To complete up this blog, I wanted to give some observations (unordered) about our trip and experiences.

1.  In Europe most toll gates take American Express (and most large roads are toll).

2.  At gas stations in Turkey, you get full service (!) but in Europe, it is American style and you pump your own.

3.  Roads in Europe are generally narrow and crowded.  While driving is a challenge, parking is worse.  Blue lines mean you can park but you need to pay (look for the machine to get a ticket and place it in your dash).  White means you can park and it is free.  Yellow means you cannot park.  Some underground garages have you pay up top, others inside, but for all (in our experience) you pay before you get to the turnstile out.

4.  Europeans and Turks are much more energy saving and eco conscience than we are.  Energy is expensive there and they are sparing in their lights, A/C, gas usage, etc.  They bring their own bags to the grocery stores.

5. All toilets in Turkey and Europe are low water.  Many in public places lack seats (I do not understand this - for a woman it creates a lot of problems).  There are still some hole in floor (no standing toilet) bathrooms in public places in Turkey and France (and probably Italy).

6.  Washing machines take forever (2 hours and 45 minutes) and are small but do a great job.  Driers are almost unheard of.

7.  The French do drink a lot of wine!  Wine with lunch, wine with dinner, wine in the afternoon, wine in the evening.  However, the European wine is comparatively cheap and is uniformly good.

8.  Turkish wine continues to improve.  Not as cheap as wine in Europe, it is still a decent value.

9.  People are pretty friendly and helpful.  We rarely encountered a jerk.

10.   The vegetables and fruits in Turkey and Europe taste better than ours.  I don't know if that is because they are fresher, closer to the source or use less chemicals, but they are better.

11.  France, Italy and Switzerland love their pork products.  Almost every meal included at least one pork product (and there are many, many different kinds).  While this might seem scary, their pork was less fatty than ours and had better flavor.

12.  In Switzerland, everything is expensive with the possible exception of cheese.  Try to stick to cheese, bread and beer.  You can't go wrong with these (you could also include butter and be even happier).

13.  Asian tourists are everywhere but especially in Switzerland.  They include far east Asians, Indians and Arabs from the middle east (with full burka'ed women).

14.  Eating outside is the norm (at least in June) and is wonderful.  Most cafes, restaurants and even private homes had their main eating space outside, not in.

15.  Cafe sitting abounds in both Turkey and Europe.  People just hang out at outside cafes and drink whatever and snack.  There are a huge number of such cafes and they are everywhere.

16.  Don't fight their local rules.  There are arcane and nonsensical rules with accompanying paperwork and annoying delays.  They are not efficiency experts in these places (well, maybe they are in Switzerland) and you have to ride the wave of bureaucracy.

17.  Don't stay at hotels if you can help it, and don't ever stay at chain hotels.  We did Europe on an average of about $100 or so for lodging each night (and this sometimes included breakfast).  We stayed in comfortable places and met interesting people.  We got to see a slice of their lives.  And, at a good value.  It takes some time to plan, but it is quite easy using the internet and the various review systems (like Trip Advisor and VRBO).  Yes, you take a chance, but it is not a big one and the rewards are significant.

18.  Don't even think about a driving vacation over there without a good GPS.  A paper map helps a lot too.  The roads and signage are more confusing that you can imagine, especially off the main highways.

19.  Speaking of main highways, the refuel stops are great.  They have reliable bathrooms and interesting food shops (especially in Italy).  Public bathrooms otherwise are spotty.

20.  You can get by without knowing the language (we did) but you may have to order food you are not sure what it is, and you feel a little confused at the grocery store.  These are minor though and with common sense, most people's few words of English and sign language, you can limp along quite nicely.

21.  Take a small adventure but carry cash.  Bulgaria was memorable but we might be in jail still if we had not had greenbacks to cover dinner.

On top of the world, figuratively speaking - Alice at Cassis

To finish up our trip (we are back now), our last days in France were spent thus.  Thursday was the final workshop day and in the evening everyone took a bus to Cassis, on the coast east of Marseille.  We stopped for wonderful views along the cliffs and down to the Mediterranean.  The meal was at a restaurant right on the sea and we had abundant appetizers with a buffet to follow.  It was a relaxed grazing kind of event and copious amounts of wine were consumed.  Pastis was also available but not drunk by Randy nor I.

Friday morning we chilled around our temporary French home and packed.  The packing went smoother than I anticipated with room for everything though I worried about being overweight (my bags, that is).  We went to Aix and picked up Jeff and Kristi from their hotel and took them to the high speed train station.  We then parked in Aix and found La Perele Rare, a cool store for Magic cards, etc.  We bought Nick some French Magic cards and a T shirt and then shopped at Metroprix, a department store downtown. I bought lots of make up (Bourjois, my favorite brand) while Randy waited.  We walked to the Granet Museum.  This was unexpectedly large - an eclectic painting collection spread over three floors of a historic building in town.  It was a nice (and cool) way to spend an hour or two.  We walked back to our car park stopping for beer and French fries for a snack.  I also crammed in more shopping at Massimo Dutti, a Spanish brand of upscale clothing.

Before dinner, I finally took advantage of the pool at the house we were staying at.  It was lovely and I was joined by our genial host, Steve, who had been installing solar panels on roofs all afternoon and was in serious need of refreshment.  He planned to spend the night (from 8 PM to 2 AM) helping a friend move his bee hives.  What an industrious guy!

Dinner was scheduled at a small hotel just outside of Aix that I found using the on line Michelin guide.  It was all I could have hoped for.  For 48 Euro (plus wine) we dined on four exquisite courses including an amazing cheese assortment.  The location was in a lovely garden at the rear of the hotel and the service was excellent (unusual for France, in our experience).  It was an evening to cherish and one I hope to repeat.  In fact, I would like to stay at the hotel and enjoy its charms further.  The place is Le Mas D' Etremont and you must go there if you are in the Aix region!

Saturday we breakfasted at home, loaded our car and began the journey to Nice.  This took only two hours and was smooth.  We returned the car at the airport relatively hassle free and checked in.  Using the Delta Priority lane was great - we avoided waiting in the long line and were given a pass to the VIP club.  We went there for snacks and drinks.  Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes and loading was chaotic.  But we had great seats - exit row and bulkhead so there was tons of legroom - and there were individual entertainment stations on this plane.

Cassis from the cliff

We did not get too close to the edge - it was actually scary

Our group on the cliff over Cassis

Self portrait at the beautiful Mediterranean

Another part of the cliff

View from our Cassis seaside restaurant - no food pictures from this one because we were too busy drinking and relaxing to celebrate the end of the workshop

Magic players at La Perle Rare

Our obliging storekeeper at La Perle Rare

If you like to play Magic, this is your place in Aix

Detail of the four dolphins fountain in Aix

A very good French (actually Belgian) beer in a sophisticated glass

You have heard a lot about him and we could not have done the trip without him - our trusty (well, sometimes) Clive

Complimentary appetizers, etc. at Le Mas D'Entremont

We saved the best dinner for last - it was an evening to savor in every way

My fish soup with grated cheese and aioli and toast - nothing better!

Randy's salmon three ways - each divine

My garlic crusted lamb chops - the most tender I have ever had

Randy's Iberian pork

One of our many waiters with the amazing cheese selection

My profiteroles

Randy's cake with peaches and ice cream from a special dairy region in France

Randy enjoys U.S. Today at the VIP Lounge of the Nice airport