There are so many beautiful villages in Provence to visit. We saw several  of them during our week's stay.  On Wednesday  we went to Saint-Paul de Vence, a walled medieval scenic  town set on top of a hill with magnificent views and hilly cobblestone streets. Marc Chagall has his final resting place here. From St-Paul de Vence Fouad drove us to Touretttes-sur-Loup, a hilltop medieval authentic village with spectacular views. 

We had a tour of the Confiseries Florian in Touretttes-sur-Loup. They manufacture some fantastic candied fruit, crystallized flowers, and different sorts of candy. It's wonderful to watch them produce these delicacies. I wonder, did Julia and Paul ever come in to buy some of their goodies. 

To all my foodie friends, how many times have you dreamed of helping a famous chef  prepare a meal in his kitchen. My dream finely materialized when our group prepared lunch with Chef Alain Llorca at his Michelin starred restaurant. This beautiful restaurant and hotel sit on a mountain overlooking Saint-Paul de Vence. We had a fabulous lunch on their terrace. Alain and his wife Virginia and brother Jean-Micheal created an establishment that offers the best of the region. In the morning we watched and helped Alain cook a mediterranean fish terrine that was served later for lunch. I was in culinary heaven and couldn't have been happier even though I received a troubling text telling me that my flights home had been canceled. . 

I made it home, even though my flights were changed three times, one of them on Sunday morning, two hours before I was supposed to leave.  I caught one the last flights to Frankfurt and then on to San Fransisco. After getting home I quarantined myself for two weeks. There are so many more memories and photos I would like to share about this wonderful trip but I need to publish this post. I will post more photos on Instagram. I hope you are all safe and healthy coping and getting used to our new way of life. Virtual hugs to all of you. 

I signed up for this cooking class sometime in January dealing with the aftermath of my broken ankle. By then I knew I could do it. It was the perfect motivation to push myself with exercise and physical therapy. On March 3rd my husband dropped me off at the San Francisco airport and I was on my way. Flying comes naturally to me, I have done it so many times in the past. I changed planes in Frankfurt and landed in Nice as the sun was setting over the Alps.  I fell in love with the city and area before I even landed.  I was picked up by the most wonderful driver and tour guide ever. I hope to come back to this beautiful area and Fouad  from France Azur Excursion will be my guide.

I spent two days by myself in Nice . There are times when I like solo traveling . This was one of them. As a woman of a certain age I was treated kindly by the staff in my hotel, the Le Meridian. There was a cook in the morning that made a perfect omelet, the receptionist  recommended some great restaurants and her sense of humor was delightful. The server in the rooftop restaurant entertained me since I was the only customer.

On  my walk home  I had made reservation at La Meranda , a tiny small restaurant that serves only 20 people is run by Dominique Le Stanc, formerly the chef at Negresso, a two-star Michelin restaurant. This unusual restaurant doesn’t have a phone. You have to drop in to make reservations and sit close together on small uncomfortable stools. The menu is on the blackboard and reflects local rustic dishes. I had a delicious salad and the daube of beef was very good. Don’t expect elegance or a charming restaurant but the food is outstanding and the price its right. A real experience, it reminded me of of sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen on a bench being served a tasty soup that filled my tummy and soul.

Budapest is the capitol of Hungary and Hungary's most populous city. It is a city that has been influenced by many cultures throughout history, most prevalent is the Austrian influence from the 19th century when Hungary was part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire. 

Budapest consists of two parts—Buda and Pest. The Danube River divides the medieval streets  and Roman ruins of Buda from the 19th century boulevards of Pest. Many bridges connect the hilly Buda with the flat Pest. The most famous and first bridge ever built was  the 19th century Chain Bridge. It was the first bridge to link Buda with Pest.

In 1987, Budapest was added to the Unesco World Heritage list for the cultural and architectural significance of the banks of the Danube—the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue. 

You will find some great architecture in Budapest, especially the Art Nouveau style. Unfortunately, we  only had two days to explore the city before I fell and broke my ankle. 

We arrived by train from Vienna on a Friday, a pleasant 2 ½ hour train ride. That night, we attended a concert in the St. Stephan's Basilica, the largest church in Hungary. It was a wonderful introduction to Budapest. This church was dedicated to the first King of Hungary.

The next day, we took the Castle Hill funicular up to the castle. It offers a great view while riding up. The funicular links the Adam Clark Square and the Chain Bridge.                      

The castle built on Castle Hill was meant to protect the city from the Tartars and Mongols. It was destroyed many times. Today, the Castle Hill area houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest City Museum.

On Saturday, after exploring Budapest on a warm and sunny day, we had a wonderful lunch on an outside patio at Dunacorso, a restaurant that has been in existence for over one hundred years. We  enjoyed the food and the ambiance with a view of the Danube. 

After being released from the hospital, I was well taken care of and nurtured by the Ritz Charlton of Budapest. The concierge was wonderful and so was the rest of the staff. I could not have survived this ordeal without them. The Ritz has a great spa with a swimming pool. The restaurant had a wonderful goulash soup that I had two times. It was the staff of the Ritz who saved us when I broke my ankle. I cannot thank them enough. 

The aloha spirit can still be found on the busy yet beautiful island of Maui in the Pacific Ocean. The light, the sun, and turquoise color of the ocean all add to the beauty of this island. It was a pleasure to share this trip with my niece and her husband.

We continued upcountry to Makawao, where we had lunch at the Hali’imalie General Store, a must-do for me when I am in Maui. Our guests were not disappointed with their meal either. My niece and I had the fish tacos, which we decided were the best fish tacos on the Island. The fresh fish of the day was served on grilled taro tortillas with mole sauce and tropical salsa. My niece’s husband had the Kalua pork enchilada pie, which I highly recommend.

Food was more of an afterthought on this trip, as we prepared several dinners in our condo. I seared some fresh tuna and served it with an Asian salad. The kids made us pizza. 
We did have a nice meal during happy hour at the Monkey Pod Kitchen in Kaanapali. We were lucky to be seated outside with a great view of the sunset. The Mai Tais were the best.

The time went by fast and before we knew it, we were back on the crowded airplane returning to San Fransisco. Read about my previous trip to Maui here. Note however, that Chef Sheldon Simeon of the former Migrant restaurant at the Marriott’s in Wailea has moved to Wailuku. He opened a new restaurant called the Tin Roof in Kahului, but I have not eaten there yet. The Marriott Hotel now has a new restaurant called The Humble Market Kitchen by Roy Yamaguchi, who became famous with Roy’s restaurants. I can't wait to return to this beautiful Island. 

Our hotel, the Saint Regis, felt like an old-fashioned luxury retreat in a very busy world. I was always happy when the doorman greeted me with a smile. I know I could relax, go for a swim after being immersed in the humid climate of Singapore. Almost every afternoon, I treated myself to a wonderful hazelnut dessert and at night we had a drink at the Astor Bar admiring the original Picassos on the walls. What a life! Oh, and let’s not forget the breakfast, with an astonishing variety of international dishes that made it difficult to choose. Every morning, I ate my fill.

We also had another delightful lunch with friends from the States  at Le Grand Colbert, which everybody loved for the fantastic food — and air conditioning. The architecture and design of this place is as great as the food and ambiance. Click here to read more about the Grand Colbert on a previous post.

Sometimes, within just a few steps, you are transported back in time 100 years. Two of those places on the strip of Wakiki are the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Moana Surfrider. Both have modern towers attached, but in both hotels there is an older, original part. The Royal Hawaiian is hidden between high-rise towers, but I find it to be an oasis of old-time charm. Walking through the lobby and outside grounds is a must for me every time I am in Wakiki. I have stayed in the old rooms several times and enjoyed it tremendously. Their bar on the beach is a favorite spot to have a mai tai and to watch the sunset. When you stay at the hotel, you are greeted with their famous banana bread (get the recipe here). You can buy it now at their coffee shop.

I love to go for early morning walks, leaving Waikiki and going into residential areas. I  admire the old houses with their interesting doors. I might take a yoga or tai chi class on the lawn of the park.

Oahu is home to a diverse population which put their stamp on the architecture, food and  way of living. Whenever I visit the islands, I enjoy watching the hula dance which is being performed by old and young everywhere. This classic Hawaiian dance is being taught to young children, who perform it often and very beautifully. It always brings me joy and I like to dance it myself when I am alone. The hula is a Polynesian form of story telling, brought to Hawaii by a woman named La'ila'i in the 6th century. It takes a lot of love and commitment to master it. 

Let's go back to the beach where I swim in the warm, clear blue Pacific Ocean every day. I don't go in far, because I am not a good swimmer. No one teaches you how to swim when you grow up on a farm in northern Germany. But I do like floating and having the waves caress me. I feel safe, and it is such a pleasurable experience. 

For our first dinner we choose The Eating House, a restaurant by Roy Yamaguchi, who pioneered bringing local Hawaiian food to the local restaurants. I often eat at his other restaurant called Roy's in Honolulu. At the Eating House I had a Royal Hawaiian cocktail which was the best one on this trip.

Iron Chef Morimoto has two new restaurants in Waikiki. We ate at the casual Momosan Waikiki on the patio. It has wonderful small plates like tetsunabe pork gyoza with a ginger scallion sauce that is flambeed with sake at your table. My duck confit small bites were out of this world. My husband had the noodle dish that they are known for. They also have pig ears on their menu, but I decided to pass on that one in spite of good reviews. You can also order take-out and have it at the beach.

I used to have lunch at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room in the Ala Moana Shopping center, but it is now closed. Instead, I had a wonderful and reasonably priced dim sum at the Jade Dynasty Seafood Restaurant on the 3rd level of the shopping center. I enjoyed every bite and didn't need to eat again the entire day. The waiting lines are long since locals eat here. 

Marukame Udon is a well-loved casual place where they make their own noodles. It is my friends, Susan and Jim's, favorite place. There are always very long lines and people absolutely rave about this place. 

There is so much more to Honolulu, like downtown Chinatown, which is a treasure for foodies. For me, it is more interesting than San Francisco. I have taken some food tours on previous visits, but not this time. There is the Bishop Museum which is a museum of history and science.  On previous visits we went to the Doris Duke Shangri La home and enjoyed the tour. The Queen's Iolani Palace is steeped in Hawaiian history and is worthy  of a visit. I have not yet been to the Honolulu opera but have heard it is fantastic.

This was my happy place this time—the infinity pool at the Sheraton Wakiki. 

Here is a photo of me five years ago and another one of me now. Still happy.
Mahola and I hope to visit again. Aloha.

The next day we had dinner at  the old Brasserie Le Dome Cafe in Montparnasse. This is a fish restaurant and I understand their Sole Meunier is outstanding but we shared a plate of fruits of the ocean ( plateau fruits de mer) with a nice bottle of muscatel. .

Near Le Halles is  E. Dehillerin, my favorite kitchen store, a heaven for foodies. You want a mandolin specifically for slicing truffles, they have it. Whenever I am in Paris I have to go to  this iconic store where Julia Child bought her copper pots. They have everything and more and they will ship. I still use my crepe pan I bought twenty years ago.  

Another night we ate at La Fontane De Mars  which is a retro style bistro with an old fashion ambiance. The cuisine is traditionally bistro style food . The menu is vast with daily menus on the blackboard. I especially enjoyed my Floating Island Dessert ( Ile Flottante) . President Obama and his wife dined here.

The Burgundy is region of France world-renowned for its outstanding wine and food. It is the end of the rainbow for people who appreciate food and wine. This works out splendidly for my husband and me, as he loves great wine and I love great food. For many years, when I would visit my parents and family in Germany, my father would give us his car and we did a week or two exploring Europe. On an early trip, we stumbled upon the Château Bellecroix and stayed in their smallest room in the turret, lugging our suitcases up the stairs and smuggling in wine bought in a store. Living in a real chateau is such a great experience. It was fun and still is today, although now we prefer the ground floor. From this quiet and tranquil place, we visited all the great wineries and fantastic restaurants. By the way, this place is for sale.

The Sunday market in Chagny is large and a lot of fun. It sells  live feathered animals of all sizes.

On this trip, we visited Dijon for the first time. Dijon is the capital of Burgundy and right away mustard pops into our minds. But Dijon is about so much more than just mustard. This quaint town in the northeast of France has a rich cultural heritage, with beautiful vineyards surrounding it—one of four official French cities of gastronomy.  We stayed in a cute modern hotel called Vertigo. The staff was super helpful and friendly and the rooms were high-tech. We stayed for two days and never got into the car.

 I hope I have the chance to visit this beautiful region of France again.

I took the red-eye special from San Francisco and arrived in NYC early Saturday morning. Upon checking in my hotel stored my luggage and after a large cup of coffee I was ready to go. My girlfriend’s sister and her daughter took me along that day. This was good because I was super tired and not always able to function properly. We got half-price tickets at the TKTS on Time Square for a matinee and saw “A Doll’s House: Part 2” by Lucas Hnath. The play picks up after Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House" concludes. Even though I nodded off just a little bit in the beginning, eventually it got my full attention. What I liked about this play is that nobody was stereotyped as good or bad, although everybody was right and everybody was wrong.
I also saw “Little Foxes” by Lillian Hellman with Laura Linney, Cynthia Nixon (from “Sex in the City”), and Richard Thomas, who was John John in “The Waltons” TV series from years ago. The acting in this play was superb. Another play I thoroughly enjoyed was "Present Laughter" starring Kevin Kline.

Even though I had planned to go the MoMa,  I didn't make time for it, but I did have a refreshing drink and appetizer at Moderner, a great restaurant next to the MoMa. Altogether, it was a wonderful trip and I am  glad I decided to go. Read more about New York on my other post from last year.