The Memory Bee

May 15 Welcome to Italy!

I think I've finally figured out how to import photos for my blog and now I'm REALLY behind on sharing this adventure! I left for Italy almost two weeks ago (although it seems like forever ago!) I didn't forget my passport this time!

My ride to Rome...

I had a good flight and actually got about five hours sleep, which is good for me on a transatlantic flight. As I went from the airport into the city I caught sight of this cool graffiti along the way...

My room wasn't ready yet at the hotel so I left my bags and walked and walked, exploring the city once again.

There's a church around every corner that you can just walk into...

The soldiers were keeping an eye on the crowds at the Pantheon...

This cute doggie kept an eye on his shop...

It was the first time in all my trips to Rome that I actually saw the Spanish Steps with flowers on them and no scaffolding on the church at the top. Very pretty but lots and lots of people!

I had my first gelato at my favorite place - Venchi. The marscapone is my favorite flavor. It is very soft so you have to eat quickly!

Lots more police...

and lovely flowers in the Campo de Fiori near my hotel...

I love this man - he looked like a character from a book, but he was just a man sitting on a step, reading...

A fountain around every corner too!

And sunset over the Tiber River...

I managed to stay awake all day and walk several miles! It was just the start of a grand adventure! I'll be back with more soon. xoxo

May 3 A Quaint Paris Hotel

Until I can figure out an efficient way to upload and edit my photos for blog posts, I thought I'd share a couple posts that I already had finished in draft form, even though they are from my trip to Paris - not Italy, where I am right now. You can follow me in real time on Facebook and Instagram for now. Most of my group of ladies arrives from the US tomorrow (a couple have arrived already) and our adventure in Rome, Florence, and Venice begins. I love sharing these places with them!

In the meantime, here's a peek at the hotel where I stayed in April in Paris. I always stay at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche, but they were fully booked, so I had to try somewhere different. My first thought went to this frequently "Instagrammed" hotel in Le Marais. I've taken photos of it in the past myself! The pretty blue facade stands out amongst the beige buildings that surround it.

I thought I'd share my review of the hotel since I know many people are curious about it. Please remember that this is just my experience and viewpoint. I stay in A LOT of hotels and am kind of particular about certain conveniences like plugs! :)

The lobby and the breakfast room are very charming...

Breakfast wasn't included with my room and cost an extra 13 euro, so I didn't eat here. With so many good cafes and patisseries nearby, there isn't a need to pay that much.

I paid extra for a large room in the front of the hotel. The view of the street is delightful. Even though the street is noisy into the night, the room was very quiet when the window was shut tightly. The air-conditioning worked well.

In the daytime, it was nice to have the window open and hear the bustling sounds of the city outside...

My "large" room was very small. I can't imagine staying in the room with two people!

You can see both walls in this photo... there was barely room to walk by with a suitcase open. I had a king bed that I think was two twins pushed together. If there were separated, there would be even less room. You had to keep the suitcase open with your things inside because there were no drawers to unpack into. The closet is the narrow section that juts out to the right side. The hangers face out, so there is only room for a couple hangers there. There is only one plug in the room (although there is one outside the bathroom door also - none in the bathroom.) That was kind of inconvenient. There is a USB port on each side of the bed to charge a phone so that was good.

There are very nice touches like fresh roses in the cup by the bed, but there are other things (like really bad towels) that take it down a few notches for me. I think the nice touches make up for some lacks in other areas for some people. I might stay there again if I was by myself and needed a place to stay for just a night or two. I much prefer the Marriott for the location and convenience of the Metro and for the comforts of the rooms and lobby and spaces to gather. 

I would give it 3 stars out of 5.

May 5 Welcome to Rome!

I wanted to stop by here and let my readers and friends who aren't on Facebook know that I arrived safely in Rome yesterday with all four of my suitcases...yay! Today I slept in until 11am (latest ever!) and this afternoon I'm going on a food tour of Trastevere, a beautiful neighborhood of Rome. I can't do a regular blog post right now because I came here with a new laptop and I can't get it to upload my photos from my phone to the computer with my regular Lightroom program yet. I'm posting lots of photos on Facebook and Instagram in real time, if you can follow along there. I'll have a new blog post as soon as I have time to figure things out.

Facebook link

Instagram link

Have a wonderful day! xoxo

May 3 Election Sunday in Paris

The Daily Mail, a London newspaper, reported that Paris was on lockdown on their election day, but I saw for myself that that wasn't true! It looked to me like life went on as usual!

There was a voting station near the flea market and the candidates were listed on the fence outside. For this first part of the election all candidates running for the president of France were on the ballot and then the top two vote-getters will face each other this coming Sunday.

After the flea market I headed to Jardin du Luxembourg, one of my favorite gardens in Paris.

I love having lunch at the cafe there and watching the people enjoying the park, too. While I was eating, a band began playing in the nearby pavilion. It's one of the magical moments! Then I noticed that I recognized a song they were playing! It was a song we sing at church, "Lord, I lift Your name on high. Lord, I love to sing Your praises..." It was kind of surreal to hear that song on that day, especially with the controversial election taking place there. It was a reminder that God is still God!

These children look cute in this photo but they were pretty annoying! Their parents were giving them bread to feed the pigeons which was stirring up all the dust and it was blowing on all of us dining at the cafe. Security even came along to tell them to stop but they ignored that. Oh well!

Ahhh, so peaceful!

The flowers are beginning to blossom!

The tulips were in their glory!

From this park I walked to Place Dauphine which is across the Seine River. The park is just a little triangle of land - this time it was filled with people lawn-bowling or as they call it, playing boules.

Lots of people were enjoying the beautiful day! Doesn't look like a scary city shutdown to me!

I walked through Le Marais to another park Place Vosges... so pretty!

The election run-off will be between two controversial candidates... kind of like here in the US!

Sundays are a perfect day for parks in Paris!

May 2 Packing for Italy

I love packing posts that I read on blogs. I find it helpful to read them even if they're not for the same destination - they give good ideas for packing more efficiently and I always need that!

I've been setting things aside for a few days and have finally narrowed things down (I think) to a reasonable amount. I'm one of those crazy people who has actually had dreams/nightmares that I don't have the right thing to wear. Can anyone relate? I could get all deep and psychological, but I think it stems from insecurity. If I feel good in what I have on - meaning good for the temperature and appropriate for the situation (and cute doesn't hurt) - then I can forget about myself and focus on the people and the work or the adventure at hand. Does that make sense?

Here's the stats: I'll be in Italy for forty-one days at ten different hotels, on and off six trains with my suitcases, in and out of two rental cars, on a few boats, and on six airplanes (and even on a scooter)! The temperatures will range from the 50's to the high 80's or even 90's by the time I return, and I'll be in cities, on a working farm, and up to the top of a mountain where it will likely be very cold. It's quite a challenge to be prepared for all this with one large suitcase and a carry-on!

My trip starts in Rome where I'm teaching this Saturday and then continues there with a group of ladies that are coming from the US and touring Rome, Florence, and Venice with me. Aren't these bags darling that one of the ladies sent me! Thank you, Susan!

I took this photo yesterday of everything I'm taking...

Let me tell you about what's in this photo... I'm taking two pairs of jeans - one cropped and one long pair and two pairs of shorts - one white and one black. In the two packing cubes: one has t-shirts, both short sleeve and sleeveless, and the second one has two black lightweight sweaters - a cardigan and a pullover, and a couple tops to wear with the jeans. I'm still considering bringing lightweight black pants. You can see that I've narrowed it down to a pretty small stack of scarves (for me!) I  bring only basic amount of jewelry and it's in the little blue polka dot case. The amount of shoes might be a problem but for this long, I think I need this much. The navy and black Sketchers are lifesavers for me. I can walk all day in them since they have Memory Foam inside. The pink sneakers are just cute, the flip-flops are necessary for a couple situations, and the black sandals are for going out to dinner or something dressier.

I like to travel with dresses, which make up the main part of my wardrobe, on old wire hangers since they weigh so little. It saves so much time to be able to take them right from the suitcase and hang them in the hotel room closet, especially since I'm changing hotels so much. I have seven short sleeve dresses and four sleeveless dresses. They can be dressed up or down with sneakers and the jean jacket.

Since I took the photo above yesterday morning, I got these four packing cubes in the mail from Amazon (I'll put a link to them below.) They were cheap compared to some that I've seen, are great quality, and I like that they are rectangular rather than square to fit into the suitcase better. I've moved the t-shirts into one, tops into another, underwear in another, and scarves in the fourth. I think packing cubes are a huge part of being able to pack efficiently, especially moving from hotel to hotel.

I have three jackets - the black linen one on the hanger, the jean jacket, and another very light navy windbreaker. I guess the only thing I feel like I might be missing is something for much colder weather like a packable light down jacket. AND I guess I'd better squeeze in a bathing suit. Add to the suitcase my toiletries, makeup, etc., it's going to be tight. I'll take one last photo when it's all in there tomorrow. :)

In my carry-on I'll have my class samples, my camera and an extra lens, all charging cords and adapters, my bed pillow, some protein bars, and an umbrella. In my tote that counts as my "personal item" I'll have my tote purse, my computer, a travel pillow, a huge file of all the tickets and confirmations printed out, and my iPad. I also wear a small cross-body purse with my wallet, phone, glasses, passport, kleenex, headphones, and lipgloss in it. If I have to, I can take that off and keep it in my tote bag when boarding the plane. Whew! I know some people love all this information! :)

I've a busy day ahead! I've a couple more Paris posts and then the Italy posts will start! Thanks for following along! I appreciate your prayers for a safe, really good trip! xoxo

So what do you think? Anything I'm forgetting? (Yes, I already have my passport in my purse!)

Here is the link to the packing cubes:

AmazonBasics 4-Piece Packing Cube Set - Large, Green

May 1 A Sunday in Paris: Flea Market Edition

If I am in Paris on a Saturday or a Sunday, you know you will find me at the Vanves flea market. It's the best time for a treasure hunt when it's sunny, of course! After teaching in Vincennes, I changed hotels, moving to a hotel in Le Marais, dropped off my suitcases, and headed straight to the flea market to be there as they were opening at 9am.

The cats are pretty scary!

It was cold! I wish I'd brought my down jacket!

I love the lilacs on display at this booth! They smelled so good.

These guys are always playing cards or backgammon...

and their friends nearby, too!

When you are traveling by yourself, a mirror selfie is the way to go!

I only bought one little box of stuff this time. I spotted a few little treasure in the box and without going through the whole thing, I made my offer of 5 euro but the man wouldn't budge from 10 euro. I decided to take it anyway when he let me move a couple things into this box from another.

Most of the box was filled with these little pieces to some sort of game with what looked like the sections of France?

I went through everything in the box when I sat down for my crepe sucre and café longé. There was a handy trash can right next to me that I tossed a lot of things into. These are the "treasures" I found in the box. Love the Donald Duck head and the old metallic roll of lace. The little statue says Henry IV on the bottom. A little glass pig and a bottle of gold and an ugly bird were in there. I love the old slider game where you can change the heads and legs for each person and cute alphabet cards. How cute is the little metal knife and fork! The spigot with a cork and pink thread is one of my favorites! I'm not sure what that's all about but I love quirky things like that!

My favorite things, and the reason I bought the box, were these little treasures... I laid a quarter with them so you can see how small they are!

I enjoyed being serenaded by Roland on his piano for a while...

I think the doggies enjoy the market as much as me!

My next stop was Luxembourg gardens - one of the other best places to be in Paris on a Sunday! I'll be back tomorrow with those photos. Have a great Monday! xoxo