Day 20
Saturday Sep 26
Back at home, we learned that the money owed us by the restaurant in Paris had been credited to our account. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 20
Trip to France, Day 19
Day 19
Friday September 25
We, Toni and Rich were the only early birds at breakfast. We thanked them for all they did to make our trip so wonderful. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 19
Trip to France, Day 18
Day 18
Thursday September 24
In the morning we had a tour to and through Nice’s Old Town led by a local guide, Agnès. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 18
Trip to France, Day 17
Day 17
Wednesday September 23
Our first stop was the town of Les Baux and a visit to the ruins of its 10th century castle. The castle was so much more than a building. It was a walled city of 4000 inhabitants including bakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, cobblers, cooks, herbalists and tailors, minstrels and troubadours, as well as knights, squires, pages, soldiers and serfs. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 17
Trip to France, Day 16
Day 16
Tuesday September 22
Late in the morning we met Nina, our local tour guide. She explained that Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meaning that it has special cultural significance. Its most spectacular attraction is its arena, which was built in 90 AD and was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 16
Trip to France, Day 15
Day 15
Monday September 21
Breakfast today consisted of many varieties of croissants. We left Carcassone for a tour of a vineyard that was owned and operated by Serge and Sylvie. The vineyard had been in the family for many generations. The family name traced back to the Knights Hospitaller, who emerged at the same time as the Knights Templar (about 1100 AD). Continue reading Trip to France, Day 15
Trip to France, Day 14
Day 14
Sunday September 20
After saying adieu to Sarlat, we left for Arles. At the lunch stop, Nick and I shared a salad, quiche and crème caramel. After crossing two parking lots and a highway to reach the ATM in the gas station, we discovered that the machine wouldn’t take the credit card we had been using all along. It’s a necessity to take more than one card!
We were back on the bus to medieval Carcassone, 
Continue reading Trip to France, Day 14
Trip to France, Day 13
Day 13
Saturday September 19
It was market day in Sarlat. We expected to see merchants selling many types of food, and we saw cheeses, meats, fruit, and veggies. We didn’t expect that the streets would be closed to vehicular traffic and lined with booths selling not only all that food, but many other things including handbags, sweaters, and jewelry. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 13
Trip to France, Day 12
Day 12
Friday September 14
Nick’s breakfast was chocolate croissants, while I enjoyed granola with fresh walnuts. We liked the hotel’s nutcracker so much that we bought one for ourselves. Our group’s first morning activity was a trip to Rouffignac Cave, in which a little low-tech train took us through a subterranean riverbed to see 13,000-year-old cave paintings Continue reading Trip to France, Day 12
Trip to France, Day 11
Day 11
Thursday September 17
It took six hours for our bus to get from Chinon to Sarlat. During this time, Nick and I considered the differences between our current tour with Rick Steves’ Europe, and the one we took last year with a different company Continue reading Trip to France, Day 11
Trip to France, Day 10
Day 10
Wednesday September 16
Chinon is known for its walnuts. I loved my breakfast of homemade walnut bread with homemade jams. Soon we left to visit the Chateau de Villandry, known for its spectacular gardens.
The day would have been more enjoyable had there been less rainfall, but with our umbrellas and rain jackets keeping us dry, we wandered through the gardens admiring the plants and their phenomenal landscaping. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 10
Trip to France, Day 9
Day 9
Tuesday September 15
We left Chartres after breakfast, at which I enjoyed “do-it-yourself” crèpes: strawberry, apricot and chocolate. In my defense, they were smaller than typical crèpes!
Our next stop was a town called Amboise. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 9
Trip to France, Day 8
Day 8
Monday September 14
We were the only early birds who were awake for breakfast at 7 AM. I went French, choosing French bread and camembert. Later our group took a walking tour of the old town. We felt as if we had stepped back in time as we were among buildings that were constructed centuries ago. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 8
Trip to France, Day 7
Day 7
Sunday September 13
After packing and a farewell lunch, Jose-Maria drove us to Gare Montparnasse so we could get the train to Chartres. Standing out in the rain for an hour the day before took its toll on Nick, who now had a head cold, but compared to any other medical issue that could have befallen either of us, this was minor. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 7
Trip to France, Day 6
Day 6
Saturday September 12
This was our first day that was devoid of glorious sunshine. Rain was pouring down. There were only a few more things on Nick’s Wish List of places to visit— the Catacombs, the Paris Sewer Tour, and the Orsay Museum. I voted for the Orsay, and with encouragement from our friends, my vote won. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 6
Trip to France, Day 5
Day 5
Friday September 11
Because the weather was still simply spectacular, we decided to spend as much of it as possible outdoors again. I had never been to Montmartre, so off we went. We were metro experts—changing train lines and taking a funicular. All of this brought us to Sacre Coeur, Continue reading Trip to France, Day 5
Trip to France, Day 4
Day 4
Thursday September 10
Today, Jose-Maria planned to drive us to Giverny to visit the home and garden of Claude Monet. We needed an early start because of rush-hour traffic, so we left at 9:15 AM. There was plenty of traffic, and there were plenty of visitors to Giverny. The garden was spectacular! Continue reading Trip to France, Day 4
Trip to France, Day 3
Day 3
Wednesday September 9
Agnès was working on another very important assignment for her job. After she left for her office, the three of us opted to go to the Picasso Museum, which had recently reopened after many years. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 3
Trip to France, Day 2
Day 2
Tuesday September 8
Agnès left for her office. This was a very busy time for her because Parliament reopens next week, and she works for a senator. J-M had bought fresh croissants for our breakfast, which we enjoyed while talking about what we would like to do that day. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 2
Trip to France, Day 1
Day 1
Monday, September 7, A plane, a train, and a bus!
We arrived at Charles DeGaulle Airport at about 8:45 AM, and quickly discovered that we were among many hundreds, if not thousands, of international travelers there. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 1
Trip to France, Day 0
Day Zero
Before the trip, we focused on Rick Steves’ rules. Continue reading Trip to France, Day 0
Trip to France, Day -1
Day Minus One
I started my blog when Nick became ill in 2014. His illness has reminded us to celebrate each day by enjoying the things we love to do, together. Continue reading Trip to France, Day -1
June 2015
Nick’s oncologist just called with the results of Nick’s latest CAT scan. Great news!!! No sign of cancer!!!! Continue reading June 2015
May 2015
Nick has had some appointments with doctors this month that have brought about new developments. Continue reading May 2015
April 2015
Months have passed since my last entry. Nick has been having good check-ups with his oncology doctors. They can’t really see what’s going on inside his body without tests, so in May he’ll have a test that will check his swallowing reflex, and in June he will have a CAT scan to check that all signs of cancer are gone. Continue reading April 2015
January, 2015—Photos
As you know, Nick loves taking pictures. Here is the link to our photos of our trip to Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast in November. http://pisarro.org/TuscanyAmalfi2014/
December
Nick continues to have good check-ups with his doctors. This past week he had no medical appointments at all, and this coming week, he has only one. This is quit a change from previous weeks! We anticipate continued good results.
I will post the link to Nick’s photos from Italy as soon as he is done editing them. On this trip, in addition to still photos he shot a video. Continue reading December
Returning from Italy
Our trip to Italy was GREAT! Nick is working on posting his photos and we’re both working on our trip blog. Before we left for Italy, however, we were skeptical about many things. Continue reading Returning from Italy
Recovery, Week 12
On Tuesday I accompanied Nick to his appointment with his ENT surgeon, Dr. C.H. Dr. C.H. told us that it had been six months since Nick’s lymph node surgery! How our lives have changed during those six months! In general, Dr. C.H. said that Nick is recovering very well. Continue reading Recovery, Week 12
Recovery, week 11
We’ve been back from Florida for a week. Nick gained two pounds in Florida, but lost a pound since we returned. I’m concerned about his weight because at six feet tall, 136 pounds is a low weight. Eating still presents Nick with many challenges. Continue reading Recovery, week 11
Recovery, Weeks 9 and 10
Week 9
Weight gain is still not happening for Nick. I have encouraged him to eat more small meals rather than fewer large ones Continue reading Recovery, Weeks 9 and 10
Recovery, Week 8
Nick and I have a rule that only one of us can be sick at a time. This week that rule was broken. On Tuesday night and all through Wednesday, Nick said his feet ached, his legs ached, his back ached… he ached all over. Continue reading Recovery, Week 8
Recovery, Week 7
Nick had check-ups with two of his doctors this week. The first was Doctor N, his oncologist. Dr. N. was pleased with Nick’s progress and saw no problems with Nick venturing out into the sun. With that in mind we booked a trip to Sarasota! We have enjoyed the hospitality of my brother and sister-in-law every year since they moved there Continue reading Recovery, Week 7
Recovery, Week Six
You’d think gaining weight would be easy, wouldn’t you? It’s not easy for Nick. He feels exhausted after eating small portions. This week his weight stayed the same. I’m not thrilled about that, but I’m glad that there was no weight loss. Continue reading Recovery, Week Six