A White House Christmas

It's been a long time - almost three months.  The reason for being gone so long range from lots of travel to being sick to a new job.  So much of my time seems to be spent adjusting to all of these changes.  Fortunately, yesterday I attended an event that I really wanted to share because it was beautiful and very much a dream.

I went with Trish and Phor to the White House Christmas Open House.  It was a rainy day that contrasted with the gorgeous colors, smells, and music from within the White House.  I took so many photos but regretted all of the ones I didn't take after the tour was over.

I really enjoyed seeing the Presidential and First Lady portraits.  It was a game of who I could recognize.

Trish in the East Garden Room.

The Vermiel Room - tree skirts made of garland.

The Library - more than 2,700 books chronicle America's history.

China Room which displays over 200 years of china services used by First Families.  The portrait is of Grace Coolidge who was a beautiful woman.  

The East Room

This was close as I could get to Edith Wilson's portrait - another incredible glamorous painting.

The Portrait of George Washington that Dolly Madison saved from the burning White House.

The White House creche, composed of 44 figures, has been displayed in this room for nearly 50 years.

Teddy Roosevelt.  I was disappointed not to find FDR's portrait.

The Green Room which was redesigned by Jacqueline Kennedy.  It's a parlor used for teas and receptions.  It's difficult to think of these rooms being comfortably used for anything.  

The Red Room

The State Dining Room with a portrait of Lincoln.  And the gingerbread house below is a 300-pound sugar creation featuring a skating rink and marzipan sleigh and reindeer.  The dogs are right in front of the house.

Carolers entertained us at the end of the tour.  This group was from Illinois.  I kept imagining a holiday Hallmark movie about them needing to raise the money so they could sing at the White House and romance probably happened on the way.

I love Truman.

France Adventure Day 3: Take Me To The Sea

It was not fun waking up the next morning but we had to get going to catch a train to Bordeaux where we had a car waiting for us at the airport. The only thing that happened that later became a big deal was a pain in my back that kind of appeared while I was sitting on the train.  I kept stretching and trying to ignore it.  More later on that...

You know you're in wine country when you see this in the airport parking lot...

A couple of lessons learned when renting a car in a foreign country -

1. Always pay extra for the navigation system.
2. Always have loads of cash on you to pay the tolls.
3. Always pay extra for the navigation system.
4. Make sure you get in the right lane to pay cash when you come to the toll booth.
5. Always pay extra for the navigation system.
6. Pay extra for the automatic rental if only one of you can kind of drive stick.
7. Start loving roundabouts. 

We took turns driving and they weren't for crazy long distances but all of it was so new to both of us.  All of the decisions we made that we didn't think would be such big deals were the right decisions.  Thankfully France drives on the same side of the road as us and there are lots of rest stops along the way.  I actually really enjoyed driving 130 kilometers and wonder why we can't do that in this country.

Meliss took the first day of driving because she took pity on me for still not being fully awake.  I was sleeping through most of that trip but I was amazed through the trip by how much the scenery changed in such short drives.

We finally arrived in Biarritz where we were staying our next two nights.  Jean-Baptiste had told me how lovely it was and I had already been kind of in the area when I visited San Sebastian a few years prior.  It was still a little too cool for me to hang out on the beach much but we just walked around our first afternoon.  It's gorgeous.  It's a seaside village where the rich and famous used to party in the 70s.  It's obvious why.

This is us being very happy to be where we were.

France Adventure Day 2: I Love Paris Especially When I'm Sleep Deprived

I finally arrived in Paris around noon and went straight to the hotel.  I had that I kind of slept but I'm still not really alive feeling.  I was just so happy to check in the hotel and our room had two beds.  This was a major part of the hotel planning - two beds.  I love Meliss but it's best to just have our own beds.

I showered, rested for a second and realized my time in Paris was very short.  I started walking toward the Musée Nissim de Camondo which was conveniently near the hotel when I jumped for joy because I saw this place.

I bought a few macarons knowing that I could share them with Meliss that night.  I also ventured into the chocolates which was a very good move on my part.  This started a lovely tradition where chocolate was consumed at least once a day on this holiday. The French do chocolate very well.

Pierre Herme is one of my favorite places to buy macarons.  Such happiness.

I walked just a little further to find this museum of French decorative arts with a very sad history.  The owners were a very wealthy Jewish family.  Their son died fighting in World War I and the remaining family was killed in Aushwitz.  The house is still maintained as if it were a private home.  Looking through the photos of my first day in France I am reminded of the gorgeous colors everywhere I looked.

I don't remember the particulars of the home but I was struck by the blues in the furniture and rugs and the great care that was taken to decorate the home.

I loved the kitchen with all of the copper pots and pans.  Of course it reminds me of Downton Abbey as the dining room off of the kitchen was where the servants would have dined.

I walked through Parc Monceau where a great deal of Parisians were enjoying the sunshine.  I couldn't find the perfect point to capture just how many people were in the park.

I walked toward Rue Saint Honore to walk by Collette and a few of my other favorite stores and was surprised by the very long line at Christian Louboutin. I don't know why the line but I enjoyed checking out who was in it.

I was very happy to see the sites if only from a distance because I really wanted to get to Palais-Royal which is one of my favorite places in the city.  I couldn't sit as I had to get back to meet up with Meliss but the people watching made it perfect.

English Crackers

I made a discovery this year that any party with crackers is a very good party.

If only because of the paper crowns inside of them.