Denver in a Day!

Happy Birthday to me! I decided the perfect way to spend my birthday would be with my favorite artist Claude Monet - who just happened to be having a huge exhibit in Denver. So I booked a flight and a hotel room and headed to Denver on my birthday eve.

I’ve flown quite a bit the past couple of years and I think I can count on one hand the times the flight has left or arrived on time - and this was no different. I had delays both ways but neither was too terrible - and it reminded me how glad I am that I never fly without food. I highly encourage adding healthy snacks and an empty water bottle to your packing list. Bars, nuts, apples, hard boiled eggs, a peanut butter sandwich etc. has saved me lots of money and made me a more patient traveler.

My plan upon arrival in Denver was to take the metro train from the airport right to Union Station in downtown Denver, and that worked out perfectly. Its called the A Line and is $10.50 for an adult each way. Totally worth it! My hotel was downtown and everything I was doing was walking distance, but it appears that there is a decent mass transit system in place and I saw lots of trains during my visit.

Denver metro train.

Union Station is gorgeous! They did a fabulous job renovating this beautiful building, and there are lots of cool restaurants, bars and shops inside. I had plans to explore it more the next day so just looked around and headed over to check into my hotel.

Union Station

Interior at Union Station. That’s a Christmas Tree!

I need some food! I had done some research on restaurants in the area (what a surprise right?) and a restaurant right across from my hotel called Panzano got excellent reviews as having one of the best happy hours in Denver - so that’s where I headed.

3 courses for me since I’m celebrating my birthday - Panzanella Di Focaccia salad (Italian bread salad), Margherita Pizza and Budino Di Caramello (butterscotch caramel pudding) for dessert. All delicious.

My ticket to see Monet at the Denver Art Museum was for the next morning, so I headed over to the Denver Performing Art Center to see the sculpture park Christmas Tree and buy a ticket for the musical The Grinch. Success on both counts. The complex where both are also includes the Symphony and Ballet theaters, so lots going on that night. Of course we’ve all seen The Grinch movie, but this was my first time seeing the live musical, and it was wonderful. The costumes were amazing and the Grinch deserves a Tony award. He was hysterical. If you ever get the chance to see it you won’t be disappointed.

Since it was just me I got a great seat in the orchestra. Another Happy Birthday to me!

I was up bright and early the next day and after coffee and a breakfast burrito headed over to visit the Colorado Capitol which is located right downtown. On the way I walked past the Convention Center and saw a huge bear trying to gain access.

The people by his feet look so tiny!

The Capitol offers tours that take about an hour and is the only way to access the dome, but since I had a date with Monet that had a timed entry I opted for a self guided tour that was impressive even without the dome.

Denver Capitol with a little snow.

Denver is called the Mile High City and it’s because it actually is a mile above sea level. The Capitol marks the one mile point with a marker on the granite steps that you can easily find on the west side.

You can see the gold medallion and the inscription on the step.

Inner rotunda, House and Senate chambers, dome and the Presidential Portrait Gallery.

A cool picture I took inside.

And mountains!

Next up…..Monet! As soon as I read about this exhibit coming to Denver I knew I had to see it. I’ve been to see all the Monet’s in Paris and just this past October visited Giverny. Check my blog dated October 10th and read all about my visit there. This exhibit has over 120 of his paintings and is the largest Monet exhibit in the US in the past 20 years- and its only going to be in Denver so if you are a fan you must try hard to see it. Tickets are selling fast and it’s essential to buy a timed ticket in advance on the website. I appreciate that they are doing it this way, because while there were a lot of people in the exhibit, you could still see all the paintings and take as much time with each as you wanted. The audio guide is free with the purchase of your ticket and it’s excellent. Plus they have special links for kids to follow along as well - that is something unique.

The Denver Art Museum - an awesome building!

The exhibit was AMAZING! They did an excellent job of organizing the galleries by the area of origin making it clear how Monet’s career evolved. It’s huge so a little overwhelming. If I lived closer I would go see it a few more times to be able to take it all in, but since that’s not likely I spent almost 3 hours there.

Thank you Mr Monet!

In addition to enjoying the paintings I like to see where each painting resides, and while I didn’t keep a tally my best guess is that about half of the paintings were from private collections. So many of these beautiful paintings are in someone’s home where they can enjoy them while they have their morning coffee. Wow! I am so grateful that the owners were willing to share these priceless masterpieces, but also a little sad that there is a good chance I will never see them again. Another reason to go and enjoy them! It’s in Denver till February 2, 2020 so hurry.

I love them all!

A friend sent me this right before I went to Denver and it’s perfect.

Just one more thing to do before I head to the airport for my return flight….eat! I headed to Union Station to try Mercantile which has a James Beard award and great reviews online. It did not disappoint. I had a fabulous salad and when I told the waiter it was my birthday (because I tell everyone 🤷🏼‍♀️) he told me to pick a dessert. I went with a tiny chocolate caramel filled cookie with sea salt. Thanks Mercantile!

Birthday lunch😊

It was a great birthday! Thanks for letting me share it with you❤️

Chicago…..Again!

Yes another trip to Chicago! I was just there a few weeks ago for the Chicago Marathon, but back again for the wedding of two special people. It never gets old and I can always find something new and fun to do.

My kind of town!

I tried something different this time - took Amtrak from Kansas City to Chicago, and then back to KC, I had heard good things about the train and when I checked on prices a few months ago and saw a fare of $50 each way I thought why not try it. The train leaves from Union Station which is close to where I live and should arrive in Chicago in 7 hours and 20 minutes - so less then drive time. The wedding was downtown so I wouldn’t need a car and I’m here to report that it turned out just fine. Full disclosure - the train was late getting to KC because of a problem out west so we got to Chicago almost 2 and a half hours late - but they kept us posted so I was able to stay home until 30 minutes before the train arrived. And the return was totally on time. Definitely less stressful then driving and I would do it again if the right circumstances presented.

Me getting on the train in KC. A beautiful day!

I stayed on Michigan Ave at a newly remodeled hotel called the St Jane located just south of Wacker Drive and the river. Fantastic location and a really nice place. I got a great rate through Travel Zoo. If you haven’t signed up for their daily email you should do it! They have great offers and there is no charge to use their site. My pictures didn’t turn out so you’ll just have to take my word for it - but comfy bed, great bathroom, super clean and a friendly helpful staff.

The talk of the town was the Grand Opening of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery - the largest Starbucks in the world! It opened November 15th and was a mob scene through the weekend. Hundreds of people standing outside waiting to get in even though the store is huge. Super cool and worth stopping by to see.

Saturday morning walking by Starbucks. I waited till it slowed down on Monday morning and walked right in to see it.

Inside the front door of Starbucks - to the left is a circular escalator- very cool!

Top left - roasting small batch coffee, Bottom left - barrel aged coffee and an awesome Warhol image in the background advertising the big exhibit currently at the Art Institute.

Bottom left - you can do coffee tasting on the 3rd floor. Amazing food on every floor.

It’s that time of year - so another opening was the Christkindlmarket down in the loop. Having spent last Christmas in Austria this was right up my alley. It reminded me a lot of those markets so fun to see all the handmade ornaments, knitted goods, food and gifts. Just like in Europe they have the ceramic mugs for the hot chocolate and mulled wine. And you can keep it as a souvenir 😊

Top - A Christmas Angel walking around for pictures Bottom left - Krampus. The opposite of Santa. Comes to take away the bad children. What?? It’s a German and Austrian thing - so scary! But you can get it in lots of forms - candy, ornaments, masks etc. Seems horrible. Bottom right - the ceramic mugs.

Got to see my friends Robin and Mike, and they took me to a wonderful theater called The Den located in the Wicker Park neighborhood. They are totally in-the-know on everything happening performing art related in the metro, and they said they really love this theater. I can understand why. A very cool building with 4 small stages creating a very intimate setting to see a performance. We saw the musical Always…Patsy Cline and it was really wonderful. Our seats were the best in the house and I felt like I was in the show! Having just returned from Nashville and discovering that I love country music felt like an added bonus. Thanks so much Robin and Mike for planning such a special time!

The Den

After the show we walked right across the street to the original location of Antique Taco to share a bite.

Chicken tacos, Elote corn with chips and a beer for Mike that he really enjoyed! Delicious!

Lunch at one of my favorite places - Hampton Social. A number of locations now around the Chicago area. I had the Beach Bowl - quinoa, black beans, plantains, avocado and an over easy egg.

Chicago is quite famous for its architecture, and one of the best things to do is take the Architectural Boat Tour. I’ve done it a couple of times and always recommend to people visiting. Well a new place to add to your To Do list is the Chicago Architecture Center. Julie and I visited on Monday and both enjoyed it very much. It’s located right on Wacker and Michigan Ave. and you can purchase the boat tour and/or a number of walking tours in addition to touring the center there.

Entrance to the Chicago Architecture Center.

The Center has two levels and you should allow at least an hour and maybe more to see it. The first floor is the Chicago Gallery featuring the most prominent architects like Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright. There is a cool movie and a scale model of the entire city. Lots of info on Chicago history. The second floor has a skyscraper gallery and an exhibit called From Me to We - what will Chicago look like in 2050.

Two of my favorite buildings through the window of the Architecture Center - The Wrigley building on the left and the Tribune Tower on the right - both being renovated and still so beautiful.

There are always new and fun things popping up on Michigan Ave - so let life surprise you and enjoy! The AT&T store going BIG for the 25th anniversary of the Friends sitcom. Walking by we just had to join in the fun and pretend we were at Central Perk😊

Two Friends having a big cup of coffee. Such a great show. It’s timeless! Just like my friendship with Julie❤️

Let’s not forget the wedding! The reason I was in Chicago. It was a beautiful ceremony and lovely reception to celebrate Nick and Britt! Best wishes always to this great couple!

Nick and Britt!

Goodbye for now Chicago! You know I’ll be back soon💕

Nashville!

My first visit to Music City! Well actually I was there twice over 20 years ago but since it has changed and continues to change so rapidly that doesn’t even count. The locals (well almost no one is really a local anymore - so let’s say if you live there now you are a local) are quick to tell you that 100 people a day are moving to Nashville. And there are 200 more hotels under construction. There are cranes and construction sites everywhere you look. It is truly Vegas without gambling and the country music center of the universe. But is it fun? YES!!!! So much fun!

My running group has a destination race every year and this year was Nashville. So since I wanted to visit Nashville this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Usually we all stay at the same hotel but we discovered quickly that they need those additional hotels in Nashville because hotels are expensive. So then we started looking at Airbnb’s and that worked out great. Big shout out to my fellow planner extraordinaire Cheryl who helped me put an action packed, super fun, and absolutely delicious itinerary together. And another big thank you to Deidre and Harriett for being the most easy going and delightful traveling companions. You can only have so many planners in a group, you need a few that say whatever you two plan is great - just tell us what to bring and when to be ready😊 Energy level is also super important and luckily the four of us have enough energy to power the space shuttle and annoy most other people. Luckily we have found each other.

We arrived Friday, had the race Saturday and departed Tuesday. We had fantastic perfect weather outside of a tiny bit of rain late Monday and an unexpected dusting of snow Tuesday morning. None of which affected any of our plans.

Here in a nutshell are my top tips for visiting Nashville:

• Don’t drive. If you drive there find a place to park your vehicle and just leave it. Traffic is pretty brutal and you will pay a lot for parking. Walk or use Uber or Lyft when necessary. It’s cheap and easier.

• Stay in Germantown, the Gulch or Downtown area. There are lots of other nice neighborhoods in Nashville but you will be farther away from what you want to do. Most of the hotels are downtown but consider Airbnb’s in the other recommended neighborhoods. We were in Germantown and could walk to so many amazing restaurants and coffee shops and the home was fantastic for much less than a hotel.

• Make reservations in advance for as much as you can. This includes restaurants, museums, tours and music venues. Cheryl and I did a ton of research prior to going and we were all so happy we did. The best restaurants aren’t big so it’s easy to get shut out without a reservation. And the Honky Tonk Bars on Broadway which you’ll want to spend a little time at (very little!) only serve bar food. Same with music venues and shows. Book in advance or you’ll find when you get there all the best things are sold out.

• Nashville is very reasonable. Outside of hotels which as I said are pricey, we found the food to be excellent and quite inexpensive as compared to other tourist cities. Same with the music venues.

• Everyone we met was so nice. This included literally everyone. Uber and Lyft drivers, restaurant servers and managers, bartenders, singers and songwriters. Not sure if it’s southern hospitality or the fact that lots of these people are in Nashville because they are trying to get into the country music business, but we didn’t meet an unfriendly or unhelpful person anywhere.
  

So let me get to it! First up - all the things we did.

The Race! The reason we are here. Good thing we could get that done first and then relax and have fun. The half marathon for all of us. Superstars!

Kansas City Express runners do Nashville! Winners! We stopped to take a few fun pics during the race. That’s the Titans stadium where the Chiefs will lose to the Titans Sunday….Boo!

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Spent a couple of hours there. That’s Elvis Presley’s gold-plated Cadillac! Not just gold finish but crushed diamonds as well. And tons of gold and platinum albums.

My favorite part was all the clothing. The top floor is the older memorabilia and the lower floor is the current stars. I remember Kacey Musgraves wearing that red dress for the Grammy’s in 2018!

There is a cool shopping and restaurant area called 12 South that has Reese Witherspoon’s store Draper James. It’s mostly pricey clothing but there are some cool nicknacks like this Call your Mama trinket tray. No worries Keeley I didn’t buy one for you😊 If you have more time it would be fun to spend a half day or more exploring and eating there.

We did spend a few hours on Broadway. That’s the street most tourists spend the bulk of their time on, and where all the numerous bachelorette parties take place. A few hours was plenty for us, and it was actually in the afternoon. The Chiefs game was happening so we went to watch some of it and stop at the more iconic spots. Pretty much every major country star has a place. Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Kid Rock etc. We didn’t go to any of them.

Robert’s Western World is a fan favorite. Been there a long time and has live music all day and night. No cover. Cheryl and I having a beer under an intense red light.

Acme Feed and Seed. Four story bar and restaurant overlooking the river with a great rooftop! Lots of Chiefs fans drowning their sorrows😢

Printers Alley. An alley just off Broadway with a 100 year tradition of entertainment dating all the way back to vaudeville.

One of the most famous and iconic places in Nashville is the Ryman Auditorium. We couldn’t get tickets to hear a concert during our visit because the venue is pretty small by today’s standards and sells out fast. Built originally as a church in the late 1800’s, it’s considered hallowed ground in the music industry. It’s where bluegrass was born and was home to the Grand Ole Opry starting in 1945. When they moved to their new current facility out in the suburbs the Ryman was vacant for almost 20 years and almost leveled, but the country music stars pulled together and helped save and renovate it to the showplace it is today. Now it is considered to be a sign that you’ve made it to play a concert there, so it’s a must see on your visit. You can do a self guided tour all day any day for the most part, but if you pay a little more you get to do the backstage tour with a guide and I recommend it highly. You know you want to see the Johnny Cash and June Carter dressing room! There are no pictures allowed backstage so you need to go see it for yourself.

Top left is the Ryman surrounded by huge new buildings and lots of construction. Still has the original church pews for the audience.

Everyone that does either of the tours gets their BiG moment on the Ryman stage. Harriett and Cheryl really want me to stop singing and Minnie Pearl has nothing on Deidre!

I think my favorite part of Nashville was experiencing live music in the small intimate settings for not a lot of money. We went to two small singer/songwriter experiences that I highly recommend, but you should book your tickets ahead online. Not super far in advance - even a week or two it’s possible to get them. What I was told in advance is that these venues have typically 4 to 5 singer/songwriters that perform in every show and that you get to see, hear and meet people that are currently active and successful in the country music arena. The tickets are literally $10 each with a small fee for booking online. The caliber of talent we saw at both venues we went to literally blew us away. Almost all of the songwriters we saw have worked with every big name you can think of - Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton etc. They also have a couple of up and coming singers there to perform and they were all incredible.

The Listening Room. 4 Songwriters top right are Cameron Bedell, Phil Barton, Liz Rose (writes for Taylor Swift) and Jeff Middleton. All except Cameron have number 1 hits recorded. Bottom left is our group with Cassidy Daniels. Up and coming singer/songwriter that is only 20 years old and fantastic. Another singer they brought on stage was Nick Boyd. What a great night!

Second spot we went to was 3rd and Lindsley. Again for $10 saw a fantastic show with 4 singer/songwriters. And one want-to-be…..Me!

Left to right - Ray Stephenson, Jeremy Campbell, Conor Cassidy and Rachel Thibodeau. All except Conor have number 1 hits - Ray with Blake Shelton, Rachel with Martina McBride, Jeremy with someone I didn’t know and Conor is a rising star. He was incredible and only 23 years old. Remember that name! We talked to Rachel quite a bit after the show and she was so nice! Thanked us for giving her so much energy during the show😊

Next up The Station Inn. Located in The Gulch and considered to be the best place for bluegrass. And on Sunday night it’s free! It’s billed as a jam session so no set show, but it’s invite only to participate so great music. Get there by 7 PM to have any hope of getting a seat. And to say it’s not fancy is a vast understatement. If you see a seat make a new friend and take it!

Bottom right is a picture with our random new friend! No idea who but he just jumped in😊 Making friends where-ever we go!

The Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. A beautiful park that has an amazing area of bells and a World War II Memorial. At the far end is the state capitol, adjacent is the Tennessee State Museum and a permanent farmer’s market enclosed and open year round.

The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge over the river connecting Broadway to the Titans Stadium and providing great views of Nashville.

Now would be a great time to grab a snack, because if you’re not hungry now you will be after seeing everything we ate. Apparently in Tennessee bacon has its own place in the food pyramid - because it was abundantly available everywhere and pretty much in everything. Enjoy!

City House. The first and maybe only? James Beard award winning restaurant in Nashville. Reservations a must! Amazing! We found quickly that with our group of four ladies 2 or 3 appetizers and 2 entrees or pastas and one bottle of red wine was just perfect to make us feel happy and not stuffed. And one shared dessert - of which I usually ate more than my share…..sorry! Pizza with bacon, trout with field peas, gnocchi, some kind of cheese and squash and a sweet potato pancake over arugula salad with lots of other delicious tidbits. lemon ricotta cake for dessert. Yumm! And in a very cool old building in Germantown.

Post race brunch at Silo in Germantown. Those buttermilk biscuit beignets with homemade berry jam alone are worth a trip to Nashville. Two orders of frittatas and two of huevos rancheros. Very cool place. I hear dinner is fantastic too.

Kansas City Express group celebration dinner at the historic Woolworth’s! Who doesn’t remember sitting at the counter eating burgers, fries and a shake?! Well now it’s entirely a nostalgia restaurant in Nashville and you can get the famous Nashville hot chicken and a brownie sundae alamode. I picked neither but it was still fun to see it and celebrate everyone finishing the marathon or half marathon strong. Thanks to Tracey for her hard work in finding a decent restaurant that would serve 16 of us on a Saturday night! Congrats to all!

Germantown Cafe for Sunday brunch with the Angold ladies joining us. Another fabulous meal starting off with some complimentary donuts. I never turn down a donut especially ones still served hot. Shrimp and grits, strata with grits and a breakfast bowl were just a few of the choices we made, another cool spot in you guessed it…..Germantown!

Dinner at Moto Cucina + Enotica in the Gulch. Beautiful spot and a little larger then the other places we ate at. Cauliflower and brussel sprout appetizers, Branzino and 2 pastas for entrees to share. The perfect amount of food. All delicious!

Earlier in the day we stopped to pick up cupcakes for dessert. Number one cupcakes in Nashville! How could we pass them up! We shared wedding cake, lemonade, sweet potato and hot chocolate. Wedding cake is and always will be my favorite😊

Barista Parlor to start our day. An AMAZING coffee shop. In fact we loved it so much I should post this picture twice because that’s how many times we went there. Super cool interior and absolutely incredible breakfast biscuits with eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage. Nashville knows how to biscuit that’s for sure. And great coffee drinks. Just a block from our house in Germantown.

Vui’s Kitchen came up in the top 10 on every restaurant list Cheryl and I looked at so we had to try it for lunch. Fantastic Vietnamese food. I tried the chicken pho and it was so good! And healthy! And guess where? Germantown!

Rolf and Daughters - the number one pick of people who live in Nashville. 3 appetizers - sweet potatoe with some kind of cheese and spices, a spaghetti squash with farro and broccoli and cauliflower with prosciutto. Roasted chicken and pasta for entrees. The dessert was my favorite of the entire trip. It was listed as sourdough ice cream with sunchoke and amaro - but was over this amazing sort of spice cake. I’m still dreaming about it. And a dessert cocktail called See You Next Year. Sharing is the best!

Red Bicycle was another fun coffee shop right across the street from our Airbnb. Super nice people!

Another place right in our neighborhood. Tempered. When something says Best Hot Chocolate in Nashville how can you not try it! Is hot chocolate ever NOT good?

Did I exaggerate when I said we had great food? I think not! And like I said in my tips - compared to what you might think costs in a nice restaurant in a destination place, we all felt like it was reasonable for the great quality, taste and portion size. We shared all the dishes but it was encouraged in every restaurant. We would ask our server if they thought it went together and we had enough food and they were all super helpful and didn’t push us to order more food. We did make reservations in almost all of the places especially for brunch and dinner and it really paid off.

Our Airbnb pre-Chiefs game with our Angold friends and fellow runners.

Celebrities everywhere on Broadway!

Nashville you made us love you💕

Traveling helps you learn about yourself. I learned I like country music! Life is a journey and let’s all keep enjoying the ride. Thanks for coming along!

Bratefest 2019 - Seattle!

I think this is Bratefest #5 - when as many Brate’s as possible get together to watch our nephew, son or cousin Cam play football. It started when he was at Harvard and has continued on now that he is in the NFL playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We get together for other reasons too - like weddings, funerals and just general shenanigans, since we enjoy being together but live from one end of the US to literally the other. I myself love going to Tampa for a game. Preferably in winter! But this year when the schedule came out and and the Bucs were heading to Seattle my brother David who lives there suggested we all come out there for the game. While I love the Pacific Northwest and think it’s so beautiful I also know that November could be cold and rainy, but being the good sport that I am I said why not! Well lucky for us the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Sunny and in the 50’s the entire time - perfect fall football weather.

I arrived a few days before the main group so had some extra time to enjoy with my brother and his wife. Dave actually lives in Bremerton which is across Puget Sound from Seattle, and home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and a US Naval Base. It’s kind of the best of all worlds - a pretty smallish town on the water but an easy and beautiful ferry ride to Seattle. You can get there by car but it takes a lot longer, so for me the ferry is the way to go!

Ferry ride on a beautiful day with my brother Dave! Hello Emerald City!

We took the ferry over to see the Seattle Aquarium which is very close to where the ferries dock.

Definitely worth a visit. We ran out of time before we got to see everything but what we saw was great. Including a couple of huge octopus and some adorable sea otters.

Lots of anemones and sea urchins to touch. Dave made me do it!😱

One thing you need to eat in Seattle is chowder! Lots of great places to have it - Ivar’s is everywhere but we opted for somewhere a little more upscale - Anthony’s!

Anthony’s clam chowder was great - but the sour dough bread is what really makes it special.

The family all arrived and we met up at the famous Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. A great spot to meet up is at the brass pig right in front of the fish market. You can’t miss it!

Cousins! Jack, Angela and Keeley. Oh and my big brother Phil!

Lots of fish at the market but many other great things - flowers, produce, handicrafts, bakery items etc. So fun to browse.

The original Starbucks is right across from the market. The line is always huge and on this day was at least a block long. There’s another Starbucks a block away so if you’re just wanting coffee don’t wait in line at that one . But it does have merchandise with the original logo on it so if that’s your thing go for it!

Cam joined us along with a few friends of his so we started looking for a place for lunch. Where can we go with 15 people? The stars aligned and we found a great place called Serious Pie that is pretty famous in Seattle because the owner Tom Douglas has quite a following. They were so nice in accommodating our big group and set us up right in the kitchen! We ordered a selection of salads, pizza’s and desserts and just passed them around. The food was great but this group didn’t wait for me to take pictures!

A fun group!

After we ate we walked around some more and didn’t want to miss the famous gum wall. Well at this point it’s turned into a gum alley! I just happened to have a pack of gum with me so got everyone to chew a stick and make a deposit.

Officially called Post Alley. Look for our Br8! Touching NOT encouraged!

Game Day! Time to head to Century Link Stadium to watch the Sea Hawks play the Buccaneers. Another gorgeous day! The stadium is really cool. It’s right next to where the Mariners play, and at one end of the stadium you can see Puget Sound. It was a great game. The Sea Hawks won in overtime, but the Bucs played really well.

Standing room only at every game.

Post game family area for visiting players is basically in the basement. Much better area when you’re the home team but you take what you can get when you’re the visitor.

On our last day all together we went for a little hike at Illahee State Park. Beautiful fall colors and a pretty view of Puget Sound.

It was like another trip to the Aquarium. We saw at least 50 jelly fish swimming in the water and tons of snails, anemones and crabs around the pilings.

Family dinner at Horse and Cow in Bremerton. Lots of navy memorabilia that they have been collecting for 65 years. Don’t ring the bell!

A perfect fall day in Seattle!

Fantastic sunsets every single night over the mountains.

Until next time Seattle!

Bratefest 2019 is a wrap! Thanks for coming along😊

Day 23 - Montmartre

Our last full day in Paris the weather was spectacular. Warmer and sunny - so we headed to the 18th arrondissement which is the Montmartre area famous for the Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur and the Place du Tertre where artists paint and do portraits. Paris is basically a flat city except for the Montmartre area which is a huge hill. If you make it up all the steps to the Sacre-Coeur you are treated to a fabulous view of Paris - worth it! The area is always super crowded with tourists so beware of pickpockets and Gypsy’s.

Ta Da! This was taken after I had already been to the top - made it! The beautiful white Basilica is only 130 years old which is not old by French standards. There was a mass going on inside so I didn’t take pictures but it’s beautiful and worth a visit.

Place du Tertre where the artists gather and paint dating all the way to the 1800’s and the Impressionists. Lots of narrow winding streets with shops and restaurants.

We had checked off all the major things on our list so our goal after Montmartre was just to meander the 9th arrondissement, find some food and enjoy a beautiful day in Paris. Can you think of a better idea? All the arrondissements have their own distinct personality, and the 9th feels very local. Loved it! Lots of small shops, restaurants, flower shops, patisseries, fromageries, charcuterie etc.

A pretty boulevard in the 9th arrondissement.

Lunch in the 9th at Cafe M. We were checking menus as we both wanted a classic roasted chicken and found it here. Delicious!

More meandering took us past this McDonalds. Most subtle one I’ve ever seen complete with a sidewalk seating area.

The majority of Paris is in what is called the Haussmann building style named after Georges-Eugene Haussmann who carried out a massive urban renewal program of reconstruction in the early 1800’s. The buildings are made of stone and looked striped with amazing iron balconies and trim.

Classic example of Haussmann style and everywhere you look in Paris.

Our last day in Paris deserves a stop at a patisserie so we found a sweet little shop to indulge ourselves.

A chocolate eclair for Julie that surprised her by being filled with an enormous amount of chocolate filling and a strawberry tart for me. On such a sweet little street called Rue Cadet.

We eventually made it back to our hotel to start packing for our return back to the states. We stayed at a great little boutique hotel in the Marais called Relais du Marais that was in a wonderful location convenient to getting us quickly anywhere in the city via Metro or walking. The people working there were all so sweet and helpful and got a kick out of our botched attempts at speaking French. We anticipated a quiet evening of getting packed and a good nights sleep before our early morning departure but Paris always has a surprise in store for you. We heard a lot of noise outside our room from the street at about 8:30 PM and opened the windows to see what was happening. To our surprise our quiet street was filled with a protest parade of people marching down the street chanting and waving signs and banners. All of a sudden a few protesters got out of hand and started running toward cars with big sticks and it appeared they were going to start destructive behavior and immediately out of the corner of our eyes a large amount of riot police appeared in full gear - helmets, large shields and batons and took over the street. The protesters started throwing what appeared to be fireworks and the police countered with what we thought were smoke bombs but we soon discovered was either tear gas or pepper spray because our eyes started burning and we were choking. We quickly closed the windows but it took awhile for us to feel normal again. We watched the rest with the windows closed but were super impressed with how quickly the police got things under control with no real force. Behind the mass of riot police were at least 20 police vans following. The protesters peacefully continued down the street and all was well. There are protests frequently in Paris but because the gun control laws are so strong there while there was a heightened sense of anxiety during the protest my first thought wasn’t that someone was going to pull out a gun and start shooting. We asked in the morning at the front desk what was the cause of the demonstration and they said it was the Turkish invasion into Syria.

View from our window of the protest right before the police arrived.

Day 24 - back to Charles de Gaulle airport for the return flight to Chicago where I’ll be spending the weekend with family and friends cheering for my incredible daughter Keeley who is running the Chicago Marathon. - Yeah Keeley!

I feel a bit overwhelmed with gratitude for being able to make this trip with my amazing, adventurous, fun and beautiful friend Julie. We visited so many fantastic places, saw so many incredible sites, ate the most delicious food, drank great wine, navigated trains, fumbled through languages and met warm friendly people. We walked over 155 miles (I know this because I kept track!), and I ate croissants every morning for 24 days. I thought I could never get tired of delicious croissants and found that that is incorrect, At least for now I am maxed out!

Just one morning of the many that started my day😊

We celebrated Julie’s birthday in Portugal with champagne and cake! I think Julie will always remember this birthday!

Happy Birthday Julie! I hope it’s your best year yet!

Thanks for reading about our trip. If you read one post or all I’m glad you came along. This is not the end for me. I have lots more places I want to visit. Check back soon!

A bientot Paris💕

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” Mary Anne Radmacher