Eurostar Blues: Thursday, October 17th

If the rich could hire someone else to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living. -Jewish proverb 
 

Hello Dear Doctor Friends!

Trust everyone is well, if poorer, after shopping at The Galeries Lafayette! Just a  quick note to say how much we enjoyed  meeting you four yesterday. We spent a lovely day, after we said goodbye, in spite of the rain, and are so pleased to have decided to come to Paris, if only for a few days.

We trust we will see you in Istanbul in the not too, too distant future. Fond regards and best wishes from Corinne and Patrick. Travel safely. Bon Voyage. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: Our lovely landlady, Rebecca; wonderful exhibit at Mona Bismarck American Center yesterday afternoon; dinner last at a Le Bistro du Perigord, 71 Rue Saint-Jacques, simply delicious food! Recommend it most highly, especially the Guinea Fowl with horseradish sauce! The Four Turkish Doctors and One Canadian Librarian!

PS: I have taken the liberty of providing Google translations, in case it is easier for you to read the message!

Not: Eğer mesajı okumak için daha kolay olduğu durumda ben, Google çeviri sağlama özgürlük almış!
 
PS: j'ai pris la liberté de fournir des traductions Google, dans le cas où il est plus facile pour vous de lire le message!

Bonjour cher docteur amis!

Chacun de confiance est bien, si pauvre, après le shopping aux Galeries Lafayette! Juste un petit mot rapide pour vous dire combien nous avons apprécié vous rencontrer quatre hier. Nous avons passé une belle journée, après avoir dit au revoir, en dépit de la pluie, et nous sommes donc heureux d'avoir décidé de venir à Paris, si ce n'est que pour quelques jours.

Nous espérons que nous allons vous voir à Istanbul dans le pas trop, avenir trop lointain. Concerne Fond et meilleurs vœux de Corinne et Patrick. Voyage en toute sécurité. Bon Voyage. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Photos: Notre belle hôtesse, Rebecca; merveilleuse exposition à Mona Bismarck American Center hier après-midi, dîner dernier à Le Bistro du Périgord, 71 Rue Saint-Jacques, tout simplement délicieux! Recommander le plus fortement, en particulier la Guinée Fowl avec sauce au raifort! Les quatre médecins turcs et un bibliothécaire canadien!
Sevgili Doktor Arkadaşlar Merhaba!
 

Güven herkes Galeries Lafayette alışveriş sonra, iyi ise kötüdür! Dört dün toplantı zevk ne kadar söylemek Sadece hızlı bir notu. Biz yağmura rağmen, veda sonra, güzel bir gün geçirdim ve bu yüzden birkaç gün yalnızca, Paris'e gelmeye karar için mutluyuz.

Biz, çok uzak bir gelecekte değil çok İstanbul'da göreceksiniz güveniyorum. Fond ilgili ve Corinne ve Patrick en iyi dilek. Güvenli seyahat. Bon Voyage. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Resimler: Bizim güzel ev sahibesi, Rebecca; Mona Bismarck Amerikan Merkezi'nde harika sergi dün öğleden sonra, akşam yemeği Le Bistro du Perigord, 71 Rue Saint-Jacques, sadece lezzetli yemek geçen! Horseradish sos ile özellikle Guinea Fowl, en çok tavsiye!Dört Türk Doktorlar ve Bir Kanada Kütüphaneci!

 Hi Patrick
 
Got Home 9pm last night and at work today.  Ewa will leave keys in black bin when she goes.  See u later and hope u had a great time in France xx

Hello Duhlink!

Please hurry home as I'm being loved to death by all your latest feline boarders! Can hardly get to the keyboard! Thanks for having key left in bin. Not sure where you'd like us to camp so haven't put our bags in any bedroom, but just did most of my repacking in living room, for now.

All went well with Eurostar. Loads to tell and loads to hear about Paphos, I'm sure. Scads to drink as I discovered a wine cellar upstairs and in living room cupboard, as you'd mentioned. I honestly couldn't remember how much stuff we had left! Felt like Christmas morning as I kept pulling out box after bag after box and then some! We might even have to consider buying an extra, cheap bag, or staying for a year!

Dinner? We can do something. I'll phone shortly. Cora Lee checked her back at King's Cross after we arrived at St Pancras, the better able to go Power Shopping, alone and unencumbered by either baggage or her husband! She said she would be home around 4:00 pm but who knows. Not sure what your plans are for this evening but unless we are going to The Opera or dancing at The Ritz I'm more than happy just to stay at home and drink and visit and drink! I'm sure the same goes for Cora Lee as it has been a long day. Anyway, look forward to chatting soon. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Dinner last night in Paris!

On to London, via Eurostar, on Thursday, October 17th to stay with close friend, Penny, for two nights. Up at 6:00 am to have a steaming mug of coffee. Cora Lee didn't wish to roused until 7:00ish so I was as quiet as a church mouse while I made and packed our picnic lunch for the train. Quick shower and then it was time to wake Sleeping Beauty. While she was showering herself I finished my packing and did loaded dishwasher with few dishes and utensils that we'd used. As things turned out, Rebecca's husband, Paul, arrived at just after 8:00 am to check us out. He was as friendly and as helpful as Rebecca had been, (She even called to apologize for not being able to come to say goodbye in person!), helping with our baggage. Taxi arrived right on time and we thanked Paul for terrific stay. He mentioned, as we exchanged goodbyes, that if we wished to use apartment again that we should contact them directly, cautioning, "Don't let all Paris know!", thereby cutting out rental agency, so that we could obtain a better rate. Waving goodbye we made for the station.

Original photographs rarely seen in France, as well as some archival material including Life and Paris Match covers, will demonstrate how Karsh’s remarkable artistic career transformed intimate portraits into public icons, making a deep impression on personal and historical memory throughout the 20th century.
During his lifetime, Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) held over 15,000 sittings and produced over 150,000 negatives. Among these were portraits of some of the most exhilarating French and American political, cultural and intellectual figures, including Ernest Hemingway, François Mauriac, Grace Kelly, John F. Kennedy, Christian Dior and Man Ray.


Read more at http://www.parisphoto.com/agenda/yousuf-karsh#mTAcu0OqFwq9IMk6.99

Only about a fifteen to twenty minute car ride but we were both glad not to have had to run the gauntlet of the sliding doors at some of the Metro platforms, let alone the ticket turnstiles and the inevitable stairs! We knew, when we arrived a few days earlier that our apartment was only a few subway stops from the Gare du Lyon. Access was relatively easy from where we left the TGV. Only a couple of flights of stairs to negotiate once we managed a precise militarily orchestrated approach to getting all our luggage through the narrow automatic gates. (No officials to help with oversize bags here!) Had to position large bag just in front of metal arms so that when one inserted one's ticket one could push luggage ahead and dash through before gates re-closed on hapless traveller and/or bag! Once I was through Cora Lee put her bag into slot so that I could pull it through, once gates opened, and she scampered after it. 

Shortly thereafter, a friendly young man offered to carry her bag down the next flight of stairs so that helped bring us to station platform itself. Here, we found that along the edge of the platform itself there are barriers, again with automatic doors, a safety measure, I suppose, to prevent people from falling onto tracks. I'd seen some in London, a few years ago, but this was my first encounter with them in Paris, or at least I don't remember them from trip in 2010. At any rate, first train to arrive was too full for us to be able to catch it so we waited, now well positioned to board although we were quite shocked to see two women caught by these unforgiving doors once train was about to leave. One was knocked back violently, literally into her companion and the other was nastily sandwiched, both arms pinned by the closing doors. Her companion and another person standing close-bye managed to pry the doors open enough to allow her to free herself but it was a real struggle, let me tell you. From what we observed she had obviously injured/hurt her arm/shoulder! 

Can't even begin to imagine what might happen to an elderly or otherwise disabled individual. It was really quite frightening and we saw a number of other such happenings along the way to Châtelet, our stop. At intervening stations some passengers close to the door would disembark to allow those behind to get off and once this process was complete, attempt to board again. One chap who had been standing close to us with a female companion did just this and was caught by the closing platform doors as he stepped through them. He managed to free himself but by this time train doors had closed so he was left behind. I noticed his friend was texting right away so I imagine she was suggesting where they might rendezvous. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have been injured although from the look on his face he was pretty upset, as well he might be. Safer cycling on The Island Highway, it seems!

At any rate, we had plenty of time to go through the check-in procedure at Gare du Nord and had to wait but half an hour before we were able to board the 10:08 am train. I used my Orange, (large French cell provider), dongle one last time while we waited. (I had bought device and sim card in Montpellier so that I'd have Internet access along canal as some stops didn't provide WiFi, free or otherwise. I hope/trust it can be used here, with a local provider's sim card as it is quite useful when travelling across the country, Canada or US. Cora has same capability with her iPad so we used that as our GPS, both while driving and, at times, in Paris, when walking.)

Seasoned train goers by now we found our car without any difficulty. Ride to London went well although we had to leave our large bags in aisle, near luggage racks as they were full by the time we boarded. I didn't mind as the thought of having to lift my travelling wine cellar onto any shelf beyond the lowest was daunting. Enjoyed my fabulous packed lunch, (carrot sticks and wonderful sandwiches, fresh bread, Camembert, sausage, thinly sliced oniones and lettuce), while poor Cora Lee munched on gluten-free Styrofoam rice cakes and some chicken strips I'd picked up earlier!

Once at St Pancras we towed our wheeled bags to King's Cross and I waited while Cora Lee checked hers at Left Luggage. She had a mind to spend the afternoon, (We arrived about 12:30 pm), in The City, ("When will I be back in London?"), the better able to go Power Shopping, alone and unencumbered by either baggage or her husband, so I was burdened with her small bag. She took me to the entrance to the First Capital Connect line, the rail line which serves Mill Hill Broadway and we waved goodbye. Not much trouble negotiating stairs, (escalators here), until I reached my destination and there I was faced with four different sets of stairs before I was outside station and at street level. Still, having done this route numerous times before I knew exactly how to approach my obstacle course and was soon at #37, Hale Grove Gardens.

Penny was at work so she had left the house key in an envelope in one of the small recycling bins outside her front door. Inside I made myself at home and almost immediately started to repack. We'd left an almost impossible number of possessions here, (After our six weeks in England we'd accumulated mountains, (everything from a small library of almost new paperbacks, purchased at various charity shops, to warmer clothing, (never really worn on account of heat wave in Britain during July/August, to souvenirs, to almost a full case of wine/beer I'd completely forgotten about. How I was going to fit all of this into my one suitcase and a large knapsack carry-on I had no idea. This being the case, I started out by putting all the items I knew I wanted to take back in my checked bag and worked at eliminating others. Fortunately, I knew I would be able to leave some/many things with close friend, Jamie, (He visited us in Cornwall and in Languedoc.), and his wife, Patricia, at their place in Chesham so this made task a little easier.

I worked away for a solid two hours and then phoned Penny to ask when she would be home. She had just returned from two weeks in Cyprus, staying in Paphos, the day befoer so she herself was a bit frazzled. I volunteered to make dinner so after we chatted I made for the High Street and picked up whatever was needed for the night's meal. Glad that I had so much wine on hand as really needed to drink about a case over the next two days! Back home I set about making a large green salad and around 6:00 pm Cora lee walked in/ She would have been home an hour earlier but unknowingly caught a train that didn't stop at MHB so had to go well beyond that stop to get off at first station train was scheduled to stop at. Had to wait there, of course, but at least she didn't have to pay anything extra. Guard told her not to worry as people were doing same all the time!

Once I poured her a hefty glass of white, (a remarkable 2011 Bacchus, from Camel Valley Vineyard in Cornwall, showing steely freshness and delicious ripeness), she set about preparing the chicken thighs I'd bought at the local butcher shop.(While serving me he remarked, "You do  know that it is winter, don't you?", prompted by the fact that I was wearing shorts. Day was bright and sunny so I was more than comfortable. He laughed when I told him I was from Canada so I suppose this explained everything!) Penny wasn't home until aboyut 7:30 pm, train/bus commute and all. We enjoyed a lovely time, catching up and trying to put a considerable dint into the portable wine cellar. Did not a bad job and around midnight we all headed for bed. Long full day of travel and re-packing, for me, shopping for Cora Lee, one of first day back at work, post holiday for Penny, and so everyone was happy to turn in.

Patrick,
There is a volunteer package here at the office at (1398 Cartwright St on Granville Island) with your name on it! Please stop by in good time before your first shift to pick up your volunteer package, which contains information vital to your volunteer assignments next week. 

Office hours this week: 9-5 and on Saturday 12-4. As of next Monday, the office will be open from 8:30 a.m. until late. If you are eligible for a comp ticket, but didn't enter the ticket lottery, I still have some tickets for volunteers for some events:  1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 38, 42, 44, 48, 51, 52, 55, 62, 64, 67, 68, 71, 75, 79, 81.
Let me know what you'd like to see (give me 9 choices if possible!) and we'll do our best to award you a ticket and make sure it gets into your volunteer package before pick-up!
Hope you have a great volunteer experience at this year's festival! Thanks so much for signing on as a 2013 volunteer. Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask! If you'd like me to email your job description to you, just ask. Kathryn Fowler, Volunteer Manager 

Good Afternoon Cellar Club Red Members,

Your delicious November wines will be processed on Friday, November 1^st.  This shipment contains new releases of our 2010 Reserve Malbec, our 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc, our 2006 Mercantile Cabernet Sauvignon, and our 2011 Primitivo – Alexander Valley (3 bottles each).

If you need to update your credit card, have moved, will be traveling, or any other pertinent information please contact me by Wednesday, October 30^th, via phone 707-433-3303 or by email at victoria@sodarockwinery.com .  The wines are scheduled to ship on Tuesday, November 4^th. I will send an email confirmation once the order has been shipped or is ready for pickup.

Shipping Members - Should you wish to add any additional bottles (up to 12, 6 minimum) to your shipment at no additional shipping costs, please let me know. 

Thank you for your continued love of our wines.

Cheers,Victoria Wilson, Tasting Room Manager , Wine Club Coordinator

Certified Tourism Ambassador

Soda Rock Winery

8015 CA Hwy-128

(707) 433-3303

www.sodarockwinery.com

Wayne Sutherland in Athens, Attiki, Greece ·

Why you should use a travel agent.

Flight cancelled to Rome as the airport is on strike. Thanks to our travel agent Jennifer Nash we have accommodations now in Athens for the night and are rebooked for tomorrow night into Rme and then Naples. — at Brettos Plaka