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Best of Small Bags

I’m starting a new feature on my blog…The Best Of.

These are items I have used, traveled with, reviewed, and experimented extensively with. You will get the good, the not-so-good, and the wow-how did I live without this review. It doesn’t mean you’ll love it or hate it. I’m giving my opinion.

Everything I review will have been used by me more than once…unless, of course, it’s a total waste.

First up…small bags.

 

I use a variety of small bags when packing. Some in my suitcase…some in my purse.

This one gets used for cords for my phone and tablet, adapters I need to plug my devices into European wall sockets, an extra camera battery, and an extra camera card.

This one was made by TeresaMade and I love it. You can find her bags on Etsy.

I’ll showcase more bags of various sizes in upcoming posts. I’ll even give some ideas for other small bags. Stay tuned.

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Is That a Horse on My Flight?

Support Animals on Airplanes

Miniature horses are now allowed on several airlines as service animals. These horses, when properly trained, assist with disabilities. Since they have excellent eyesight and can live 30 or more years, they often help those who are blind.

In addition, if someone has a dog or cat allergy…a miniature horse may be the solution.

The key word here is trained. They need to be professionally trained in order to qualify, say most airlines. And, they must qualify as a service animal. Not just a pet. As of yet, they also do not qualify as an emotional support animal. That category is for dogs and cats only.

Can you find out if a miniature horse will be on your flight? Not yet. You’ll only find that out during boarding.

So…if you see a small horse standing in the boarding area, you’ll know why!

 

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Old Mission San Luis Rey

Old Mission San Luis Rey

History: Missions in Alta California were established as a result of the threat of Russian fur trappers encroaching on the area. Spain learned land could be claimed inexpensively by establishing a mission, sending dedicated padres and supplies, and adding some soldiers for protection.

Mission San Luis Rey, 18th in this chain of missions throughout California, was founded in 1789 by Padre Fermin Francisco do Lasuen, successor to Padre Junipero Serra. He named it after St. Louis IX, King of France during the 13th century.

Between 1798 and 1832 Mission San Luis Rey became home to 3,000 Indians who helped care for 50,000 head of livestock. The Mission’s land was cultivated for grapes, oranges, olives, wheat, and corn. Self-sustaining, the Mission channeled water from the river to the north to irrigate its crops. Buildings were constructed using local materials of adobe, fired clay bricks, and wooden timbers. By 1830 the Mission was the largest building in California.

During the 1950s and 1960s the Friars uncovered the Soldiers’ Barracks and the Lavanderia. Today, restoration is ongoing.

Quadrangle: If you want to tour an important part of the Mission, sign up for a special tour to access the quadrangle. This area houses workshops, living quarters, a kitchen, an infirmary, a winery, and storage.

Pepper Tree: Also within this quadrangle is the oldest living Pepper Tree in California. The first pepper trees in Alta California were planted by Father Antonio Peyri, using seeds brought here in 1830 by a sailor from Peru. Even if you don’t take the special tour, you can still see this tree and the surrounding gardens through the original carriage arch.

Cemetery: The cemetery has been in continuous use since the Mission was founded. It is the oldest burial grounds in North San Diego County still in operation. With recent expansion it is possible for area residents of all faiths to be buried here. Check out the skull and crossbones above the entrance to the cemetery. This is typical of Franciscan cemeteries.

If you’re a television show watcher from the 1950s, you may recognize those gates. Walt Disney used them for the filming of several television episodes of ‘Zorro’ at San Luis Rey.

Architecture: While missions in California are recognizable by their architecture, sparkling white exteriors, and bell towers, Mission San Luis Rey is among the finest existing examples of Spanish-Colonial architecture in all of California.  It’s one of only two cruciform, or cross-shaped, churches ever built by the Spanish in the region. It is no wonder it’s a National Historic Landmark. The main walls of the church are 30 feet high and 5 feet thick with an adobe interior and baked brick exterior. Lime-based whitewash coats the walls. Its bell tower is an impressive 75 feet tall. Another unique feature here is the restored wooden dome. This is the only mission with a dome and cupola.

If You Go: Old Mission San Luis Rey is located at 4050 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, CA. For more information, www.sanluisrey.org.

 

 

 

 

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Travel Planning Suggestions

Here are a few ideas when planning your next trip…or your first trip. Have fun…

1 month out

  • Make sure you have the maps you will need; load some on your phone that can be used offline; possibly get paper ones
  • Double check your flight info; just an FYI
  • Call your bank and credit card companies to let them know you will be traveling and where you will be

2 weeks out

  • Check weather so you can pack accordingly; check for the next two weeks…as it may change drastically
  • Check medication refills and contact your physician if necessary
  • Take a free airport tour online
  • Download the My TSA app

1 week out

  • Print all confirmation emails; it doesn’t hurt to have both paper and electronic versions
  • Double check your electronic folder and update numbers and contacts as necessary
  • Take some pictures of your luggage and documents; store in a file on your phone
  • Print a list for your house or pet sitter
  • Print a letter to your home and car insurance company listing the name of the person taking care of your home
  • Print a letter for the vet, if you have a pet, allowing your pet sitter to bring your pet for treatment
  • Print a packing list

 

 

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Breakfast at Le Femme Boulanger

Breakfast at La Femme Boulanger

The Baker’s Wife…a wonderful breakfast in Nice. A basket heaped with multiple kinds of bread sat next to six jars of homemade jams. Of course, I had to sample them all. Orange and Grapefruit Marmalade, Fig Jam, Blueberry Preserves, Cherry Jam, Strawberry Preserves, and Apricot Jam…oh my.

If I was asked to pick a favorite, I’m quite sure I couldn’t. They were all that good.

And, this was before breakfast was brought to us. A fluffy, two egg omelet, fresh fruit, crispy bacon slices, and a grilled tomato graced the plate. But, it was hard not to lick out the jars which held the jams…just sayin’.

Located in the Golden Square in Nice, near the Promenade des Anglais.

 

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Cassis…the First Time

Cassis…you may know the word cassis as the French work for blackcurrant. That’s true. And, it’s a great taste.

High Above Cassis

However, it’s also the name of a delightful French fishing port complete with impossibly clear turquoise waters, dozens of boats, and yummy-looking pastel houses. Plenty of charm here, too. There’ s just no other way to describe it.

Driving down and down the steep, winding road, past rocky cliffs on one side and glimpses of blue water on the other, you eventually arrive on the edge of Cassis. Without knowing it, you’ve passed right by the centuries-old Chateau. And, yes those were grapevines on the steep rocky slopes. Then you see shimmering water in the distance. The Mediterranean Sea.

Park above the town. You really do not want to drive on the narrow, slightly uneven cobblestone streets where locals and tourists are wandering. Walking gives you the opportunity to experience Cassis the way it should be experienced. Slowly.

Friday, the day we were there, is market day. Even though the guide books said this market was smaller than others in Provence, we found it to be just as diverse and delicious as any others we had been to. We strolled through rows and rows of vendors, tented stalls, and smells so fantastic our mouths couldn’t stop watering.

I visited with a cheesemaker from Germany. In the south of France. Go figure. Another vendor, a woman selling olive wood spoons, knew where San Diego was. Her daughter goes to school there. Small world. Deeply hued, brightly colored bowls, plates, and platters grabbed my attention. The vendor and I talked…her using small amounts of English and me using broken French. We got along just fine.

Even though the cheeses, meats, olives, pottery, flowers, biscuits, baskets, cookies, pastries, and stacks of breads might have appeared to be the same as other street markets, they weren’t. Each village or town has their own unique specialties. Candied orange cookies begged to be eaten with a cup of espresso. Yummy morning treat. They are a specialty here.

Not crowded like its touristy neighbor, St. Tropez, Cassis is a popular place for both international and French tourists on holiday. Everyone takes time to sit at a sidewalk café and people watch. Doesn’t matter if you’re drinking your morning coffee or mid-morning rose wine. Finished? How about shopping for a chic sundress, a stylish straw hat, or colorful, flirty sandals? All of the above, please.

Another thing, not a lot of English is spoken here. Yet, everyone is friendly and regardless of your command of the French language, you don’t even realize you’ve been communicating with the shopkeeper or the couple at the table next to you.

Wine? Sure. This is one of France’s outstanding wine growing areas. In fact, it’s one of the first three French wine regions to be classed as an AOC by decree on May 15, 1936. In this area, 12 wine estates produce 1,000,000 bottles a year. That’s a lot of wine from those steep vineyards. You’ll find mostly white wines with some Roses.

If you’re here for more than a day, you have to take a boat trip to the Calanques. These rocky inlets are called the Fjordes of the Med. A series of rocky cliffs and bays have been formed in the limestone. This area has a unique eco-system with no soil. It has been protected since 2012. The best way to see it is by boat. Be sure to allow enough time…or stay another day.

At the end of the day…Cassis is a place we’ll come back to. Wandering the town, sampling local seafood and wines, watching people enjoying themselves, and relaxing with a view of the sparkling Med in front of us and rows of candy-colored buildings stacked up the cliffs behind us. Oh yeah. We’ll be back. Hold our table. Merci.

If You Go: Cassis is located east of Marseille in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in southern France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Food and Wine…Here We Come

 

Avignon Food and Wine Tour

Mention Avignon and many people know this is where the pope lived during the early 14th century. Hence the imposing Palais des Papes which dominates the skyline of Avignon.

I’ll save that for another article.

On our last visit, we signed up for an Avignon Food and Wine Tour. Why? We love discovering and finding local foods on our own. But, thinking this might be something to try…we signed up.

We were promised a unique experience with a local guide, taking us to local shops. That was right on.

Aurelie, our guide, is a local. She shops around the city daily. So, that’s where she took us. The oldest artisan baker in town, an award-winning master chocolate maker, wine sellers, coffee roasters, olive growers, the local, central market…all her favorites. Many are now our favorites, too. Her passion for food, wine, and Avignon were evident. She knew the locals and they knew her.

As we wandered through streets and down alleys, we learned and we ate. What better way to learn about and understand local foods and how they relate to the history of Avignon? This is definitely a unique way to sample a city.

First up, slightly warm, impossibly light, buttery, flaky croissants. In a park. Surrounded by roses in shades of pinks and yellows, ancient stone columns, chirping birds flitting about the branches. And, pigeons begging for a crumb. Any crumb. Sorry…none left.

Except for the pigeons, it was the perfect way to start the day. If only we had some coffee or espresso. Guess what? That was the next stop as we wove our way through the back streets of Avignon.

At Café du Bresil, in Avignon since 1976, rich, fragrant, coffee beckoned to us from several feet down the street. This is a tiny place. Coffee is their passion. Buying the right beans, roasting to achieve the desired taste, and grinding to fit your machine…all important to them. Tastes and aromas. They make you want to taste, smell, touch, and look. What do you get? The perfect combination. We hated to leave.

Until, that is, Aurelie told us the next stop was an artisan chocolate shop. Aline Gehant, the owner and chocolatier of Artisan Chocolatier en Provence, creates chocolates with a variety of flavors and tastes. Our mission that morning, if we chose to accept it, was to decide what each sample piece was infused with. Of course, we all chose to accept that mission.

First taste…definitely lavender. Not heavy perfumey lavender. Just a hint. But, noticeable. Next, an herb. Was it oregano? Or, was it thyme? Turns out it was thyme. Again, just a hint. Last…a hint of pistachio. Since she makes her chocolates by infusing the herbs and flavors, you taste that subtle flavor all the way through the piece of chocolate. Simply amazing. But, we had to leave. A bakery was calling to us.

More walking. Actually, strolling to our next stop. The oldest bakery in Avignon showcased delightful pastries in the window. Decisions. Decisions. How do we know which one to pick? Thankfully, Aurelie had already chosen for us. Sitting beneath huge, shady trees, these disappeared amid sighs of pleasure. No crumbs left here, either. But, it was time to move to our next stop. Wine.

Since Chateauneuf du Pape is the area’s most prestigious wine, guess what we sampled? The wine shop also poured several other samples for us while explaining where his wines come from. Tasty stop.

Now, more walking to our final destination. Lunch at Les Halles d’Avignon. Forty growers and tradesmen from around the area feature and sell their products, which represent the taste, quality, and freshness of the soil. What a sight.

Glistening, ruby red peppers sit next to shiny, amethyst-colored eggplants. Strawberries, so plump you think they might burst, beckon to be sampled. Fruits and vegetables of every color imaginable line stalls up and down the aisles.

Perfect, marbled filets waiting to be cut to your order, fresh liver resting in a pan, giant slabs of bacon, chickens, geese, quail…and more. Duck fat…jars of duck fat. Seafood showcased on ice. Whole fish, mouths open, along the edge. It was all so fresh, you didn’t detect any fishy smell.

Olives…so many olives. Cheeses you may not have heard of but can’t wait to try. Tapenades, pates, garlic spreads, pickles. Baguettes, long, thin, crusty on the outside and melt in your mouth in the middle.

What do you want? Again, we didn’t have to decide. Aurelie had everything arranged for our gourmet lunch. Including wine and dessert.

What a perfect ending to our food and wine tour.

Now, we were off to explore more of Avignon on our own.

Would we do this again? Of course. It was a different way to explore a city. It was long enough and covered enough different areas. That made it ideal. We were introduced to areas and vendors we might never have discovered on our own.

Plus, we had the perfect guide. She kept us moving, yet didn’t hurry us.

This was a great introduction to Avignon.

If You Go: More can be found about this tour at https://www.avignongourmetours.com/#home-2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Les Baux-de-Provence…A Piece of History

Les Baux-de-Provence

Set in the heart of the Alpilles regional county park, Les Baux-de-Provence is listed as a heritage site. It’s even won the title of one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France. Considering the fact that there are plenty of beautiful villages in France, this is quite an honor.

So, why this designation? We wanted to find out.

For starters, the village literally sits on a rocky plateau. It sort looks like someone perched it there, overlooking the valleys, hills, and marshes below. With its panoramic views, you can see all the way to Arles and the Camargue. If you know where to look, you can see some patches of red earth. These are all that are left of the bauxite quarries, a mineral used to make aluminum.

The Baux outcrop is one of the last foothills of the Alpilles mountains. It’s this craggy cliff formation, with sheer drops of 20 to 45 meters that provided natural protection for the Chateau. And, the Chateau was crucial.

This location was important as far back as early prehistoric times. Defend and protect. In addition to the magnificent drop offs, there are several smaller outcrops where defending troops could see the enemy coming. These somewhat smaller fortresses acted as sort of warning system for the main Chateau.

Keep the Chateau safe. And, they did.

In the Middle Ages, the Baux lineage was one of the leading families in Provence, thanks to the land. They had control of over 79 towns and fortresses until the King took it over.

The Renaissance was a golden age for the town and any buildings in need of repair were rebuilt. Until 1631. Insurgents took it over, leading to a revolt. Cardinal Richelieu’s troops besieged it, once again demolishing it. The village of Les Baux was gradually abandoned until 1821, when a geologist discovered a red rock rich in alum earth…bauxite.

After WWII, the village began a new life as a tourist and cultural center. Raymond Thuillier opened Oustau de Baumaniere, an ambassador for gourmet cuisine which attracted all the world’s best-known names in food.

Then came that distinction of one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France.”

Now, you can only visit the village by foot…which we did.

With its narrow alley-ways or streets, even the foot traffic gets congested at times. Winding our way up through the village, our goal was the Chateau at the top. Our self-guided tour let us explore as much as wanted, learning about the turbulent history, watching a giant catapult hurl rocks at incoming invaders, and experiencing what it would have looked like to watch an enemy approach from miles away.

Walking back into the village after exploring the Chateau, we were looking for lunch. The Renaissance facades, noticeable on many buildings, bring the memories of what this village once was back to mind. Small shops and restaurants now occupy those buildings.

A bottle of wine, lavender soap, a new Panama hat, locally grown olive oil, or perhaps a custom designed knife…whatever you’re looking for, you might see it here.

Restaurants? No shortage of these, from simple take-away deli sandwiches piled high with local meats, olives, and cheeses to sit-down organic meals to ala carte specialties. This village is truly a foodie one.

What did we discover here?

Plan on spending a full day. If you can, arrive early. Wander through the Chateau and its entirety, taking advantage of the free audio recordings. They help explain what you’re looking at and how it functioned many, many years ago. You’ll learn how they used that giant catapult, how they made their amour, where their food was kept, and where the wounded were treated.

Allow time to explore the village. Whether you’re shopping, exploring local fare, or intent on buying, take your time. Look at the buildings and imagine what they housed in their former lives.

Also, explore the type of restaurant and food you want. There’s a variety. So many choices…not enough time.

This a beautiful village in so many ways. It’s a village we’ll go back to. Maybe even stay longer next time…

 

If You Go: Les Baux-de-Provence is a French commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southern France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It

was after the Second World War that the village began a new life as a tourist and