New Year's Eve in Normandy

Trip date: December 2019

After three wonderful nights spent in Honfleur we were on the move. It was New Year's Eve and we would be spending most of the day driving around seeing some more of the sights of the most northeastern end of Normandy.

We drove 30 minutes north, over the big bridge that spans the mouth of the Seine, and into Le Havre. We were just stopping for lunch, and I think we picked the perfect spot! I'd highly recommend a meal at Le Bistrot des Halles if you are in search of traditional bistro fare with a cute atmosphere and lots of easy street parking. 

I started with a bowl of fish soup which is famous in the region, and then had this amazing skate wing in brown butter caper sauce. Cheese to finish, as you do!

Another 30 minutes north, driving along the coast, we arrived in Étretat. We were stopping to view the incredible rock formations, as others have done for hundreds of years. It was an absolutely stunning winter day to view the Porte d'Aval arch and the Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Garde sitting atop the white cliffs.

Really a beautiful area if you are nearby. There are multiple parking lots throughout the town and even though it was a holiday and quite busy, we still found a spot very near the beach. As an added surprise, we ended up randomly running into the friends we would be meeting later that evening, also enjoying the cliffs!

Back in the car it was 20 minutes to our next destination, the city of Fecamp and home of the Palais Benedictine. 

We bought our tickets for a self-guided tour of this over-the-top palace/museum, built by the "inventor" of Benedictine, Alexandre Le Grand.

There are some interesting displays of typical hardware used on homes back in the day, a medieval Rejuvenation if you will. There is also a lot of stained glass that helps to celebrate himself and his business.

The story of the invention of the herbal liqueur Benedictine is a bit cloudy and a bit fabricated. But basically it was invented in 1863 by Le Grand and a local chemist. Many are led to believe that the spirit was made by monks, which is a bit of a tall tale. The chemist basically riffed on some old recipes he found that had been possibly written by monks. Le Grand embellished the story and saw his sales rise, so he continued on with it.

There is a large hall filled with wonderful photos of Benedictine being bottled and packed for shipping during war times, so you see that all the workers were women. There are also shelves and shelves of the various bottles and labels used over the years. 

Our tour also included a chaperoned visit in the distillery and the cellars. It was all pretty interesting and I don't think I've ever visited or learned about a liquor product that had so much "history" made up about it.

We finished with a tasting of both Benedictine on its own as well as a small cocktail made from it. There were a few choices so the three of us tried to mix up our drinks so we could taste them all. And in true Alexandre Le Grand style, the exit is through the gift shop.

It was time to meet our friends who had graciously invited us to spend New Year's Eve at their awesome Normandy farmhouse. 

The rest of the night was an abundance of champagne, foie gras, wine, an incredible dinner, and a lot of laughing and singing in a house full of friends ringing in 2020. Quite a bit different than New Year's 2021 would end up being!

**As I visited all of these places before the COVID-19 pandemic, please double check on opening hours. And fingers crossed these businesses all stay in business!**

All photos of Le Havre, Étretat & Fecamp here.

Other post from this trip:
Holidays in Le Perche, France
Intro to Normandy; Honfleur
Day Trip to the Parisian Riviera
D-Day Beaches of Normandy
Normandy to Brittany
Last Stop Normandy; Mont Saint-Michel

Traveling During a Pandemic; Lincoln City, Oregon

Trip date: July & December 2020

A pandemic really puts a damper on travel; stating the obvious here. By July of last year I had already had to cancel four different trips. And now it was a friend's big birthday and there was no end in site of the travel restrictions. So she and I decided to book a safe road trip and get a change of scenery.

We were headed to Lincoln City, Oregon where neither of us had been before. I had found a large 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo with a private hot tub and ocean views and it seemed like a relaxing and socially distanced getaway. 

We took the long way down, driving I5 south to Longview and then 30 West to Highway 101 South. I had picked up sandwiches before leaving Seattle so we were able to stop and have a nice picnic in the sand at Cannon Beach, picking a place far from other beach goers.

Continuing on 101 we stopped at a few of the lookouts; the weather was stunning! 

We stopped at Manzanita Beach and had a quick walk around, and then onto Pacific City where we watched people climb the 240 foot high sand dune.

It was late afternoon when we got to Lincoln City, the drive had taken about 7 with stops. We found the condo building and parked in the underground garage. There were luggage carts by the elevators which was great as it made it easy to transport everything in one trip. Check in was self-service so we didn't have to interact with anyone. 

The condo was larger than we imagined! There was a big well stocked kitchen, gas fireplace, washer and dryer, and of course the private deck with hottub! 

We immediately set up some drinks and snacks outside so we could take in the ocean views. I cooked the birthday girl dinner that night of halibut with minted peas and roasted mushrooms. Afterwards we hung out in the hot tub and then played games and drank more wine. We had brought most everything from home so didn't need to go out for anything.

The next morning was cloudy but not raining, so we immediately set off for a walk down on the beach. The tide was out, exposing large rocks which were covered with mussels, barnacles, sea urchins, and starfish. I have never seen barnacles on a menu in the PNW, in Spain they are quite the delicacy, so I was surprised to see them!

There weren't many people on the beach so it was very easy to keep a safe distance. We walked a mile or so in each direction before heading back to the condo. 

Gail made a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, avocado, and homemade English muffins. I made mimosas, 'natch. Then we got in the car and set out to explore some more of the area. 

We walked around the cute Taft District, taking in views of Siletz Bay from the public beach. The very popular Mo's Seafood Restaurant was open and serving customers inside, they also had a pretty serious queue at their take-out window. We would not be dining inside anywhere.

Next stop, Depoe Bay. The ocean facing shops along main street here sell touristy t-shirts, salt water taffy, and ice-cream. We skipped the shopping and instead wandered along, watching the boats out in the harbor. And then we saw whales! Turns out this area is known for grey whales. Generally the whales are migrating to/from Alaska and Mexico, but often in the summer they don't go all the way north and stay here instead. It was a great treat just to be able to stand there and see them, especially for the birthday girl who absolutely loves whales. 

Back at the condo we hung out in the sun on our deck with some rosé, soaked in the hot tub, and played Mexican Trains. That evening we were able to spot the comet NEOWISE right from our deck! I'd say that spotting whales and a comet both on the same day is some kind of nature lottery ticket!

Dinner that evening was pan-fried crab cakes and artichokes that we had brought with us. Easy and delicious!

After breakfast the next day we drove to the Salishan area and parked in the golf course lot. From here we picked up the Salishan Spit Trail and headed out for a hike. It was very pretty, and we were the only ones out there, but 90% of the hike is on very soft sand!  

We did not make it all the way out to the tip of the spit to see the sea lions, a 5.8 mile out and back trek.  I had a blister that got really agitated by the sand and Gail finally made me take my trainers off and hike back barefoot. Luckily we spotted a few seals body surfing just out in front of us!

We were starving afterwards so called in a to-go order at the Side Door Cafe which had been recommended by a few of our friends. Pick up was very easy and my Dungeness crab melt was awesome! 

We absolutely LOVED this big condo with the amazing views and private deck so when trips continued to be canceled throughout 2020 and I realized that for the first time in 16 years I would not be traveling for New Years Eve, I suggested to Gail that we go back.

We weren't able to get the same unit but we still found a 2-bedroom in the same building. This one was on the ground floor and was a corner unit, still with a private hot tub. And both bedrooms had ensuite bathrooms which was a plus. 

The weather is very different in December vs. July so this time we skipped the beaches and drove straight down I5 to 99W. As we were going right through Oregon wine country we made a stop at Four Graces Winery which was open and had outdoor seating. It was a nice little break and the wines were lovely, we bought some to take with us. 

Again, the condo had self-check in so no need to see anyone. We unloaded the car and hit the hot tub; the views here just can't be beat! 

Since it was New Years Eve we had picked up "cook at home" meals in Seattle from Lark and appetizers from Mamnoon (which even came with party favors!) We had a delicious dinner, lots of wine, played Mexican Trains, and FaceTimed our friends in Australia and France.

It was far from my normal NYE of being in some foreign and/or exotic location halfway around the world, but it was so much fun and again just felt great to have a change in scenery. 

There were huge storms all weekend with winds up to 70 MPH and monster waves! We didn't leave the condo once. We just watched the storm, watched old movies in front of the fire, played games, cooked, and hung out in the hot tub. Well until we saw a lightning strike anyway! 

The weather cleared the day we were leaving so we got a short walk on the beach in before heading for home. 

I'm really happy to have options like this for short, safe getaways. But I'll be happier when we can all go about business as usual again!

All photos from Lincoln City are here and here. 

Ringing in 2019 in the Amazon

Trip date: December 2018

Our 3rd night on our riverboat, the Cattleya, was spent near the confluence of the Ucayali River and the Marañón River, which then becomes known as the Amazon River as it flows into Brazil. The confluence is really wide and really fast. We took our skif out to the middle and just hung out for a bit, it was pretty incredible being there!

After crossing the confluence, our skif headed deep into the jungle and up a series of small tributaries. It was early evening and again we were watching for wildlife and birds. Our first stop was at a small lake that was almost completely choked with water lettuce, making it look like we were traveling over a large green carpet. We slowly made our way around the shoreline, spotting various birds, until we came to a ranger station and went in for a visit.

The ranger was very excited to have guests as he lives out there on his own. Our naturalist, Hilde brought him a few bottles of water and then he told us about the different wildlife protection programs they are doing in the rainforest. He was living in pretty bare-bones lodging, and I felt a little embarrassed when Hilde showed me his very primitive kitchen. 

Back in the skif we headed even deeper into the jungle. We would be staying until dark to see and hear how the jungle changes at night. We were all a bit nervous! As we continued down smaller and more narrow tributaries, Hilde spotted a snake up in a tree! He kindly mentioned that if it fell in the boat we should move calmly out of the way. Right.

We spotted a sloth (much less scary), lots of birds, and motored past a lot of hanging vines and giant lily pads. It was creepy and exciting! We finally came out into another lake right as dusk set in. There were lots of noises but very little movement, Hilde took out a spotlight and started sweeping it across the lake looking for the yellow eyes of caiman. 

He spotted something and we zoomed across the lake. Hilde dipped his hand in the water lettuce and pulled up a small caiman! It was pretty impressive!

Our way back was in pitch darkness. Hilde held the spotlight on the bow so our skif captain could navigate, and huge bats flew towards it, and us! I'm not a fan!! A river rat also jumped off a low hanging branch into the water and swam in front of the boat. The entire experience was really awesome and also tested my fear levels. 

We finally made it out to the main river and crossed the Amazon in the dark! It was good to be back on the Cattleya! 

The next morning was New Year's Eve! We kicked it off with a jungle hike, this time on the opposite side of Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. It was another hot and steamy day, the mosquitos at full force again, as we hiked for about 1 1/2 hours.

We spotted more birds, lots of different plants/trees/vines, huge termite nests, a tarantula web (minus spider thank god), huge fluffy squirrels, and these beautiful giant lily pads.

We were hoping for more monkeys, sloths, a puma, or even a jaguar. At one point on our hike, with Caitlin and I bringing up the rear, we heard something behind us but didn't see anything. Hilde mentioned that the pumas are very curious and will follow people just to see what they are doing. We heard the sounds a few more times but still never saw anything. It was nerve-wracking to think about being followed by a puma in the deep jungle with Hilde using his machete to make a path in front of us!

We spent the afternoon relaxing as we sailed to our final mooring spot of the trip. We were also treated to a special lunch which used the Amazon fish paiche, wrapped and cooked in banana leaves. We'd learned about the paiche from the ranger the night before, the world's largest freshwater fish that was being overfished in many areas, but this area of the river had strict guidelines in place. These freaky fish actually breathe air and can get to 10 feet in length!

Early in the evening Caitlin, Thibault and I headed out for our last skif adventure with Roy and Hilde. Right away we spotted a very large troop of monkeys making their way from tree to tree through the jungle. 

We hung out and watched them for quite awhile, they were soooo cute! On our way back to the boat we had the makings of an amazing sunset. Fitting for the last day of 2018!

Since the boat had run out of everything except pisco and tonic, we made ourselves sundowners of G&Ts with our own supply of gin. We had also saved one bottle of wine and one of champagne for dinner and had other various flasks of provisions for the rest of the evening. 

Our dinner table was very festively set for our final dinner of the year! And again, the food was very good. Afterwards we had a little pisco sour party with the crew and even did a bit of dancing. 

At midnight we rushed up to the observation deck as we heard fireworks across the river. I think this was the 2nd smallest show we'd ever seen (Phuket was the smallest if I remember correctly) but it's still always fun to have fireworks on New Year's Eve, especially unexpected ones. 

The next morning our packed bags were picked up from our rooms and loaded onto the skif. After breakfast we had one last ride over to Nauta, where we were transferred to our van for the drive back to Iquitos airport. 

All told we saw sloths, monkeys, 3 different types of bats, pink and grey river dolphins, Amazon red squirrels, an Amazon bamboo rat, caiman, an anaconda, a tiger snake, a poison frog, piranha, various ants and butterflies, and 39 different species of birds (we had a log that we kept our day's sightings in)! Pretty impressive!

The cruise and the Amazon jungle were an amazing, and once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it wasn't without some disappointments, such as the oversight in stocking what we asked to have onboard. We did end up negotiating a refunded price with the company we booked with afterwards.

Additionally, the boat itself was run by another company which I would not be able to recommend due to some behaviors that we experienced onboard. I won't go into it here, but if you are considering booking with their boat and want to privately message me, I've be happy to give more information.

We were off to our next destination and to see the Inca ruins!

All Amazon rainforest photos here.

Other posts from this trip:
24 Hours Miami
Lima City of Kings
Welcome to the Jungle
Piranhas and Pink Dolphins
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Discovering Machu Picchu
Dining at 11700 Feet
Cusco Daytrip
Return to Lima

Ringing in 2018 Phnom Penh Style

Trip date: December 2017


Dec 31, 2017 we checked into the beautiful Pavillon Hotel, a recommendation from a friend, and a great one at that. We entered the gate off the busy road into a lush and tranquil garden with two beautiful pools, a spa, a restaurant, and bar.

We were greeted with cold towels and refreshing juice before being shown to our rooms. Caitlin and I had a big suite with a king sized bed outfitted with mosquito netting. All the spaces were fantastic!

We were waiting to hear if our friend James was going to be able to come into the country and join us for the New Year's Eve celebrations. We decided to spend the afternoon at the pool with a few bottles of wine, sunning and swimming. It was about 5pm before he texted that Cambodian officials would not accept his passport, as he was 3 days short of having a full 6 months left before expiration. This was a huge bummer! James ended up flying home while we got ready for the evening's festivities.

We started with champagne on Forest and Thibault's balcony and then had a few drinks at our hotel bar which was having live entertainment.

Unlike in Vietnam, here there were many tuk tuks for getting around town, so we all piled into one and set out for Wat Botum Park and the nearby Independence Monument. It was already busy with street vendors and people getting ready for the firework show.

We had dinner at Malis which had a special $60 tasting menu for NYE including wine pairings.  Our 4-course meal was good with a nice shrimp and pork salad, soup with tamarind, roasted quail, and banana ice cream. Our main disappointment was that there was a lovely outside courtyard dining area but we were only able to sit inside.

After dinner we joined the revelers back out at the park for fireworks. We weren't really expecting much but it was a pretty good show! Happy 2018!!!

Breakfast was included with our room reservations so we all met outside at the hotel restaurant the next morning. There were fresh breads, fruits, eggs, and fried rice. It was all delicious!

Caitlin and I spent the morning exploring the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda complex . The grounds are absolutely beautiful and even though there are many resemblances to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, it is much smaller and more intimate.

Besides the temples, there are various exhibits depicting everything from royal history, uniforms, musical instruments, and palanquins.

We had a great time exploring, and it wasn't busy at all which was nice. It was however extremely hot so when we were finished we headed back to our hotel with our pool in mind. Walking back we passed lots of street vendors setting up for lunch. We also passed what seemed like an entire street lined with tables of meat drying out under the sun!

It was so nice to have lunch in the shade of the trees and next to the pool. And my spring rolls and spicy herb salad were both delicious!

Besides breakfast, our reservation also came with complimentary foot and back massages at the hotel spa, so that is where I headed next! Absolutely a fantastic day; sightseeing, swimming, spa'ing!

In the evening we did a bar crawl around town. First up was a tuk tuk to the Elephant Bar at the Raffles Hotel.

The bar is gorgeous and the drink list was really fun. They have 30+ gins, which is a very big selection for SE Asia, but sadly they were out of the Raffles Gin made for them by Sip Smith. I survived anyway!

From here we walked past the American Embassy, decorated with Christmas lights, and Wat Phnom, the highest point in this very flat city. The wat was closed for the night be we could still explore the grounds (for a fee).

While Caitlin and Forest headed off to our next cocktail stop, Thibault and I walked past street vendors selling shellfish, grilled frogs, steamed buns, noodles, etc. We decided on bao and noodles :)

We met the girls at Chinese House, which had both a very cool inside space as well as a great outdoor space with tables, couches, and a Budha. We chose to have our drinks outside!

Our last stop of the evening was also the most Western in style. Le Boutier has a really interesting cocktail menu that tells stories about Cambodian music, the family the bar is named after, favorite locals, etc. It's fun and playful and most importantly serves great drinks.

We took our drinks upstairs and sat at the open windows, watching the scenes on the street below. Some guys hanging out with their friend who had a food cart. A stray dog, hoping for scraps. A young boy, barefoot and pantless, taking a piss in a puddle on the street.

The next morning we boarded a tourist bus for our 5 hour drive to Siem Reap. I loved watching all the activity in the streets as we drove out of town!

All photos from Phnom Penh here. 


Other posts from this trip:
Ten Things To Do in Ho Chi Minh City: Part One
Ten Things To Do in Ho Chi Minh City: Part Two
Cruising the Mekong River
Sailing Away; Vietnam to Cambodia
Wat a First Day
Temples Take Two
Stationed in Siem Reap