enough said......

the perfect end to a perfect night......see you in October Lake Minnetonka.

Seattle...Minneapolis...Paris...Beaune..Paris.....Minneapolis....

Almost back to Seattle but for now I am going to rest my head in my old room here at my Minnesota home and listening to the thunder over Lake Minnetonka right now. To me there is nothing better than a Minnesota thunder storm..........sometimes it'll knock you right out of bed!

bon au revoir la partie deux.........

I am positive, because I've double checked my tickets and mom's tickets, which are currently in my possesion for safe keeping, that tonight is officially our last night at the Bastion. Thanks to Juliette and her husband David who graciously let us stay even though the check out/ check in faux pax was clearly our error, they also arranged a cab for us in the morning to take us to the train station who we have been assured will not be on strike tomorrow....I have a french suntan and a pair of spanking new sandals since my cheapo ones bit the dust and I am ready to hit Paris for a half a day instead of a day and a half.

best laid plans.......

Are best when the dates on your tickets match the date you've apparently made up in your head....
24-june-2010
5:20 a.m. alarm goes off for the first time and snooze is hit. Repeat 3 more times
5:44 a.m. carmel gets her butt out of bed and stumbles into the shower.
6:20 a.m. carmel done with her shower wakes up mom to get in the shower
7:00 a.m. Mom: "what day is it today?"
               Carmel: "Thursday.......why?"
               Mom: "what's the date?"
               Carmel: "the 24th.....why?"
               Mom: "because our reservation at the hotel isn't until the 25th........."
and so the morning goes.....technically we are to check out of the Bastion Ste. Ann and being checking into a hotel in Paris. Except for the 24th we have no hotel in Paris. Whatever, we'll get the train and we'll find somewhere to sleep for one night in Paris.......perfect, nerve wracking but perfect.......except that it's Thursday the 24th and that is the day that the trains decide to strike in Beaune. Tomorrow no strike, today there is a train strike.....I think they just wanted an extra day off.........the adventure continues....and we are currently back in the Bastion for one more night......we already stripped the beds so we've decided we'll crash on the sofas in the garden room.......hopefully mom remembers to close the window so no lizards crawl all over us!
au revoir mon peeps! if you don't hear from us, don't worry, we're lost in Paris, waiting for Don to come find us!!
Don....please come find us...

suce!

simply put....the yarn shops here suck. One is just a couple shelves of yarn and a few notions in the back of a clothing shop, and no it's not knit clothing. The other you could buy yarn by the 10 pack, the rest of the merchandise was needlepoint. Oh well, maybe Paris will be more fruitful.

bon au revoir!

Thru the door in the wall.........

I am Beaune, France, center of the Cote de Beaune

I am in heaven.

Me, Mom, Wine, Yarn.

Can it get any better? Maybe........but I doubt it.

Above is the door in the Rempart Ste. Jean that leads to the Bastion Ste. Anne, part of the old castle wall in Beaune, also where we are currently staying.

Below you see the entire Cote de Beaune from the Aloxe Corton Appelation.

I'd like to be witty and smart and act like I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this but here is what I know.

there are four Appellations

Village, Regional, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru.

Grand Cru makes up about 2% of the wine in the Cote de Beaune, Premier Cru is very good, and the Regional and Village are also good but not as good as Premier or Grand.

However, mom and I have enjoyed many 'village' appellations and have only sampled a 'Grand Cru'. Se La Vie

another conversation......

The scene: 2:30 a.m. somewhere between Cle Elum and Easton Washington in a kitchen with friends drinking beer after a car race.
The conversation is going around and around about the race and finally focuses on me and knitting.

Friends: So, what do you knit?
Me: I knit balls

Pretty much a conversation killer isn't it. I might as well have said, 'i carried a watermelon'

Side Note: I am currently sitting in the airport awaiting my flight to Minnesota where I will spend a glorious evening with my family and tomorrow I'm off to Paris and other parts of France........

You all know I don't only knit balls, but really it wasn't my best moment........but I hope you all like my self portrait.

when in doubt........

knit balls