Today Was All About The Food

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We left Split this morning for our drive to Dubrovnik. The weather Gods have frowned on us and today was a totally stormy, rainy day.  The good news is that we had to spend the whole day in the car and there were no tours scheduled for today!

Our driver, Nick, turned out to be quite a good guide as well as driver!   We stopped in Ston (means salt) for lunch. It was DELICIOUS!  We each had something different and everything was spectacular.   Barb had mussels in white wine and garlic sauce that were awesome!  I have never had mussels before but I tasted hers and they were wonderful!  Bill had a steak and fries.  The steak was as good as our country club at home serves!  I tried the pasta with seafood.  It too was delicious, but it’s probably best that I couldn’t identify all the seafood in my pasta!😊 It was followed by fantastic desserts!  My crepes with vanilla ice cream were yummy.  Everyone else was also “oohing and awing” over their choices!  When STOL was founded, it was a Greek settlement.  The area became famous for salt, which at that time was as valuable as gold.  It was a shipping lane and salt was a big export.  Eventually, the Greeks were invaded and they moved further up the coast and founded Dubrovnik.  Dubrovnik was a neutral port.  During its medieval period from the 13th -17th century, they built a wall around the city and decided to include the valuable city of Ston because of its salt exports.  The wall became the 2nd longest in the world– only the Great Wall of China is longer.  Ston still mines salt today using the ancient ponds .  They have 48 ponds that they fill with sea water.  When full, they close the water off and hope for hot summer months for the sea water to evaporate so they can farm the salt!  The village is also famous for its oysters and mussels!  There are mussel farms through  out the river leading to the sea.  This means a floating fish basket with a rope that is anchored at the bottom with mussels that grow up and down the rope.  They pull the ropes up to check the size of the mussels.  It takes about 4 years for them to be big enough to be harvested.
Interestingly enough, Dubrovnik became its own city state and managed to survive the plague in the Middle Ages because they were one of the first to institute a quarantine.  The wall around the city also helped protect them.  Those that came be sea were “quarantined ” for forty days on one of three small islands just off the coast of the city.  The Phoenicians heavily influenced the area.  The port was considered a “neutral” port and they also traded with the Ottoman Empire.
Dubrovnik is a small city– only 45000 people and it heavily depends today on tourism.  In the “old city”-housing is very expensive.  It costs $11,000. Per square yard to purchase housing in the old city.
The hotel we are staying in is lovely and brand new.  It’s the Villa Dubrovnik.  It’s very modern with every amenity.  The rain has obscured the view, but we can see enough to know it’s amazing. The hotel sits on the cliff down by the water and every room faces the sea!  Dinner was scruptious!  My lamb chops: Outstanding! Barb’s pressed duck: Fabulous! Bill’s steak:Excellent!  And Tom had seafood spaghetti which he pronounced very good!  We topped our meals off with vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce!  
Tomorrow is a walking tour from 9:00am to 5:00pm!  It’s supposed to still be “showery” tomorrow so we may be walking between the raindrops!  However, the forecast is for it to clear up by tomorrow evening.

At lunch with Nick, our driver/guide!
Lunch at the great restaurant.
My shrimp cocktail. 
Dessert!
Another dessert selection!
Salt harvesting from the 48 ponds.
Part of the wall around Ston and Dubrovnik.

Tranquility—Hvar and Paklinski Islands

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So today’s adventure was all about GORGEOUS weather (no clouds in sight) and a speedboat ride for about an hour to cross from Split to the luxurious resort island of Hvar.  Hvar is well known to the rich and famous, many of whom have visited often for the crystalline pure waters and the magnificent weather.  Hvar has more days of sun then any other place in Croatia!  The harbor is covered with beautiful sailing yachts and Luxury yachts!  It is no wonder the rich and famous love this ancient island of Hvar.  It dates from the Romans in 500 AD who founded the area.  But the fort on the top of the town was built in Roman times and later the area was very influenced by the Venicians who occupied the island from the 13th – 17rh century.  There is not a lot to talk about today, because today was all about the “view!”

Lunch was on a VERY tiny island named Palmvista.  There were topless sunbathers on the rocky path that led to the restaurant.  The guys had a difficult time navigating the rocky pathway to the restaurant, need I explain?   There are no sand beaches on the island.  It’s a very rocky shore.  But there is great snorkeling because of the clarity of the water.  They do sell a very thin blow-up mat so you can bear to lay down on the rocks for your suntan!  
For those interested in the saga of Tom’s hand, it has improved ever so slightly.  We started him on an antibiotic this morning, so we’ll see if the hand responds.  If not, another Dr. perhaps in Dbrovnik.  Bill, Barb and Tom climbed ALL THOSE steps to the top of the fort so I can take no credit for photos from the fort.  Those are the ones Bill took.  
While they were struggling up the stairs to the fort, I made terrific use of my time by exploring fabulous artisan shops!  😎. 
We will miss our terrific and fun guide, Sanda Davidovic!  She has educated and entertained us in our three days in Split!  
Off to Dbrovnik tomorrow.
Leaving Slpit.
Crystal clear water.  
This is in the harbor looking down from the dock..
The square in Hvar. 
Lunch on Palinski Island
Lunch on Palmvista…
Our amazing guide, Sanda!  Thank you!

Walking tour Split and Krka National Park

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So we started off the morning by catching up with our walking tour of Split.  We were supposed to have done it yesterday but we held off so Tom could get a re-check of his wrist.  I have to say, even though not broken, it is very painful and very swollen.  He is being a great sport about it….

We are staying on the palace grounds of the former Roman Emperor, Diocletian.  He built his “retirement villa” of 320,000 square feet here in Split. It was built in the 4th century AD in 8 years time by 20,000 slaves and over 100,000 people lived there.  The palace had over 30 hot tubs.  Half of the palace was used as a garrison by the military.  Diocletian was  elected Emperor by his soldiers after winning an important war in Africa.  He reigned for 20 years.  He built his own mausoleum and was laid to rest until  many years later when refugees from the Ottoman Empire fled to Split.  They were so angry with Diocletian for killing Christians that they destroyed his sarcophagus.  
The “mortar” that was used to build the palace compound was a mixture of volcanic ash, water and egg whites.  The “basement” of the palace is very well preserved because after Diocletian died, the town was deserted for centuries. Later a Roman noble who was being persecuted, fled to Split  and moved into the Palace for a short time before it was once again deserted.  Finally, refugees fleeing the Ottoman Empire, came and took up residence once more in the palace grounds, but they began to remove some of the large stone blocks and build regular houses.  But there were so many refugees that trash began to be a problem so what did they do? They cut holes in the floor of the palace and used two wings to dump all the garbage into the basement.  This kept the basement very well preserved as you can see in some of the photos below.  We were also told about the emperors dining room table– just a foot or so off the ground.  The  court would lie on the floor around the table to dine.  Close by was the vomitorium, (yes , really!) where they would go after meals to purge.  Who Knew the  Romans were the first bulemics!
In areas where there are two walls ( an outer wall and inner wall), the inner doors were closed and the Pretorian guard would watch below.  If they saw someone enter inside the first wall and they didn’t think they looked like they should be there, they would dump boiling water on them!  Ouch!
After our walking tour, we headed off to KRKA National Park with our terrific guide, Sanda, to see the spectacular waterfalls.  They are a national wonder.  The sea runs underneath the fresh water for about 20 miles inland.  The area is heavily limestone and very porous.  Thus, when it rains, it seeps into the rocks and has formed these many shallow waterfalls.  In some photos you will see a foam on the water.  This is not pollution, but a form of organic “soap!”  When the fresh rain water hits the top of the fresh water with salt water beneath it, it causes plankton to “explode” creating a type of soap on the water.
After walking the trail to see all the falls, we took a 30 minute boat ride to a village that was founded in 2000 BC!  Skradin was originally settled by the Illyrian tribe who found this perfectly beautiful and protected, natural harbor.  The town was wiped out three times by the plague.  The last time 10,000 of the 16,000 inhabitants perished.  The town all but disappeared.  Fortunately, the “gift” of the protected natural harbor eventually gave new life to the town.  Today it is an expensive yacht marina and resort town.
Basement perfectly preserved thanks to trash!

Inside the Palace walls.
Beautiful Bougainville!
A diagram of what the palace grounds once looked like.
An example of the two walls where: Beware! You could have boiling water poured on you!
Poor Tom’s hand!
Sanda explaining the path we’ll walk to view the falls.

Pristinely clear!

The “foam” is naturally occurring soap from “exploding” plankton!
A fisherman a paradise!
The town of Skradin.
Goodnight until tomorrow!!!! 

Split, Croatia

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So, this is a very short blog tonight because we spent 6 hours driving to Split from Rovinj.  By the way, we had a great driver the last few days.  He goes by the name of Dom and he was terrific.  He actually learned the locations of two new hospitals thanks to Tom Roddel.  At breakfast this morning, Tom’s hand was more swollen and his discomfort was really escalating.  We all decided we needed a second opinion!  We feared the first X-ray machine might have been so old that you wouldn’t be able to see a hairline fracture.

So our terrific travel agent, Arlene Feen, contacted our guide in Split.  When we arrived this afternoon they took Tom to a private clinic for another opinion.  And no, it really isn’t broken… It is a very bad contusion and it’s very inflamed and swollen.  He’s on a prescription anti inflammatory and pain meds. He should recover in the next 5 days.  Whew!  Everyone couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful!
We have delayed our walking tour until tomorrow.  I’ll have much more information tomorrow night!  We are staying in a hotel that was part of the palace grounds that were here.  It’s charming and the pedestrian only streets are filled with shops and restaurants.  We are staying right on the harbor.  

Dinner at a local restaurant.  Yum!  

Studying the menu!

Driving to Split, a glimpse of the Adriatic Sea.
Lunch at the hotel with a modern menu on a mini iPad, while we await the news from Tom on his hand!
No, he’s not pregnant!  This is the ultrasound they did on his hand!  Lol!
Night until tomorrow!

Istrian Peninsula, Pula, Motovun, Groznjan,

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We started off the day with a bit of a surprise.  Our friend, Tom, came to breakfast with a very swollen hand.  It was warm, red, and tender to the touch.  We all decided it merited a trip to the Pula (largest city around with about 65,000 people) hospital.  It happened to also be an Ironman race day with the finish line inside an extremely well preserved amphitheater!  We managed to miss most of the ironman contestants on our way to the hospital. Everyone was very nice and though we all suspected a hairline fracture it turned out to be either a contusion or tendinitis. They took X-rays, but the Dr. wasn’t 100% sure and told Tom to get it xrayed again if it was still swollen in 10 days.

After our hospital excursion, we  toured the very well preserved Roman Amphitheater.  The Romans had been exposed to Greek Theater but it was a smaller forum. For the gladiator fights and the throwing of slaves and Christians in to the lions they wanted something twice the size, hence the term amphitheater.  They put two of the Greek Theaters together to make the amphitheater.  The word “arena” meant sand and the floor of the amphitheater was sand to absorb the blood and the smells.  We learned that the Romans brought olives to this part of the world.  Also, it was the Emperor Vespasian who first created pay public toilets.  He was raising money to build the amphitheater and declared the “money didn’t smell”!  To this day, some Italian tourists will ask for the “Vespasian” — the public pay toilet!
This area was once part of Yugoslavia.  Marshall Tito controlled the region and though a communist, he was beloved by the people In the area.  He stood up to Stalin.  When Tito died, the surrounding provinces, Slovinia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to be independent.  However, Milosovic who was the leader of Serbia, wanted to make Serbia larger.  This resulted in the war between Serbia and Bosnia.  It became an ethnic cleansing as the catholic Serbians killed a great many (7,000) Muslims in Bosnia.  Eventually the US intervened and Milosovic was removed from power and peace was restored to the region.
There is a heavy Italian influence in Croatia.  Partly because Venice was so close, but also because Mussolini controlled Croatia for several years.  Mario Andretti was actually born in what  is now Croatia and lived here until he was eight years old.  He moved to Italy when Mussolini was no longer in control.
 We visited the hilltop town of Motovun, a completely enclosed walled city.  We climbed to the top and walked around this very well preserved medieval city.  This region is famous for truffles and so, of course, we had to do a truffle tasting!  They no longer use pigs, but instead use trained dogs to dig up the truffles in the forest.  Black truffles are more plentiful and are available in the summer. White truffles are rare, expensive and a much shorter season.  Their season starts Sept. 15  and lasts until early January.  One KG of white truffles (about a pound) costs $2500-$4000. US.  A pound of black truffles is ONLY $400!  Our truffle tasting consisted of black truffles chopped very fine and mixed with cream cheese and then spread on fresh bread.  We also had truffles with scrambled eggs and with pasta!  They have a strong flavor but it was tasty.  They also had an olive oil tasting of 3 very different but excellent olive oils.  They can farm raise black truffles, but they cannot do the same with the white truffle.  They have not been able to determine how much water and sunlight they need to grow.  So far (and its early in the season) there have not yet been any quality white truffles found.  They grow in the clay soil of the region, in the forests, under the ground.  
After a lovely late truffles tasting, we proceeded to a small artist village called Grozjean.  It was a village abandoned in the 1960’s by Italians.  One artist came, bought for very little money one of the empty homes and then invited other artists to come live and work there.  It is now a charming artist colony and has totally revived this lovely little village.
We were late getting back to Rovinj tonight so they dropped us in town close to “old town” where we walked to a restaurant on the cliff by the sea to have dinner.  We had made a reservation the night before .  The food was excellent and the view spectacular!  I’ve counted up the walking distance the past three days and I believe we’ve walked very close to 10 miles!!!!!!  Good thing since we haven’t had any bad meals yet!  Signing off for tonight. Tomorrow is a long drive (6 hours) to Split and we leave early.
However, I can’t sign off without mentioning our fantastic guide for the last two days.  She speaks beautiful English (and German and Croatian) and actually did an internship at the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs for 18 months back in 2001.  Her name is Gordana Rojnic Gruber in Rovinj, Croatia. We called her Goga!  Much easier!😊.  If you ever come to Croatia, you would NOT be disappointed if you used her as a guide!  Excellent!  Very knowledgeable and entertaining with just the right amount of information!  We all Highly recommend her.
The suspiciously swollen hand…..
The well preserved Roman Amphitheater in Pula.
The small white section was just cleaned for a cost of one million euros!
Checking in at the hospital!  Cheapest visit ever!  Bill with X-rays was about $70.!

  A glimpse of the walled city of Motovun.

Truffles!
Smelling a small white truffle of not very good quality. 
Truffles and olive oil tasting  with a little wine tasting also included!  Great lunch!
Chestnut…..
Walking around the walled city.
Dinner at the seaside restaurant!
Sunset as we sat down to eat dinner.
Map of the Region.

Zagreb and Rovenj

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We’ve arrived in beautiful Croatia- first stop was Zagreb, the Capitol.  Though a bit jet lagged, we set off immediately on a 2 hour walking tour. We definitely got a “taste” of the city before we caved.  It’s a  lovely city with a real sense of energy and joy.  It was a Friday evening and there was a festival in the old town area, but even so there was an energy to the city as night time approached. We stopped (I might say I collapsed, after a 3 mile walk) at a lovely restaurant with street side tables for a wonderful dinner!  We all wished we had the energy to return for the festival in the city center, but our legs and eyes were giving us a different message!  

After catching up on some much needed sleep, we checked out of our very nice hotel and began the three hour drive to our second stop, the seaside town of Rovenj.  Rovenj is charming.  It is definitely a resort area —much more laid back and peaceful. It is primarily a seaside resort and artist colony.  All signs  in Rovenj are printed in both Italian and Croatian. Looking across the sea, Venice is a 2 1/2 hour boat ride away (about 100 km).  But Italian everything is very prominent here!  We did about a 4 mile walk around the city and yes, (yea!) I made it the whole way.  It was a bit of a challenge for my hip, but I made it including lots of steps and up and down cobblestone roads!  Our guide (nickname Goga) was excellent and we will see her again tomorrow for our all day tour of the Istrian Peninsula.  She was extremely nice and kept our walk at a leisurely pace!  The city depends on tourism for 1/3 of its economy.  The other two important industries are the tobacco factory (where they hand roll cigarettes) and the sardine factory! The sardine factory never closes, but they are only canning the sardines for about 2 weeks a month. This is because sardines are caught at night and it must be totally dark (they don’t like moonlight) and this only happens with a new moon!  In the tobacco factory, almost all employees are women (just 3 men) because the women are more dexterous at rolling the cigarettes. And yes, it seems EVERYONE here smokes!  They don’t seem to care about the health hazards!  We climbed to the top of the town to visit the beautiful St. Eufemia Church.  On the way down, we passed a wedding party walking up the street to get married in the church.  
The TV here is full of news of the 17,000 refugees that have entered Croatia in the last 2 days (since Hungary closed its borders.)  Croatia cannot absorb the number of refugees fleeing here.  The refugees are trying to get to Austria and Germany.  Now that the official border from Croatia is closed, they are flooding into the forests and the fields to find other ways to cross.  It’s a huge and growing problem and everyone here is very concerned. 
We are enjoying time  with our friends of forty years, Tom and Barb Roddel!  More tomorrow night.  Still suffering from a bit of jet lag and all the walking of the last two days!  Stay tuned!

Tom and our guide in Zagreb yesterday. 

Barb Roddel by the park in Zagreb.

Inside a 100 year old sycamore tree!
The city of Zagreb laid out in a metal map sculpture .

A cute booth at an outside restaurant!
The Cathedral that was begun in the 1300’s and stands at the center of Zagreb.
  
A small but beautiful church with an amazing tile roof in the central square in Zagreb.
View from our room in Rovinj.
Rovinj.

We walked along the sea wall to the church you see in the distance ,on top of the city.
Another view in Rovinj.
Ancient gate to the city built by the Venicians .
Narrow streets in the artist colony.
On our way down.
Sunset is coming…

And has arrived… Beautiful sunset over the harbor in Rocinj.

The Very Best Birthday Present EverJeannette P. Fuller : Archway Publishing

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The Very Best Birthday Present EverJeannette P. Fuller : Archway Publishing

My new interactive children’s book is now available at Archway Publishing bookstore, Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  Please check out this new concept where children ages 4-10 become the illustrators of this story and decide on the ending!  A great way to promote critical thinking, creativity and imagination in young readers!

Catching Up With the Fullers!

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Wow!  I can’t believe it’s been  8 months since I last posted!  So, I have quite a few things to get everyone caught up on!  It has been a terrific 8 months for the Fuller Family!  Our next trip (I will be blogging daily while on the trip) will begin in Croatia on Sept. 17!  We’re traveling the length of Croatia with good friends of 40 years!  When we finish our journey through Croatia, Bill and I will head to London for the Miami Dolphins/New York Jets football game at Wembley Stadium.  Trey and Grant will be meeting us in London for the big game!  After the game, we will be departing for Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet up with Mary, Annette, Gaby and KC for the Hot Air Balloon Festival!

And yes, I mentioned a new name, KC (Kimberly Claire Fuller born on June 27, 2015)!  We have a new family member born into Trey and Annette’s household!  She was a healthy 6 lbs. 15 oz and is now almost 11 pounds and taking her first trip with us!  Sister Gaby is LOVING being the BIG sister and is a big help to her mom!

I have been busy bringing a new children’s book to market– “The Very Best Birthday Present Ever!”
It is an interactive children’s book (for ages 4-8 approximately) and will be available for purchase in about two weeks.  You will be able to purchase directly from the publisher (a division of Simon and Schuster) or Amazon.  The book is interactive and asks children to be the illustrators on each page of the story and to decide on an ending!  It’s the story of two best friends, Bird and Owl, and Bird’s determined quest to find the best birthday present ever!  I have just opened a Bird and Owl Books Facebook page so you can check it out.  Just search for Bird and Owl Books and it should pop up!  Hoping all of you spread the word to your friends and purchase lots of books for the upcoming holiday season!

Actually, I was just informed today that my book has gone “live”, meaning it is now available for purchase on Amazon and at Archway Publishing.  Just go to Amazon or Archway Pblishing and type in : “The Very Best Birthday Present Ever” and it should pop up!   Bird and Owl also have their own Facebook page — just log in to Facebook and search for Bird and Owl Books.  My author website will be live soon.  Please consider purchasing the hard copy of the book for children or grandchildren for the holidays!  It will be a treasured family book for many years to come!  I plan on doing a series of Bird and Owl books and have already thought about Bird and Owl “taking a vacation” in the next book!  Bird will be throwing things in his suitcase while Owl will have an organized packing list.  But just before they head to the airport, they will realize they have forgotten something very important!  The child will have to decide what they’ve forgotten!  I hope children will enjoy the books as much as I have enjoyed creating them!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next travel blog from Croatia, London and Albuquerque!

Meet Bird and Owl and check out their new book, The Very Best Birthday Present Ever! (on Amazon and Archway Publishing)
Gaby and KC  (Kimberly Claire)

Alas, our last day in Paris…..

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Our last day was still filled with wonderful experiences!  We met our TERRIFFIC guide, Katia, and we were off to the newly opened, very modern, Louis Vuitton exhibition.  It is an amazing art gallery built to remind you of the sails on a ship!  It is a lot of individual glass “sails” that are each unique!  There are only three artists exhibiting currently, but there will be several more by next June!  Definitely worth a visit, even if you aren’t into contemporary art and sculpture!  And by the way, did you know Louis Vuitton used to pack the many trunks of the wife of Napolean the Third?  In the beginning, trunks had rounded tops which made them impossible to stack.  He was the first one to invent and design a flat top for trunks and suitcases so they could be transported more easily!  Also, for those ladies that sometimes travel with “excess” luggage, just tell people you’re better then Sarah Bernhardt who traveled with over 300– yes, 300 trunks!   

After the Vuitton Exhibtion, we traveled outside the city to visit a petite Versailles— the Vaux Le Vicomte Chateau!  It has the MOST gorgeous Christmas decorations!  It is a private chateau owned  by the same family for three generations and is  being maintained  by patrons and private contributions.  It is quite a Lovely Chateau and well worth the 45 minute ride from the city!  It was built in an entirely different style for the time- much more light with an “airy” feeling and acres of beautiful formal gardens.  The owner and builder of the chateau  , the Minister of Finance for Louis  XIV, was Fouquet .  He had been a successful Finance Minister who rose from humble beginnings.  But there was great jealousy for his success in the court and there were those who worked behind the scenes to “frame” him for embezzlement. He had no idea of the undercurrents.  When the Chateau  was completed, he threw a gala party and invited the King (to whom he offered the Chateau as a gift.)  Louis was very jealous (he was then living in the Lourve) and ultimately he built the much grander version — Versailles.  He confiscated all the treasures from Fouquet’s Chateau  and threw him into jail. (I know, so unfair, right?). Fouquet’s wife was banished from the country for 10 years.  She later returned to the Chateau and remained there for the rest of her life while her husband remained in prison until his death.

Our evening was a trip to a church to hear a concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir.  While they are an excellent group, the acoustics were not the best unless you are sitting down front and we were disappointed that they didn’t sing one Christmas song….

What a “treasure” this trip has been — in so many ways!  A very special memory of a lifetime…..thank you to all who helped create this memory and worked so hard to keep it a secret!  And special love and thanks to my pretty TERRIFFIC husband!

Model of the new Louis Vuitton Foundation Art Exhibtion.

Models of some of his trunks….
Glass fish….

A lovely and creative use of water!

Katia and Bill just outside the Exhibtion.
The Chateau…
A little drizzle didn’t hurt a thing!
Entrance hall…
The fireplaces had real fires blazing!

A peacock tree!!!

A live pianist playing carols…
A brief view of the gardens in the rain!🌂

Children of all ages are enjoying the Chateau today!
Made entirely of chocolate!
The kitchen!

This Enchanted Evening!,,

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Remember when I said could it get any better?  The answer is an unequivocable YES!   It did! We had all my packages delivered to our suite from the Galerie, and once dressed, we appeared in the 

Lobby for another delicious surprise!  A ride in a 1934 Rolls Royce (not easy to drive with no power steering and a very long body!) to our dinner spot.  We had an amazing drive down the Champs Élysées with all its Christmas lights showing off this amazing city!  You should have seen the looks we got in the Rolls!  We had no idea where we were going, so imagine our surprise when we pulled into an underground garage (a great thing since it was pouring rain!) with a Peninsula Sign on it.  At first I was thinking there was a second Peninsula Hotel,in Paris? Hmmm.  Actually, not…. We had returned to our  very own hotel,where we were whisked to the top floor and taken out (under umbrellas) to a heart shaped enclosed air bubble!  It took the, all afternoon to set it up (in the pouring rain no less)!  The decorations around and inside the bubble were beautiful, AND, once again we had a a amazing view of the Eiffel Tower!  
Our dinner menu was superb and the Exeutive Chef even stopped by our “bubble”!  Everyone was so attentive!  A big thank you to Arlene Feen who sent my husband over with an amazing CD of special music she had created for this evening!  This has, by the way, been in the planning stage for 18 months!  Arlene sent out an email to all her Virtuoso agents for ideas and 100’s came back! She and Bill began the process of whittling down and detailing!  What a great job!  Nothing will ever top this!  In spite of the rain, the roof top “bubble””was amazing!  It was double insulated– two doors to enter our very special bubble!  

The piece de resistance, however, was the treasure box on the table!  Bill bought the basic box at Hobby Lobby and then crafted the interior to hold the beautiful ring, necklace, bangle and earrings!  All are engraved (except for the earrings!). He purchased them aboard them aboard the NCL Getaway on our  trip earlier this summer!  Beautiful! You have to see them in person.  The camera doesn’t do them justice!

Some photos of our magnificent evening….

 I LOVED my red shoes, but they are suede and NOT to be worn on a rainy evening!
My new jacket and scarf!
What a handsome guy!
Our Magical Carriage ride — a 1934 Rolls Royce!
Our romantic bubble!  It took them all afternoon to create!  Thank you Peninsula staff!
Our Table!
The “Mastermind!”
Could it ever be more perfect?!
My dress even matched the orchid spray on the table!
Peninsula hotel swizzle stick toppers!
The Executive Chef who created our amazing dinner and our WONDERFUL server who brought  food through the pouring rain! Have no idea how he could do it holding an umbrella!  But he did an amazing job!
Centerpiece on the table!

Dessert was a brownie deluxe with ice cream!

Note ring, bangle and heart necklace!  Delived in a handmade treasure box !
What an amazing “WOW” adventure!  This can never be topped!  Thank you to all the MANY people who helped  make this a memory for a lifetime!  I can’t begin to imagine all the effort of so many who helped pull this  off!  My eternal gratitude to all who participated in my “fairytale”!

Queen for a day!

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I certainly felt like the Queen today!  This morning we were driven everywhere in Paris by a delightful young woman, Theresa , in a 1980’s Citroen named “Renaee”!  We were also accompanied by a charming professional photographer (Julien  Osty) who photographed us in front of many icons in the city of Paris!  It was quite windy and drizzly, but it definitely didn’t dampen our experience!  I’m sure the photographer is working feverishly to crop and edit and make us look as good as possible!  We will see the results tomorrow.

After our fantastic photo shoot (for sure I felt like a movie star!), we went to the Galerie Lafayette — a most AMAZING store!  It is enormous (three different buildings) and exquisite inside. They have hung a “glass Christmas tree upside down from the glass dome)! ” It is truly breathtaking.  We were greeted by Oscar, who whisked us to an elevator which took us straight to the top floor and two private rooms that had amazing views of the city!  We met the lovely and amazing manager of personal services, Isabelle, who greeted us with tea and water AND a surprise visit from Santa Claus with two lovely gifts for our 5 year old granddaughter, Gabriela!   Shhhh. They will be delivered under the tree!
Santa also delivered the next miraculous surprise, this note from Bill….

The note…
Followed by another private room that had lots of dresses, purses, shoes and jackets for me to look at and try on! The first dress was lovely, but sleeveless and the little jacket was the wrong size and alas, they did not have the jacket in my size.  I tried on several others, but then I tried on a lovely silk Fendi (for the girls who would recognize the name)!  It was like “Cinderella’s glass slipper”!  It fit perfectly (no alterations needed) and I knew right away, it was THE ONE.  Just like my husband when I met him 50 years ago today!  I also love the “red shoes”!  You will see the whole package later when this princess gets dressed!  I even got a short black wool jacket (little dressy) that had to have the sleeves shortened!  (Poor seamstress!  Under the gun to get it done in a very short time frame!  Many thanks to her!). Isabelle and Oscar were wonderful — the best of their profession I’m sure!  Their judgement was excellent and I knew I could trust their advice!  They had reviewed my blog and looked at photos to get some idea of who they were trying to dress for this special 50th anniversary gala!
After choosing “THE ONE”, they brought in a makeup artist who did (I think) a great job doing my makeup!  When that was finished, Oscar took me through the store where I found 2 amazing silk scarves and some lovely clothes for Princess Gabriela Fuller!😘. We also made a stop by the lingerie department for a couple of night gowns. —oo la la!  The French do such an amazing job with lingerie!
A car from the Peninsula brought us back to our lovely “home away from home ” where an amazing staff greeted us and truly made us feel like we are “royalty!!  They have been exceptionally nice to us , so thank you to an AMAZING staff for sharing In my fairy tale experience!  
We came upstairs to our suite and turned the lights on to find MAGNIFICENT long stemmed white roses and candles (luminarios) everywhere.  There is a lovely bottle of champagne , a tempting tray of delectable pastries and even a small Christmas tree with a snowman beneath it!  Can it get any better?  I don’t think so….Thank you Peninsula for such a lovely surprise!  And most of all, thank you to my MOST AMAZING and WONDERFUL husband who has created this great memory!  I am getting “teary” and I can’t do that or I’ll ruin my makeup!☺️. More after this princess gets dressed and returns from dinner , “I know not where!”

The upside down glass Christmas Tree in the center of this exquisite store!
The view outside the private room they took us to where we first meet Santa!  This was taken on the balcony from that private room!
Sacre-Cour in Mont Martre!
Santa is EVERYWHERE !
Working on makeup and Oscar is there too!
So beautiful!
Have to go get dressed!  See you later!

Some Enchanted Evening!

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So our romantic adventure continued with a trip to an exclusive restaurant called Les Ombres.  We had a delicious dinner by the window with an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower.  We were within shouting distance!

After dinner, we went to the big Ferris Wheel at the end of the Champs Élysées .  The Ferris wheel is only here for 3 months– November, December and January.  After our ride, we were treated to coffee, tea and beautiful pastries in our car!  Yum!  
Looking down the Champs Élysées!
At the Ferris wheel…
Our dessert in the car!  It was too cold to eat on the Ferris wheel!  We preferred the warmth of the car!