April 19 - Dinan Walk by River Rance

    

We had another hearty breakfast at our guest house and met up with Jecca mid-morning. We walked into the basilica Sainte Sauveur in our square. There are parts that go back to the 1100s. It is a bit of a hodge podge of architecture with different bits added in different centuries. It is beautiful.

   The weather is beautiful- sunny, but not hot - perfect for walking along a riverbank.

   

So, we drove down the hill to the Port and took a walking path to Lehon, about a 1.5 kilometer walk each way, along the River Rance. People went by in small electric boats which looked very peaceful. 

     It was a nice flat walk, in shade and sun. We heard birds, of course, including a common cuckoo. We didn't actually see the more unusual ones. 

    The town is known for its flowers and it did not disappoint - hibiscus, lilacs, wisteria, camellias, irises, flowering trees etc. 

    We had coffee and a snack at a cute coffee/tea shop in a lovely garden.

    We went into the the Magloire Abbey at Lehon. The area was first inhabited by Benedictine monks in the 9th Century. We walked into the beautiful abbey and into the cloisters where there were more flowers.

   Then, then walked back to Dinan.

   We had a picnic, brought by Jecca, on a bench in the old port. Dinan was once a major port, but the sea receded. The port is now lined by quaint old half-timber buildings and restaurants. After our lunch, Jecca and Barbara walked up Rue Jerzual (on which Jecca lives for two weeks) and Mark drove the car back to the parking garage.

      Later we met up at Moroccan restaurant where we had lovely meals. Barbara and Jecca had tagines; Mark had a couscous kabab combination.

      

Re-uniting with Jecca! April 18, 2026

  Dinan, St. Malo, Cancale

   Today, we had a very hearty breakfast (included at our guest house). Katrine is a very good host.

    Then, we drove about 35 minutes to St. Malo and parked outside the city walls where Jecca met us. She is traveling with just a backpack. It was SO great to see her; she looks so relaxed and happy.

1800 acres of oyster beds.

      Mark drove to Cancale, the French capital of oysters where there are 1800 acres of oyster beds, dating back to the Romans.

      First we hiked out toto La Pointe du Grouin. We looked out to rocky islands, even as far as Mount St Michel in the haze. 

     

 It was rather crowded as it was such a nice sunny Saturday. We ate on the water front and, of course, started with oysters which were amazing - right out of the sea. Mark and Jecca had a fish dish wrapped in thin pastry. Barbara had a seafood salad. All delicious.

      We strolled along the seafront where the tide was out; it has huge tides and the boats were on the ground.

Jecca at Rue Jezual near her flat

      We went back to Dinan, parked and showed Jecca our guest house and then we walked with her to her apartment which is about a 4 minute walk. She has a lovely apartment in an old building. She will be happy there, we think. Mark walked back to our room and Jec and Barbara went to a Monoprix for Jec to shop for food.

     

 Later we met for dinner at a sushi restaurant.  A very good day.

Jecca in the sun waiting for us

      

Paris to Dinan, April 17

 Onto Dinan

   

"Our" Clio with Mark in background having a road side picnic

We ate croissants and had coffee in the square by the Hotel de Nice, checked out and took the Metro to the Gare de Lyon. Finding the car rental place was quite difficult; I think we walked a mile in the Gare to find it. But - we did find it and we have a hybrid Renault Clio.  It is practically brand new with few bells and whistles. Mark navigated beautifully out of Paris. 

   

The highways here have NO advertising which is restful to the eyes. The drive was about 4.5 hours, but we stopped en route to get the fixings for a picnic and ate at one of the many rest stops with picnic tables. The usual for us in France - baguette, cheese, ham. 

     Finding our guest house, La Maison Pavie, was a bit tricky. It is a very old half-timbered building, from the 1400s. It is on pedestrianized square, Sainte Sauveur with a basilica. We are on the third floor up two sets of winding stairs and opted to leave our bags in the car (in a parking garage) and take our clothes back and forth in shopping bags. 

   

 We have an immense room with a window on the square and a window out the back. The bathroom/shower is very modern.

      We walked to Suzette's for galettes which was about half a mile away and ate outside. Mark had a sausage, cheese one and Barbara had a vegetarian one. There was a small pro-Palestine protest a little bit away. After dinner, we wandered the medieval, winding, charming streets.

La Maison Pavie

 April 15/16 - Off to Paris!

     

Wednesday was a long day, mostly of waiting. We got up at 5 a.m. and took Willy to Logan as he was going to a conference in Texas. Around 2, we drove to Roslindale and left the car with Alec and JuliAnn, but we didn't see them as they were at work. (We did see Letty, the dog, though.) An Uber took us to Logan. 

    We breezed through security which was a blessing as the government is still in partial shutdown. We ate a light meal at the Delta Lounge and the plane took off right on time - 7:05 p.m.

     There was a mini drama on the plane as a seat behind us had been assigned to two different people. One of them eventually was moved to Business Class. It was lucky that the plane was not fully booked. We both managed to sleep for over half the flight, but still got in around 1 a.m. to our bodies, despite it being 8 a.m. in Paris. 

   

 We took the B train into St. Michel in Paris and walked about 1.2 kilometers across the Ile de la Cite to the Hotel de Nice on the Rue de Rivoli, the hotel we stayed at with Nick and Jecca in 1982 and 84. We have fond memories of the children going down to have breakfast on their own, feeling very grown up. And, we have distinct memories of it being a garishly decorated hotel with an incompetent innkeeper (Basil Fawlty!). Mark took a time lapse photo of traffic on the Rue de Rivoli back then. 

     Anyhow, the hotel took our luggage, but couldn't check us in, so we walked and walked, despite little sleep. We went back to the Ile de la Cite and stood in line to see the cleaned, renovated, rebuilt Notre Dame. The line went fast and we spent a good hour in the cathedral. Last year, when we were with Sebastian, we couldn't get in because it was Holy Week.

   

It is so beautiful. Grand, awesome, humbling. We stayed for part of a Mass and heard the organ and some singing, too. It was pretty special.

     

Afterwards, we bought cheese, baguette and ham and ate on Ile St. Louis on the banks of the Seine, watching people and biding our time to get into the hotel. We ended up walking just over 4 and a half miles all day, pretty good for two jet-lagged oldsters.

      The Hotel de Nice is similar and different. It is still ornately furnished and wall papered. The breakfast area is the same, but not included in the price, so we won't eat there. There is now an elevator and each room has a bathroom. We were there when the bathrooms were down the hall and there was no lift. And, of course, it has gone up in price.

View from our room

This night will cost us $290 dollars which is above our normal budget, but it's a one-off for this trip and we've been tempted by wanting to return here for years. Our room is great and overlooks the little square beside the hotel.

      We went into the square for a decaf coffee and watched the hustle and bustle before heading to bed.

Our room is one with pink curtains

      

Europe 2026- France, Finland, England

 April 13, 14

   

We came off island on the freight boat in quite chilly weather. We stopped in Bridgewater to drop off some wood for kindling and then went to Concord where we were sad to arrive without Maggie's presence as she had died a few days before. She was such a great dog and part of the fabric of the Hutcheson family. 

   The next day was hot as the weather changed rapidly. It got up to about 86 degrees. We had coffee at Minuteman Park and watched the birds. (Willy was at work) We walked a bit of the rail trail and took clam chowder home for dinner for the three of us.

Traveling Home, Dec 9 and Dec 9

 December 9 x 2

       

It is all a matter of perspective, isn't it?

We had two Tuesdays this week! (And two summers and two springs this year)

        We had a nice breakfast at the Holiday Inn, the best one we've ever stayed at - beautiful tropical gardens, pool. 

          The shuttle took us to the airport. We hadn't been able to download our boarding passes because the reservation was under Mark F White, but his passport says Mark Francis White. This turned out to be a very fortunate mistake because it meant we had to check in at the Delta desk. We then decided to check the bags all the way to Boston as it seemed easier. This is the first time in about 30 years that we have checked a bag.

      This meant that Delta had to look at everything and....to our dismay, they found that the original booking person had overlooked the International Dateline and we wouldn't be able to get home on the day we landed in L.A. So, they scrambled to find a flight for us so we wouldn't have to get hotel. It took about half an hour, but they manage to find tickets from L.A. to Boston, but not seated together which was okay.

 Barbara did a very good deed at the airport. A woman was struggling with a huge bag and a stroller that kept spinning on her. So, she asked the woman if she wanted help. She asked Barbara to wheel the child and then began to cry that she was about to miss her flight. So, they literally ran to the furthest date - gate 17. The woman would not use the moving sidewalks and...Barbara and the woman did run faster without them, but.... hard work. They made it in time for the flight to Somalia. The woman effusively thanked Barbara, kissing her hands, her cheeks etc in front of the whole gateload of people. Barbara slowly walked back to her gate! Mark had iced latte waiting - Barbara had sweat through her shirt as she had also been carrying her backpack. It was a good feeling, though, to have been helpful.

     

L.A. from the air

It was 13 hour flight from Auckland to L.A. We left Auckland at 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 9 and arrived in L.A. at 5:55 a.m. (So....earlier than when we had left as far as days go!) It was a good flight with only a bit of "rough air." The meals were surprisingly good; airlines seem to do well on the long hauls with the timing of meals and period of darkness. We both read and slept a bit. Mark slept more than Barbara, but that's usually the case.

      In L.A., we had a few glitches going in and out of the terminals and through customs and then another security. We didn't have time to linger which was good. Our original tickets would have meant a 7 hour layover.  There were two or three patches of "rough air" which the pilot informed us about beforehand which was good.

   

Logan airport, Boston

  We realized when we landed that the hotel we had booked at the airport was for the next day - again due to the mixup at Delta. We crossed our fingers that the hotel would get us a room. The man said they were pretty full, but as we booked directly with Hilton and not through a secondary source, they managed to get us a room. Whew! We deliberately booked at the airport so that we did not arrive at Jec and Willy's late at night (as the original booking would have done) and so jet lagged. We were about 19.5 hours in an airplane and 6+ at airports.

      We were able to sleep well and stayed until check-out time. We then took an Uber to Concord. It is a shock to have the sun set before 5 and to be in chilly weather. Luckily we left warm clothes in Concord.

       Jec and Willy have their Christmas tree up which will help us to switch to holiday mode. And, Willy prepared a delicious kale and salmon dinner. 

   

         

Wellington to Waiheke Island, December 7 & 8

 December 7

Newly installed art at Wellington airport.

Today we started with an Uber to Wellington's airport. It is a very low-key and small airport which is interesting as it is the country's capital city. We really enjoyed Wellington. And, we were fortunate that it was not especially windy while we were there.

     The flight was only one hour long. It was a review, of sorts, of our travels on the North Island with the exception of our trip to the Bay of Islands. We tried to take photos of Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo, but the window was quite dirty, so..... not worth a photo.

Auckland harbor from Waiheke ferry

  We landed to almost 80 degree weather in Auckland at mid-day. We got the shuttle to our hotel and checked into a surprisingly beautiful Holiday Inn at the airport with plush tropical gardens and a pool. (Neither of which we used.) We dropped our luggage and then took an Uber into the city where we met up with Prue and Klaus for a concert at the Town Hall, a beautiful venue. 

City Hall concert venue - gorgeous

     We had never met Prue and Klaus, but had photos of them and they had photos of us. Prue is cousin Shirley's best friend. They met while teaching in Japan years ago. They have just retired from distinguished careers in International Environmental Law. Both are well published and Prue recently argued a case at the International Court. They were professors at the University here.  Klaus was born in Germany and Prue on the South Island. Both are well traveled.

      The concert of Bach and Handel was a retirement concert by a woman who made her mark in conducting in a man's world. Interestingly, she is also a renowned tennis coach.  The concert featured a full chorus and 4 soloists. 

     It was such a lovely way to spend our last two nights of our holiday.

     

Then the four of us walked down Queen Street to the Waiheke Island Ferry, about a 45 minute ride on a high-speed ferry. Then, we caught a bus to their house. (They do not own a car, nor need one.)

     

What wonderful hosts. We had great conversation about a huge variety of topics - ethics, conservation law, politics, philosophy, books, art and architecture and the parallels of our lives. Parallels include similarities of living on an island. Both Nantucket and Waiheke have become upscale while we've both lived on our islands and unaffordable to the middle class. We both bought our property while it was still within reach.

     Klaus made dinner culminating with a Pavlova, a traditional Christmas dessert in New Zealand. New Zealand lays claim to inventing Pavlova.

New Zealand's famous Pavlova

One of the views from the Waiheke Ferry

December 8

        We started the day with a huge breakfast on their gorgeous deck. Klaus says Germans make big breakfasts!

Breakfast spot!

         Then, Mark, Barbara and Prue walked down the cliff path to their beach. Gorgeous.

       

In their front yard with New Zealand's Christmas tree in bloom

On the steps going down to their waterfront

 It was a morning full of more talk; we could never run out of topics with them.

        Prue made a traditional New Zealand savory pie for lunch. It is one that can be eaten cold or hot. It is a bacon and egg pie made with puff pastry. The eggs are left whole while cooking, so there are bits with cooked egg yolk. Different veggies can be added; Prue added peas. It was delicious and we want the recipe!

         Then, Klaus went into Oneroa, their nearest town for an appointment and Mark, Barbara and Prue walked to Oneroa via the coast, a rather challenging walk for us as it was warm and sunny and hilly.

       

Leaving Waiheke

 We all met for a last coffee and we caught a bus to the ferry terminal, missing a ferry by minutes leaving us about an hour wait.

The ferry was very full of tourists returning from a day trip to the island. We docked around 5 o'clock and had to decide about what to do for dinner. We decided to have only dessert and treated ourselves to two scoops (!) of gelato as we basked in our last evening of sunlight and warmth. Our last days of "summer" for a while, but...we had two summers and two springs this year. No complaining here.

Another view from the deck

Yes, this qualifies as dinner

     Then - an Uber to our hotel. 

     Such a great two days!