Genoa, Italy and Cannes, France

Cruising the Mediterranean - Prt. 2

I will try to give you a taste of what we saw on Day 3 and 4 of our cruise.

Details are beginning to fade as time goes on so I'm feeling some urgency to get "recording" these events!

Genoa, Italy

The farmer, my favourite travel planner, was able to hire a local guide to walk us through this amazing Italian City!

We got up early to watch the ship dock at this renowned commercial port - it was surreal and beautiful.

The guided walking tour didn't start till after lunch so we had the morning to explore the Maritime Museum,

the street vendors along the old harbour, the pirates galleon, frescoed buildings, the famous aquarium, and some gelato of course!

The afternoon walking tour was fabulous. We were led through the narrow streets and arches

to beautiful piazzas (town squares), ornate buildings and fountains, elegant shops, tastes of fresh baked focaccia bread, homemade gelato (the best ever), Greek ruins, and all narrated beautiful by a very passionate local guide!

The Sala deli Specchi - which inspired the famous Hall of Mirrors in Versailles!

Caught the photographer and the farmer in one of the giant mirrors.

Porto Soprana - remaining gate in the ancient city wall.

Palazzo Rosso

San Lorenzo Cathedral - one of many black and white striped churches we saw
wherever we travelled.

Breathtaking elevated view of Genoa.

Genoa (pronouced Genova by the Genoese) was one of our absolute favourite cities.

We rushed back to the ship for our 6 p.m. departure time.

While the ship cruised to our next port in Cannes, France - we did the compulsory emergency drill

followed by some fine dining - always such a treat!

Day 3 - exhausting and exhilarating!

Cannes, France

Arrived in Cannes at 7:30 a.m.

Today we took a ship excursion to Monaco, Monte Carlo & Nice.

The ship anchored and disembarkation was done by tender boat service - that was fun!

We were bussed to Monte Carlo, passing through Nice on the way.

Not many chances to take pictures out of the bus window but the drive along the coastline was stunning!

Soon we arrived in the Country of Monaco.

First stop was Monte Carlo - the famous casino surrounded by lush gardens

and mirror spheres.

The Casino is reflected in this mirror!

Can you spot the photographer and the farmer in this one?

Next stop the Prince's Palace and Saint Nicholas Cathedral

Changing of the guards at the Palace!

The Palace view - overlooking the country of Monaco!

Saint Nicholas Cathedral

where Princess Grace 

is buried.

Her tomb always has flowers on it!

Inside the Cathedral!

Soon it was time to head back to Cannes and on to the MSC Orchestra!

Ship's Tender waiting to take us back.

Another delicious meal with this elegant poached pear dessert
was served to us in the ship's dining room.

We relaxed on the deck and in our rooms as this floating hotel

sailed 348 nautical miles to the island of Palma de Mallorca.

In the meantime, here at home, we said our final good-byes to Marie Leis, my amazing Mother-In-Law. The memorial service was so beautiful and I am forever thankful to be part of this lovely family, raised by this ever loving, strong and faithful woman.

"All is over, hands are folded

On a calm and peaceful breast.

All is over, suffering ended

Now our mother is at rest"

Till next time ...... are you still reading after this very long post? A few more days on the cruise ship and then Italy - here we come!

Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera

A recent trip to Italy started out with a one week

Mediterranean Cruise ...

It was the perfect way to start our European Adventure!

The not so perfect part was our initial trip to the airport

when we became involved in a stop and go traffic jam because of a crash

on the 401 Highway.

We almost missed our flight and literally ran, lugging our bags,

 from the airport parking lot to get checked in and make it to the gate - whew!

Landing in Rome our driver whisked us to the port at Civitavecchia (Rome) where the beautiful

MSC Orchestra Cruise ship waited embarkment.

What a week ...... our wee cabin even had a porthole!

Exhausted and the bed was SO comfy!

The 7 day/7 night cruise included ports at:

La Spezia, Italy

First Port - we bought public ferry tickets to discover part of

the breathtaking Italian Riviera - namely the Cinque Terre (five lands).
This region has been named a Unesco Mankind's World Heritage - and that it is!

What a view from the water!

Corniglia - Fairy Tale town

Vernazza - with it's signature colourful umbrellas!
Sheer rock face and beautiful harbour - this picture
does not give it justice.

Monterosso al Mare - just as beautiful as we
remembered from visiting there in 2006!

Riomaggiore in the rain - breathtaking!

Manarola - perched way up on the rugged rock!

The only two that we stopped to explore where Monterosso and Riomaggiore.
We enjoyed the rest from our sea view.

One of the places we passed, Portovenere, is one we wished we could have
stopped at.
It's distinctive striped church and beauty are yet to be discovered ...

I think the boat listed to one side as we all strained
to get a picture of this amazing place - Portovenere!

My favourite shot of the day - Riomaggiore

It was always nice to get back to the ship for a nice dinner
and evening entertainment. What a day it was!

Stay tuned ....

Next up:

Genoa, Italy

Cannes, France

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Ajaccio, France

and back to Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

In the meantime here at home, we are preparing to say our farewell to
my dear MIL who passed away last week while we were still in Italy!
The Lord has taken her home and she is finally at rest. We are so thankful for that.
Till we meet again ...

Till next time ... I am far behind in reading and responding to all the blog posts that I have missed while we were travelling. Looking forward to an evening or two by the warm fire, doing some catch-up. Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying for us during this time.

Nammie's Spare Bed

Uh-Oh, Nammie's spare bed
has turned into a "packing place" ...

What does a traveler pack for a Fall trip to Italy?

I'm trying out a few "ensembles" that will mix and match.

There are some for sure items and also a wee pile of maybes.

At least this is a start.
There may be many "edits" here before we actually go.

We are so excited to go and thankful
for good health and the privileges we are able to enjoy.

(Sorry about the dark pictures .... not much light coming in these days!)

Black and White is definitely a theme. 

Black crepe tunic, Lizette pants, and Sympli sleeveless top.

Sympli fringed tunic with super comfy Frank Lyman animal print jeggings.

Perfect for a fancy night or two on the cruise part of our trip

or to dress down with a pair of jeans.

A few "sunny" outfits for some warmer days and excursions.

Blue and white denim capris with sleeveless toppers.

Joe Fresh tops are my friends.

More Black and White separates to mix and match.

A colourful and light scarf, belt and my Tilly to add some style to these jeans.

Sympli Black and White "Go To 3/4 sleeve T's",

my must have denim midi length skirt (it always travels with me),

and an extra sleeveless Black tunic.

The little black dress (super comfy bamboo stretch), black leggings,

a denim vest, and some colourful accessories and scarves.

Dress it up or down.

Two jackets (Black Lululemon and Brown Columbia rain resistant jacket with hood).

Two warm long sleeved sweaters - for cool evenings.

Summary:

6 T-shirts (4 of them sleeveless)

6 tunic tops

4 Capri pants (plus 1 pair of leggings)

4 pairs of pants

1 denim skirt

1 little black dress

1 denim vest plus 1 Sympli sweater vest

2 jackets plus 2 warm sweaters

Tilly Hat

3-4 scarves

1 black belt

12 pairs of underwear/jammies/swim suit and cover-up/a few foundation pieces

Eek - is this too much for 1 month or is it not enough?

Still deciding on the foot wear.

Extra "essentials" - Norwex wash cloths and towels, laundry detergents,

sink plug, Rick Steves braided clothes line, Tide stick, and electrical plug adapters.

I'm hoping that the farmer needs far less clothing and will have extra room
in his luggage - ha! I'm certain that he needs far less!!!!

We will be packing one checked bag and taking two small carry-on bags.
I think it's doable. Hmmmm. Especially if I wear some of the clothes 
on the plane - many layers?

Trying to figure out how to pack this cutie into my carry-on ...
Oh, how I shall miss this sweet little person.

Till next time - what are your favourites and essentials when packing for a long trip and do you lay them out on your spare bed before packing?

Also, praying for rain and clear air to breath for our dear friends in the West!

Oatmeal Cookies

There aren't any back to schoolers here anymore

or "yet"

but this crispy cooler weather and last long

weekend of the summer has me thinking about 

school lunches and cookies!

Here is one of my favourite recipes for Oatmeal Cookies.

Makes approx. 2 dozen

1/2 Cup butter - softened

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup brown sugar - packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 Cup Flour - scant cup (not quite full)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 Cups large flake oatmeal

2/3 Cup raisins

1/2 Cup chopped nuts (pecans, cashews, macadamias, slivered almonds or walnuts) - optional

Cream the butter and sugars well. Add the egg and vanilla and 

beat till fluffy.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda.

Fold this into the creamed butter sugar mixture adding the oatmeal, raisins, and

nuts at the end.

Roll into 1 inch balls and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes on parchment lined

cookie sheets.

Watch closely to not over bake! They are chewy and delicious when slightly under baked.

TIP: Something I learned on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog

is to give the cookie tray a bang on a heat resistant surface when removing from oven to flatten the cookies. This helps to make them chewy!!

Here's to a new school year, new beginnings and September 2017!

Till next time ...... Let there be cookies!!!

Sunshine and Pesto

Beauty morning for a walk!

After walk refuel ...

Peaches, Strawberries, Granola, with a dollop of Greek Yogurt and a splash of Maple Syrup!

The herb garden explosion with Basil needing attention.

Time to make Pesto!

Basil Pesto is easy to make and oh so good!

The recipe I used is one that was demonstrated to us in the beautiful

Cinque Terre region of Italy on our

first European adventure 11 years ago!

The recipe is simple:

80 Basil Leaves

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp. Pine Nuts

2-3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - enough for consistency

*to keep Pesto bright and green, it is best to blanch the basil leaves

for 5-6 seconds in boiling water and then plunge into ice water

 before processing.

I made 4 batches which came to 2 Cups of Pesto.

I froze 3 jars and kept one fresh one in the fridge.

Now - is fresh made pasta on the menu sometime this week? Maybe!

Meanwhile, on the weekend, the sun shone warmly and the convertible

came out.

She loved Papa's Red Car with the top down!

Till next time ..... welcoming these sunny days of late summer!

Down the Country Concession

To better health and better energy!

Heading out the lane ...

Queen Anne's Lace everywhere!

The field corn is lush, green and very tall!

The Leis Home Farm lovingly restored by my SIL and BIL
The prettiest place on the road!

Our bean field looks amazing this year! Now we just need some good heat units for it to mature.

The garden lettuce has exploded - my favourite salad for lunch!

Not quite my momma's lettuce salad:

Mom's garden always had a row or two of lettuce and was served at almost every meal.

She kept it simple and delicious with some diced onion, minced borage leaf and 

a cream dressing.

I still love the cream dressing (approx. recipe):

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

several grinds of black pepper

1/4 Cup whipping cream

2-3 Tbsp. white vinegar

1 borage leaf - minced

1 or 2 slices of sweet onion - chopped

I piled on the extras today for lunch and it was so delicious:

1/2 tomato - chunked

1/3 yellow zucchini - chunked

2 Tbsp. Hemp seed sprinkled on top

several sprigs of dill - minced

2 celery sticks with celery leaves - chopped

I should be eating this for breakfast, lunch and dinner according to the abundance 

in my garden!

Till next time ...... intentions to keep the walking and salad munching as No. 1 and 2 priority! Will you join me?

Platz Therapy

I finally made some platz!

The peaches on the back porch were ripening rapidly and needed to be used.

Platz - Peach Platz (I love saying that)

was calling out to me and I've always wanted to try making this.

Of course, the only recipe I needed was Lovella's

and it is a winner!

This recipe was posted 9 years ago, even before I knew about the

Famous Mennonite Girl's Can Cook ladies!!!

I enjoyed reading the comments on this past post.

What a blessing they have been to me on so many levels!

Since my last post on July 13th - SO much has taken place.

Huge Amish Sale

Annual Family Picnic at the Freeman's Pond

A few days of camping with dear friends!

Sunsets at my favourite Lake Huron!

A new baby great niece was born - Maia Star (can't wait to meet her)

A new little neighbour was born - Jack (can't wait to meet him)

Vee, a favourite blogger friend has decided to stop blogging.

I understand her need to do this and sometimes it makes me think this might

be what I should consider as well?

And all the while ...... actually since mid-May

I've been fighting a very nasty virus that just keeps rearing it's ugly head

in different ways.

This includes intense congestion, constant coughing fits, pink eye,

loss of smell and taste senses, angry rashes, fever, low energy levels, and weakness.

In one way my wish to slow down the summer days has been fulfilled,

however, not in quite the way I had expected.

After two visits to the emergency dept. and several doctors appointments I 

feel like I'm finally seeing some improvement.

I am thankful to be feeling a bit better and am determined to regain my health.

Baking a peach platz today gave me some much needed "baking therapy"

and it feels good to once again be inspired to cook and enjoy eating.

Thank you Lovella for this tried and true recipe, one that I hope to make often!

In the meantime, our little love bug turned Two. 

We love her so much ... there are no words!

Papa's little love!

Till next time - August blessings to you all!

My August chalkboard message!