Family | Peaches Prattlings

{November 30, 2015} A very long standing family tradition continues…The Nutcracker

Today, the family went to see The Nutcracker Ballet at the Boston Opera House.

This is a tradition my parents started when GES and I were little kids. Every Christmas Eve we would all go into Manhatten and go to Lincoln Center and watch the City Ballet Company performance of The Nutcracker.

We would get dressed up, just like little girls do, get to our seats, settle in and wait for the the dings signaling that the lights were about to go out and the curtain go up.

It’s a little different as now, there are announcements instructing the audience to turn off their cellphones.

The lights go down and we sit on the edge of our seats waiting with anticipation…and then the conductor comes out to applause and the first note is played for the opening overture.

We are transported to a different time and place, not sure where, we were wondering that today, maybe Austria who knows, it’s timeless. We see Clara and her brother Fritz waiting for the party guests to arrive.

We did this every year for, we’ll, forever, it seemed, until we left NYC for other parts of the country and now, my sister had picked up where we left off and is making new memories with her children.

Last year was the first year I was able to go with them as that was my first time in Boston for Thanksgiving in a very long time.

I’ve been to and seen different performances over the years, NYC, as you know, Atlanta with my grandmother, once in an imax theater, on TV and now Boston.

I have to say that my favorite is still the NY City Company, is hard when that’s what you know and you’re used to, but I did enjoy the performance today. I was able to look at it as the ballet that was presented, some things felt different and some felt like they were missing, but it was still quite enjoyable and fun and my nieces enjoyed it and that’s all that really matters.

They were so well behaved, it was a pleasure to be with them. I have to say they outshone a lot of other kids!

We all had a wonderful time and another tradition is going strong and I how to be there for many more.

{November 28, 2015} A fine Chanukah party

Today my family and I were invited to a special event.

PSM hosts a Chanukah party every year for his family. It’s a tradition that has been going on for years.

PSM orders a lot of food, I mean a lot! There are platters of bagels, lox, cream cheeses, cheeses and crackers, a whole whitefish, egg salad, tuna salad, whitefish salad, a salad/salad, a kiegel, two quiches and I made a blintz souffle. We had platters of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and capers, all the things that go with bagels, cream cheese and lox. And of course…potato latkes with applesauce or sour cream

Then there were desserts…cookies, cakes and pies, how could you go wrong?

It was PSM, his brother’s family, aunts and uncles, their kids and their kids kids, cousins and then there was us, and PSM’s best friend from college and his family. 39 people total. That’s a good sized crowd, wouldn’t you say?

So, there was food, then lighting the menorah, then presents for the kids. The nice thing is that only the kids get presents because all the adults make a donation to the charity of the year. Each year a different family member selects a charity. One of his aunts even gives each adult a check made out to the charity in their name.

This year, I got a check!! Along with a desk calendar like all the other “kids”. I guess I’m now part of the family.

It really was a nice party, a good time with good food, family and friends and I’m touched that we got to share in the day and experience, thank you PSM.

{November 25, 2015} That was too cool!

This morning, I went to breakfast with my dad and we had a grand time.

We caught up, on work, life, stuff. We shared stories, laughed, got serious…yeah right, laughed, it was a lot of fun.

Then we started talking about the trip PSM and I just took and our stories started to overlap a little, he was just on a river cruise that took them to Budapest, some of the same places that we were when we were there. He even had photos of the same things I did, what are the odds? I guess pretty good since we were in the same place!

We had similar experiences and then we started swapping stories and as he’s looking at my photos he’s exclaiming “I took that picture too!” that happened over and over again! It was a very cool experience to have, I enjoyed every minute of it.

We started talking about some trips we would like to take together, I know it would be a blast, we have similar styles with the way we travel and look at things, I’m ready, where are we going?

pest

{November 11, 2015} Our trip

I know I was blogging every day while we were away, but there’s more.

There are a few posts that I need to try to get posted, add more photos, [I want to share about the people, the hotel rooms, the graffiti! Oh my!] so please forgive me for the overload of posts, but I don’t want you to miss a minute.

We had such an amazing time! I don’t know how much you’ve seen, but I want to give you a recap and a few pointers that we figured out.

We started in Lisbon, Portugal for the half marathon. We stayed in Lisbon for two more days, then the train to Porto, the home of Port wine, oh my, but fabulous! The city, for me, that is, PSM found a new affinity for Port wine, so for him, it might be a toss up!

Lisbon

Porto

Then it was on the train to Sevilla, Espana. Well, sort of, we missed the stop to change trains, it was an honest mistake and it sucked, but…we made the best of it, we ended up renting a car to drive from Lisbon to Sevilla. That was such a nice drive! I liked that we drove on the same side of the road as here, I didn’t have to think quite as much!

Lisbon to Sevilla

We didn’t really need a car on Sevilla, everything was walkable or we took the bus. And the streets were so narrow, no thank you!

From Sevilla for two and a half days, then on to Barcelona, by Eurrail, for three and a half days, is it possible to get “Gaudi’d out”? then on to Marseille for two days, heaven, then Nice for three. While we were in Nice, we took side trips to Monte Carlo/Monaco and Cannes, amazing!

Sevilla

Barcelona

Marseille

Marseille to Nice

Nice

Monte Carlo/Monaco

Cannes

From Nice we flew to Budapest, it was cheaper than the train and only took about five hours versus the 24 hours by train! Two full, jam packed days and it was back to the USA, Wow, talk about whirlwind!

Pest

Pest, from Buda

Buda

We had a few apps at our disposal, Triposo, which is fabulous, you can download the individual cities or countries or the parent app and download from there. It had suggestions on tour to take, top destinations and things to see in the city, food and lodging recommendations. A few of the cities even had free walking tours. Love this app! Use it if you can!

That was one of my contributions to the cause, PSM loves Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor, which we also used in conjunction with Triposo, sometimes we needed to verify times things were open, locations and other recommendations.

He was the navigator, wherever we went he was the one who mapped it out and led us where we wanted to go. Now, Google maps on occasion couldn’t figure out if we should go left or right, luckily, he has a pretty good sense of direction, so we made it where we needed to go, eventually. It was the adventure along the way!

I became the hotels.com queen, booking rooms sometimes as we pulled into the train station of that city or country! My job was to find the hotel and check out the ratings while PSM mapped the location to determine if we were in a good area, close to the city centre, the public transport, etc. Sounds like a good working relationship!

One of our best friends on the trip? Google translate! Oh my, but this app is fabulous and I recommend it highly! You can download the language package of your destination, make favorites, like “hello”, “do you speak English”, “where is the toilet? “, “how much”, “check please”, “thank you” and very important, “American decaffeinated coffee with milk” for PSM. If he could say that and thank you, he was set!

For me personally, there was one app I really like, Happy Cow. It gives you. Veg-friendly, vegan and vegetarian restaurants and stores wherever you are. We used it a times and I was quite pleased, well, as long as we could find the place, or it was open! You can select a nationality our select all and it gives you a list, each listing had location, offerings, reviews and dollar signs. I use this app in the states, it’s great!

The money was easy when it was in euros, Hungarian money, a lot more calculations! The nice thing was when there we signs for the price in HUF and EUR, that at least have us an idea.

This was an amazing experience that we had. We’ve traveled together, just the two of us a few times, but short trips, long weekends, this was a huge undertaking, three weeks, just the two of us. Two people used to doing everything on their own, that admittedly, was an adjustment, but it was also nice to have that other person to do stuff, take some of the responsibilities.

It’s nice to experience things together, it’s still a new relationship, so we haven’t gotten to the part about doing things on our own and meeting for dinner later, that may or may not happen, who knows.

Hey…We survived our first major trip together! No one got pushed in front of a train or a bus and we still like each other. We even talked about our next great adventure. Who knows where the road will take us, but I promise you’ll be right there with us!

{November 9, 2015} Panic attacks

Or moment of panic, fun, huh?

Tonight I had one, slightly stressful, ok, very stressful! I couldn’t find my wallet. I know none of you have ever experienced that before, so you just wouldn’t understand what I went through. Did you like that bit of sarcasm? I thought it was pretty good!

So…what happened was this…after finishing work tonight, I went to meet PSM for dinner at The Friendly Toast, a wonderful place near him that we love. All was fine at dinner, I gave him a ride back to his house after and when we got there, his sister-in-law, JM was there. She’s taking a class in the area on Tuesdays so she stays with PSM on Monday nights.

She and I chatted after PSM went to bed and then I left to head home. I was at home, packing for my trip tomorrow, back to Buffalo, and as I’m getting everything ready, I can’t find my wallet. Now, this is not a large space, so where could it be? I have another story to tell you soon about where I am staying, but enough about that now.

I went through everything, every nook and cranny looking for my wallet, I remember having it, but not what happened with it when I got home. I normally keep things in one place, but as I am in a new place, not sure where that place is just yet.

I unpacked my bag and repacked it…twice, looked through the trash…twice, the bathroom…twice, the laundry…twice, everywhere twice, including the car, although that may have been three times, to no avail. I texted PSM and then threw caution to the wind…called him.

I am so sorry I woke him, but I am glad I did because it was at his house, thank goodness! I know he went back to sleep and he’s my hero of the day, he’s my hero of the day quite often, for little things, but he gets big superman props for this one!

Now, I can sit down, write to you, breath and get some sleep. whew…

{November 8, 2015}

What is a relaxing Sunday? Could someone explain it to me?

People experience international travel differently. Some people get wiped out by jetlag, sometimes it hits later, some people have trouble adjusting or readjusting to their time zone. When we were working on the plans for the trip, we decided to come back Saturday morning so we could chill and relax on Sunday. Ha!

Apparently my internal clock is still 6 hours ahead. So, after falling asleep about midnight 6am here) I felt the need to wake up at 3 am and apparently, I’m not go back to sleep.

I stayed in and unpacked, cleaned up, all while binge watching ‘How to get away with Murder’. Dozed off one or three times!

PSM unfortunately woke up at 6am, ugh. He and Mollie when for some walks, then he picked me up and took me to GES’ house to pick up more stuff. Back to the apartment, unload the car , back to GES for dinner and catch up and more loading of the truck.

I love my greetings and catching up!

Back to the apartment, unload the truck, we’re getting there! PSM left so he could spend some time looking at the back of his eyelids.

Now, at 12:30am it’s time for me to bid you a very good night. It’s a work and school day tomorrow!

{November 7, 2015} It’s good to be back!

Day 22? Or is it Day 1, back to normal life…

As much as we loved the trip and loved spending the time together and it was hard to leave, it was time to come home, back to reality. We were missing family and friends and furry babies! We couldn’t wait to see them!

What greetings we got! PSM took me to my sister’s and I got to see GES and MGS, what hugs we got from them! Then it was on to get my furry babies, Jymy and Peanut couldn’t stop crying and trying to cuddle with me, PSM said Mollie jumped on him then in the car and wouldn’t get out until they left his brother’s house!

What a day! We were up at 3/3:15am local time to ensure we were ready to be picked up at 4:30 am, our flight was at 6:30am and we needed to be there at least one hour before the flight and we got there in plenty of time. Now, keep in mind, we were up at 3am local time, that was 9pm back east! Some of you weren’t even in bed yet and we were getting up ridiculously early to catch a flight! So, here it is, 10:43pm eastern and I’m no sure if my internal clock is off because technically, my body thinks it’s 4:45am, I think I might be confused, it’s a definitely possibility, but the nice thing is I’m getting sleepy, hopefully there is a deep sleep in my future!

The flights were relatively uneventful. It was a short flight from Budapest to Amsterdam. Now, the security line to get through security from the main terminal to D was ridiculous! No order, rhyme or reason to these lines! But..we made it through.

We did, however get to watch a bunch of movies. We actually watched the Minions on our own screens at the same time, it was cool to laugh at the same parts of the movie. Then our viewing went their separate ways. I watched The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, loved, Trainwreck, interesting, and almost all of Home, cute, but not fabulous,

Then we were on the ground.

I fear friends, that I am starting to fade, I have nodded off during my blog a few times, I need sleep! So , I will wish you a very good night and just say, more tomorrow.

{November 4, 2015} Day 19…Nice to Budapest

Today we bid a fond farewell to Nice, au revoir, and said, helló to Budapest.

Up early and since we were so efficient in our packing last night…we ended up sitting around waiting for the taxi, and waiting and…

The driver arrived and off we went. We got to the airport in no time, dropped our bags, headed thru security and went in search of a petit dejeuner. They had Pastéis de Nata!!!

The flight to Brussels was an easy one, then a 2 hour layover and another two hour flight, all better than the 24 hours it would have taken ya by train.

We got off the plane, got our bags and immediately saw the ad for the City Pass, which included a shuttle to and from the airport, which is good because we are about 40 minutes from the airport. We sat next to a lovely woman from England who comes to Budapest every year and have us some great pointers.

This is an amazingly beautiful part of Budapest, technically we’re in Buda. Omg at the church right across from the hotel, I can’t even begin to tell you!

And the room, oh my word! It’s the biggest room we’ve had! We could have a party!

We found a lovely lite place for dinner, lots of different nationalities, we are in the touristy area.

Let me tell you one thing…Hungarian is not an easy language and I’ve had it pretty good so far, I’m going to do my best here, luckily it’s only for two more days! PSM is doing great! We made the waiter laugh with our efforts and he appreciated it. All you need to do is try!

szép álmokat!

{November 2, 2015} Day 17…Nice…A hike…Museums and Monaco /Monte Carlo!

What a day! Breakfast in Nice and dinner in Monaco, who does that?

No alarms again, but in case you were wondering if my “personality” hurt from my spill last night, let’s just say I didn’t sleep much. Every time I moved or rolled on to my side….ouch. So, I got up a little early, closed the blinds and let PSM sleep a little longer.

We got up liesurely, got ready and headed out to get some breakfast. Our original plan was to get some sandwiches and sit on the beach. We headed across a square, saw the circus coming in or going out, then a flea market, no fleas, just lots of stuff people were selling, flatware, art, clothes, toys, jewelry. This was not your average flea market, but it was fun to look.

Then we made it to the beach, no sandwiches. It was wonderful to sit and look and feel. Today it was a bit colder, eventually, I regretted my choice of attire in a skirt and shirt sleeves, even the sweater didn’t help some times, that got fixed later.

We ended up at a cafe for the full American/English breakfast. Pastries, fruit, juice, eggs, bacon (minus the bacon for me, it’s ended up with three eggs) and coffee or tea. The only issue…they were Sunnyside up! Anyone who’s had breakfast with me knows I do not like soft eggs at all! Cooked firm, all the way, but…I ate them, yes I did! It wasn’t horrible, but I’m not doing it again!

Now it was time for an adventure! The Musee Marc Chagall, a 30 minute walk…up hill most of it, but we got there and…closed got renovations, what! Trip Advisor knew, but we didn’t. Oh well, Musee Matisse was only another 20 minute walk…uphill. let’s just say, my glutes are loving me, not!

A beautiful building and a lovely collection, you’ll just have to imagine it, no photos.

We decided to go see Notre-Dame de Nice and have some lunch, but we wanted to get there sooner than later, so bus it was. A very nice woman told us which bus, the one she was waiting for and which stop to get off, hers. She even confirmed with the driver for us, how nice!

The church was beautiful, I lit some candles for some friends, as I’ve done in a lot of the cathedrals we’ve been in.

Then it was off in search of lunch. Little hole in the wall place for chicken kebabs and a veggie sandwich for me. The woman gave me a really nice compliment, that I was speaking French very well, thank you Monsieur B et Madame E!

After lunch, back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes, regroup and then head to…Monaco/Monte Carlo! Look out James Bond!

It was about 20 minutes by train and 3.40 euros a ticket, round trip. Just lovely.

We walked around, found the shore, then the Hotel de Paris and the Monte Carlo Casino and all the expensive cars, including the Lamborghini of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Royal 1.

Someone…not me…got to go into the casino and look around and maybe play a little, too bad you couldn’t take pictures!

We thought about dinner in Monaco, but when a Long Island Iced Tea and bottle of Evian costs 30 euros, you kind of wonder.

Back to Nice on the train and a lot of places were closed, I guess they roll up the sidewalks in the evening off season. So…back to the same wonderful hole in the wall pizza joint for another wonderful pizza and beer and as the owner was flipping channels…last Thursday’s Patriots vs. Dolphins game, guess who was happy! Fun with the commentary in French and no commercials. All in all, a good dinner.

Back to the hotel to talk to you and get ready for the next adventure!

de beaux rêves!

{November 1, 2015} Day 16…Marseille to Nice

Aujourd’hui, today, we said “au revoir Marseille, voici venir humide Nice!” Goodbye to Marseille, here we come Nice!

The alarm was set for 7am, guess who couldn’t sleep at 5am. And guess who else preferred to take the 9am train instead of the 7am. Hmmm…if you guessed PSM, you would be wrong!

We had packed the night before, set everything up so we would be ready to go by 8/8:15. We were out the door by 7:30, we are just that good!

We got to the train station and found a place for petit dejeuner. I asked for a plate and some butter and ended up with an extra plate with bread, butter and jam, c’est la vie…

We got on the train, found our seats and settled in for the 3.5 hour trip, it was lovely. We looked out the window, finished watching season two of Blacklist and then we were there. Merveilleux!

We got off the train, got two city passes, hoping they are worth it, as always, then headed to the hotel, dropped the bags since check in isn’t until 2pm and ventured out into the city of Nice.

We headed towards the beach! Oh my word but this is spectacular!!! I might never leave! The beach is interesting, I didn’t know it would be all rocks, I should say smooth, round stones, still not the easiest on the bare feet. We sat there enjoying the sun and the sounds and sights of the surf, so relaxing and rejuvenating.

After a while we went in search of food. After striking out on the main drag, this is Nice, expensive for lunch and not a lot of choices for me, it’s Europe. We decided to head down a side street and found VIP, a decent little grill offering some price fixed meals, not bad deals considering.

For 19.50e you get a starter, main course and dessert. So, that’s what we did. PSM ordered Salad Nicoise, muscles and creme brule. I had minestrone, pasta primavera and apple tartin. I have to say, the food was pretty good and we were stuffed when we were done!

Now to walk, walk, walk off dejeuner, lunch. We walked through a garden, which opened to a park with a plaza, fountains, dancing fountains, fabulous structures for kids to play on and a boatload of people!

We walked to the end of the park, marveling at everything, finally ending up at Musee d’Art Modern et des Art Contemporarie.

Let’s just say, that’s what we found was definitely modern and contemporary, I liked it! It made me think of my dad while I liked at a lot of the pieces and the way we talk about what we’re seeing. PSM made me laugh like my dad when he was sitting in front of a window with a white curtain in the passage way between rooms, contemplating the lack of imagery, it was funny.

The last thing was the roof to see a spectacular view of the city.

From the roof we had seen a sculpture garden so we tried to get in, but to no avail, all the gates were closed, oh well.

We walked a few blocks, got on the tram, two trams in two different countries, we’re styling now! Headed back towards the hotel, got off, ended up on a lovely and crowded street and tried to find a table at Haggen Das, but it was crowded! They serve grown up drinks there.

We tried the next place, PSM had two bad drinks I had tea while I called my dad to say bonjour! (One thing I’m looking forward to when we get back is talking to him again every day)

Now to the hotel, seven hours later…we got our bags and took the elevator! to the second floor, ah…got into our room, very nice, with a nice little terrace. PSM had a seat on the terrace, I took my shoes off to go out there and join him and realized my mistake too late…socks on marble don’t mix!

Yes folks, I fell on my personality and I fell hard! Left cheek on the medal trim, ouch. PSM was kind enough to help me onto the bed and to get me some ice. I laid there for a while nursing my wound, wondering if I would be able to sleep in my left side. I’m so glad this happened days before we fly home!

After a bit, we ventured out for food, both surprised that we were hungry at all after that lunch! We were going to head into the old city when we smelled the most wonderful aroma…the little hole in the wall pizza place next to the hotel, Pizzaria le Pointu.

We order a veggie pizza, they were out of eggplant, I can never seen to remember the French word for eggplant when I see it, aubergine, so I added chevre, goat cheese. I’m telling you people, all bets were off this trip!

I got a bottle of water, PSM tried a new amber beer, in a black bottle, called Licorne Black, loved it! There have only been two places that had good beer, according to him, the Cat Bar in Barcelona and this place.

The pizza arrived and it smelled and looked wonderful and let me tell you, one of the best meals we’ve had on this trip. We’ve had some good food, but this was simple and fabulous and inexpensive, a perfect combination!

Back to the hotel to put on jammies and relax and talk about tomorrow. This was odd..in before midnight!

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Bonne nuit!

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