The only place it is still conducted is in Madrid.

We shopped some more and then headed off the find the Magic Fountain, which is in front of the beautiful National Art Museum.  This fountain performs shows with music, lights, and lasers every evening after dark.  Kirk and I got there early and got good seats, maybe too good since we started getting mist blown on us!  It was beautiful.  There were alot of people gathered for the show.  I can only imagine what it is like in the summer! We headed back to the hotel and made reservations at the hotel, which was on the 23rd floor.  The views were stunning. 

We hopped on the sightseeing bus on our last day, to see all the sights that we didn't get to on foot.  It was a great tour of the city.  There was quite a bit more that we didn't get to see.  I guess that means we will have to go back!

The pantry is full!

Can you imagine schlepping all these groceries up the hill from the market?!!

 

 

We didn't schlep them all...this is our commissary order that we ordered before we left the states.  It is really difficult to try and do a menu planner for the next 2 years!  And try to remember what we will and won't be able to reorder through the mail.  We cannot order anything in glass, no peanut buttter, no liquids.  We obviously can't order anything cold or frozen.  It gets very tricky!! 

 

 

 

Sec State visit!

Well, instead of enjoying the beautiful city of Barcelona, Kirk & I spent the weekend working at the embassy. When I returned back from the Mary McBride band tour, I was told that our boss was coming to visit U.S. Embassy Algiers.  What was supposed to be a 4 day weekend turned into close to 80 hours of work between Kirk & I!!

 I was asked to be the site officer for the embassy meet & greet event and Kirk worked the control office in the hotel.  It was a great experience but we are both exhausted!!  We had to reschedule our Barcelona trip and our hotel was non refundable but all the overtime should make up for that. 
It is incredible the amount of planning and preparation that go into a visit like this.  We were short staffed at the embassy because this holiday weekend is like our Christmas in the states.  To the Muslims, this is their biggest religious holiday of the year so it was difficult finding local staff willing to work. 

This visit was a bit of a surprise and we got less than the normal amount of time to plan for it.  Things were very hectic!  Secretary Clinton was supposed to arrive late Monday and visit the embassy Tuesday morning but because of hurricane Sandy, they moved up the departure time to make sure she got out of DC before the storm hit.  So she arrived a full day early, which caused quite a bit of extra work! 

She has been to Algeria twice this year, which is rare.  She rarely visits the same country more than once a year.  It was quite an honor for the country. 

Band roadie in the Sahara!!

I was asked last week to fill in last minute for a trip with the Mary McBride band into the south part of Algeria (Sahara desert).  I left on Saturday and we flew to a town called Ouargla.  As we flew in, we had a great view of the Sahara.  It was surreal. 

We stayed in a hotel that I NEVER would have stayed at in the states!! LOL  Those of you who know me well, know that I am a self-proclaimed hotel snob!!  First of all, everyone smokes everywhere, so that was not good.  The decor of the hotel looked like something out of the 70's with purple textured wallpaper, shag area rugs in the bathroom, floral bed spread,and a phone that I didn't even think they made anymore.  The tv had no channels in english or subtitles so I got to practice my french! The shower area was a tiny cube with a hand held shower (that fell apart upon my first shower).  The toilet was in a separate area.  They did provide a large bottled water in the small fridge which I used to brush my teeth.  One of the doors to my patio didn't lock so I wedged a chair up underneath it.  The door to my room was covered with leather and the lock was an actual key.  To lock the door from the inside, you had to put the key in and lock yourself in.  Good thing there wasn't a fire!  We sat outside on the patio the first night and had some wine (thank goodness the restaurant served alcohol)!!  The minister of cultural affairs from the city hosted a traditional dinner in a huge tent for us.  We sat on the floor on pillows in this huge tent, covered in beautiful tapestries.  They served us salad, bread, traditional soup (which was lamb & couscous), bourek (which are meat filled egg rolls), then plates of meat (chicken, lamb & quail) with herbed couscous and then baskets of fruit for dessert.  It was a wonderful dinner and great atmosphere.  We drank some more wine on the patio, hoping it would help us get to sleep.  It didn't because the beds were very hard and uncomfortable.

The next day, we went a radio station to promote the concert where the band sang an accapella version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot".  That song has meaning here and they sounded great in 4 part harmony.

We drove around the city of Ouargla for awhile, found an Algerian soccer jersey for Mary to put on during the concert and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the concert.  The band played in an open air colisseum type venue.  There were about 400 men and about 10 women (very typical in the more traditional Muslim cities).  The women aren't allowed out without chaperones.  I introduced the band to the crowd and got an ovation!  I guess they don't see too many 6 ft blondes in southern Algeria!  LOL  I sat in the front row with an Algerian colleague from the embassy.  The crowd came down close the stage and were dancing and having fun.  One young man pulled me up to dance and then after that, they were lining up to have their photos taken with me.  It was a weird feeling!! I kept telling them that I was not with the band but they didn't care!!  Then they started crowding around me and the security guard grabbed my arm and pulled me to the stage where he brought a chair up and made me stay up on stage behind the band for the rest of the night.  It was a very weird feeling!
The concert was great and the band awesome...if you haven't heard the Mary McBride band, check them out on facebook or google them.  They play country rock with some blues influence.  It was fabulous.  Mary put the Algerian soccer jersey on for the encore and the crowd went nuts!!

The band greeted a few people after the concert and took some photos and then off to the hotel.  We sat outside in the beautiful weather and drank a few more bottles of wine.

Next morning, we boarded a bus that looked straight out of the 60's to drive over 5 hours through the desert.  It was pretty cool.  We had a pit stop at this tea house where we had to use the bathroom but there was no way in Hades that I was going into that smelly, filthy place where there was only a hole in the ground.  My colleague and I had the armed security guard follow us out back to a walled area and we went behind the wall, amidst piles of garbage, to pee out back!!  Thank goodness for travel packs of kleenex.  On the way back there, we passed this small  cement structure and as we passed by this ferocious guard dog comes charging out of the structure, frothing at the mouth and snarling at us.  We screamed and the stupid security guard (the one with the gun), was behind us!!!  Thank God the dog was on a chain and we were out of reach!  The owner came out and took care of the dog until we finished our business out back!  What an adventure but when you gotta go, you gotta go!  :)

Back on the bus and through the desert. 

We arrived in the city of Biskra and checked into a hotel where we were greeted by a lobby full of taxidermy!  We checked into our rooms where the decor again was from the 70's.  We went to the dining room and encountered more taxidermy on the way, including a very badly stuffed camel.  These animals were just creepy looking!!  The dining room was huge and completely empty and one of the band members said "This reminds me of the movie The Shining".  Well, that freaked me out because he was right!!  Those of you who have seen The Shining would understand!  The food was completely terrible.  Mary and I ordered salads and couldn't finish them.  How do you screw up a salad?!  The lobby was full of smoke, as was the bar area. 

We rested after lunch and then were off to the concert venue for sound check.  This one was an indoor theather.  Another one of my American colleagues joined us in Biskra so the 2 of us were sitting in front, where we were inundated with photo requests (she is also a blonde).   There were about 200 people at this event with a few more women.  The band rocked hard and it was a great show.  Again the Algerian soccer jersey got a huge response!  They close every show with a rocking version of "Amazing Grace".  It is awesome!

We arrived back to the hotel, where we only had to spend one night.  I do have to say that the bed was much more comfortable and we had one channel that was playing movies in english with arabic subtitles.  The next morning, we toured the city, went to a date store to buy dates since this city is known for their dates, supposedly the best in all of Algiers. We then stopped at an outdoor cafe for coffee, where a senator from the city paid our bill.  The weather during the whole trip was absolutely beautiful.  It was hot and sunny, in the 90's during the day.

We had lunch at a local chwarma place.  It was really good and had the best bread!  Then off to the airport and back to Algiers by plane.  The van  stopped by my apartment where I dropped off my bags and picked up Kirk.  We then took the band to a Turkish restaurant called Bosphore.  They have super kabobs and we enjoyed several bottles of wine with our kabobs and great company!  The band is great and we laughed and relaxed.  The next day, we had to go back to work but the band had one more local concert to perform.  We took a van to the concert after work to the theatre.  We were backstage before the band went on.  The theater was very nice and it was a good crowd.  There were definitely more women and girls at this concert.  You could tell we were closer to the city!

The band left the next morning and I was sad to see them go.  It was a wonderful trip and great opportunity for me.  The band members were so nice and very fun to be around.  I miss them already! 

When I arrived back to work on Wednesday, I found out I was tasked with something big....which you will have to read about in my next blog!!  :)

Marseille, France

Due to the crazy on again, off again internet, we haven't updated in awhile.  Since we last posted, we took a long weekend trip to Marseille, France. We left work Thursday evening for the airport and flew directly to Marseille from Algiers.  We landed in Marseille a little after 11pm.  We had to find a bus that took us to St. Charles train station where we found the Metro station and took the Metro to the Old Port (Vieux Port) where our hotel was located.  We had to walk about 5 blocks at midnight to our hotel but no worries....the streets were FULL of people.  Every café, restaurant and pub had outside areas that were packed.  It was like a huge street festival was going on.  We must have looked really funny walking down the street pulling our suitcase!

We checked into the Radisson Blu hotel, which is right on the old port.  We had a nice room with a great view, overlooking the harbor.  We could also see St. Victor's Abbey out our window to the left.
We slept in on Friday morning and then took off exploring. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, with blue skies and brilliant sun.  We found a bakery (which wasn't hard to do since they are on about every corner in Marseille) and enjoyed breakfast sitting outside on a wall, overlooking the old port. 

 

 

After we finished our pastries, we started walking along the Mediteranean coast.  The water on the coast is so blue...I can understand now why the south of France is called Cote d'azur.  It is amazing!  We walked and enjoyed the coastline, the architecture of the old houses with their blue wooden shutters and wrought iron decorations.  We stopped for water and another snack at a patisserie. 

We kept walking along the coast and then veered up the hill toward Notre Dame de la Garde.  It was an intense uphill hike but so worth it when we got to the top.  The views from the cathedral were breathtaking, as was the actual basilica & cathedral itself.  One side of the cathedral still has the shell marks from German bombings in World War II.

On the way back down the hill towards our hotel, we saw a tank in the middle of the street.  It was a memorial from WWII.  The streets were very narrow and winding...some were still cobblestone.  It was a very charming neighborhood.  We definitely got our workout in with that hike! 

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at, yes, you guessed it, another bakery!!  We bought some sandwich type pastries, one with meat and cheese, the other like a bruschetta with ham.

We went back to the hotel and stretched out in the sun by the pool to rest.  The concierge suggested a couple of restaurants so we got cleaned up and ready to go to dinner.  We walked to the main square to have dinner, only to realize we were way too early!!  The restaurants didn't even open until 8:00pm!  So we wandered around the area for awhile and then went to the restaurant, where we sat outside on a beautiful evening and enjoyed a bottle of wine and some fabulous food!  Marseille is famous for their boullabaise but since I don't like fish, I didn't order it.  It was very expensive too...about 58 euro for a bowl of fish soup!  I had a wonderful green olive ravioli and Kirk had a nice filet of beef with "really good" mashed potatoes. The white wine was local and it was wonderful.  We were so full we didn't have room for dessert....but we had our share of sweets earlier in the day!  We tried eclairs, apple tarts, brioche, baguettes, beignets, ganache, and things I can't even pronounce!! LOL It was all so yummy!


We slept in again Saturday morning.  After we got up and moving, opened the windows and had a beautiful view of the port and we could hear the bells from St. Victor's abbey.  We grabbed a pastry for breakfast and headed for the port where we caught a shuttle out to les isles frioules (the Frioul islands).  We enjoyed a nice boat ride to the islands where we disembarked and proceeded to hike up the highest point of the island.  It was another beautiful day and the terrain on the island was dry and rocky...almost like Arizona!  There were lots of old stone buildings, bunkers  and gun mount stations from WWII.  The island served as a fort and first defense of the city against attacks by sea.  It was really amazing to see these ruins.  And the view of the bays and coves around the island were unbelievable....azur blue water dotted with white sailboats everywhere....and not just little sunfish sailboats, we are talking huge yacht type sailboats!!

After returning back to the port, we decided to check out the shopping districts.  It was fun to walk around the streets and see what kind of shops and stores they had.  There was a luxury district, an affordable district and the bargain district.  I went into a clothing store where I had my own personal assistant, bringing me different outfits to try on and helping with accessories.  I left the store with a beautiful navy dress for work and a silk scarf from Paris.  Thank you Kirk!!  We bought some wine and cheese to bring home with us, along with some lovely handmade soap. We were extremely hungry and wandered into a McDonald's in the shopping district to grab a snack and use the bathroom.  The prices were crazy and then I realized they sell Heineken beer at the McDonald's!!  How funny!  :) 

We went back to the hotel to rest up for dinner and this time we waited until 8 to go out!  The concierge recommended a yacht club right on the water for dinner so that is where we went.  It wasn't much to look at from the street side, but the inside was nice and we sat out on the deck to watch the boats coming in and out of the port. We enjoyed another great bottle of local wine and we both ordered filet with vegetables and hollandaise sauce (Yumm-o) and a side of pomme frites (french fries).  So good!  We shared a lemon macaron with lemon ice and lemon cream for dessert....ooh la la!!  So many pastries, so little time!! 

We had to leave the next morning for the airport.  It was hard to leave because we had such a great time and beautiful weather.  Getting around is very easy and we plan to go back again...next time we will go north into provence to explore the French countryside. 

Our next trip though, is planned for Barcelona, Spain at the end of the month.  Can't wait!!  More adventures to follow!