Finger Lakes to Lavender Fields

The mighty Colorado River, complete with dogs on paddleboards

Posted on September 24, 2015 by noconbach

The Colorado River starts as a small stream in northern Colorado, grows wider and grander through several states and ends up small once more, with not enough water for all its users’ demands when it reaches California and Mexico. We’ve followed the river’s path on the western leg of our trip.

The Colorado actually starts north of Denver, not far from Estes National Park and Fort Collins, which used to have a large Kodak manufacturing plant. Then it travels about 200 miles southwest, where we met up with it in Glenwood Springs outside of Aspen.

Pat, 1,300 feet above the Colorado. It’s already a fairly “grand” canyon.

Here it joins the Roaring Fork which flows in from Basalt, where Pat and Jordan live. We could look down on the combined rivers and see people floating along in blue or yellow rafts.

A beautiful day for a raft trip

Glenwood Springs Adventure Park is 1,300 feet in the air over the rivers. Pat did a quick ride on the alpine slide.

The Colorado meandering south after teaming with the Roaring Fork. Patrick racing downhill. Look Ma, no brakes the whole way.

The Colorado flows down through Utah, passing the red, iron-rich sedimentary rocks that were once under an inland lake. Spring snow melt means rapid currents and rough whitewater. Now in September, the waters are fairly mild, but still with some thrilling rapids.

A lot of this raft trip was a “lazy river” ride with the guide steering and the current floating the raft. The temperature was pushing 90F.

We had several rafting experiences at the National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, a good simulation of real rapids. When whitewater is visible, the boat guide shouts, “Paddle, paddle, paddle!” and all the passengers paddle like mad, falling into or out of the raft. Meanwhile the guide seems to use this moment for a bit of a rest.

Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!

In the old days, river runners used dory boats, rafts, and kayaks. In recent years, as on Keuka Lake, paddle boarding has gotten popular. Much of the river is calm enough to stand and paddle or just float with the current.

Paddleboarders on the Colorado River near Moab. Click to enlarge to see who is wearing red.

But the Colorado River rapids are a bit more treacherous than the boat chop on Keuka Lake. These experienced paddlers–and their dog–dropped to their knees to get through the rough patches.

Man’s best friend seems comfortable braving the rapids.

On the calm waters just after this rough section, the paddler went into the drink. So did the dog in its red vest! While the man struggled to get on the board in the river current, the dog swam to the edge of the river and started running happily along the shore. He didn’t seem to want to get back on the board. He was probably bored.

The river goes on and the cliffs are more sharply defined. These are near Mendocino Utah.

The Colorado River meanders southward.

In 1963, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed construction of the giant Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado gorge at the northern part of Arizona, just south of Utah.

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell

This formed Lake Powell, a massive reservoir that not only stores water for agricultural and municipal uses, but is a popular spot for boating, specifically houseboating.

Boaters get up and down to the dock by golf cart on a long ramp to the water of Lake Powell. The lake is about 100 feet lower than past levels.

The dam was controversial when built. Fifty years later, the Glen Canyon Institute and many other groups continue to advocate for removing the dam. Just south of the lake, the river once again becomes a shallow flow in a deep canyon.

The Colorado River in Horseshoe Bend

We bypassed the Grand Canyon on this trip. But we visited it several years ago. It probably hasn’t changed much since then.

That tiny river carved through all these layers of rocks.

The canyon is 4,000 feet deep. Pat and Jordan hiked down and back in one day over Labor Day. Crazy kids!

The Grand Canyon (from February 2010)

The Grand Canyon and Colorado River trail through much of northern Arizona. Finally at the Nevada border, the giant Hoover Dam creates Lake Mead.

The Hoover Dam, a stimulus work during the Great Depression. Note the old high water marks on Lake Mead behind it.

We noticed that Lake Mead’s water level was extremely low when we visited last spring, so much so that the lake surface was less than 30 feet above the water intake for Las Vegas, with levels continuing to drop.

Six years ago work was started to install an additional water intake 190 feet below the existing one, giving Las Vegas some breathing space, or drinking space in this case. The project was completed just this week. Read an interesting description of how the work for the new water intake was accomplished as a 3-mile-long tunnel more than 600 feet underground.

The line of white shows Lake Mead water level in past years.

The water that remains in the river continues on toward Mexico. After 1,450 miles and millions of water users, very little flow is left when the Colorado approaches the Gulf of California in Mexico. It rarely makes it there and the Colorado Delta is now just a dried sediment flat.

Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and other cities pull water from the Colorado River for agriculture, manufacturing, landscaping, and of course showers, cooking, and drinking. With global warming causing less snowmelt entering the river and increasing user demands causing greater pull from the river, many of these areas are on permanent water restrictions. One of these cities pulling water from the Colorado is Palm Springs. And that is where we’re heading next–after a short stop for more red rocks in Sedona.

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged Arizona, Aspen, Colorado, Colorado River, Glen Canyon Dam, Glenwood Springs, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Utah | Leave a comment

Rocky Mountain High in Aspen

Posted on September 24, 2015 by noconbach

We’re on the road again after a summer hiatus–if hiatus is the right word for the wedding of the season, five triathlons (four for Michael, one for Nancy), and countless paddle board competitions around the Pietropaoli raft.

We had dueling paddle boards in the cove. Here’s Sandy P. on hers.

This year our plan is spending the fall and winter in northern California and then heading off to South America in January, countries TBD.

We left Keuka Lake on September 15 and visited relatives in Columbus, Chicago, and northern Wisconsin. (Thank you, Bachs, Reals, and Gusicks!) Then came the long drive across the Midwest, with 12 hours through Iowa and Nebraska in one day on our way to meet up with Pat in Aspen. Lots of corn and cows along that route.

Aspen is a quiet, peaceful town, at least at this time of year. Jordan’s job with the city involves checking construction sites, partly to make sure that any jackhammering or other activity doesn’t exceed 80 decibels. There is a lot of construction here, but no skyscrapers. With strict height limits in place, some builders have gone underground. One owner is putting in a full basketball court in a second basement.

Pat just finished a job that involved patrolling some of the downtown hotels overnight. Not too many criminals around, but bears wander into the town on a regular basis. On a late Tuesday afternoon, we saw a black bear bounding across the street near Aspen Highlands, one of Aspen’s four ski areas. We also saw two mooses (meese?) at the entry to the White Mountain Park.

Pat’s new job will be at Buttermilk, the second of the four ski areas in Aspen. (The third and fourth are Snowmass and Aspen, in the heart of the city.) He’ll be teaching little kids to ski, so pizza and French fries will be on his mind.

Pat and Jordan have been hiking Colorado 14ers, the mountains that have peak elevation greater than 14,000 feet. They have 5 to 10 down (or up) and 40 to 45 to go.

Pat has his finger on Mount Sopris, one of their favorite climbs, just under 13,000 feet.

The town of Aspen gets over 140 inches of snow a year, but most of the sidewalks are heated. Visitors can travel between the luxury brand stores and the marijuana shops without getting wet.

Just outside the town of Aspen is the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, part of the White River National Forest. The USDA Forest Service claims: “The Maroon Bells are the most photographed peaks in all of North America.”

With the right lighting, the two bell-shaped mountains are maroon. Pat met us for the sunrise over the lake.

We aren’t sure about that claim, especially knowing that the area is closed off for a big chunk of the winter because of the very real risks of avalanche. But we did spend one late afternoon and sunrise adding our camera experiences of the twin peaks to the photo count.

We weren’t the only ones ready to photograph the Bells.

At this time of year, the foliage is beautiful. The evergreens are a deep, dark shade. The aspen show patches of green, light green, light yellow, yellow, mustard, and orange against a blue sky. With bits of breeze the leaves begin to shake, thus the name quaking aspen.

Foliage near Maroon Bells

Another “big claim” bit of information says that Colorado aspen are the largest living thing on earth, since they grow with connected roots and all trees from one set of roots have identical genetics. One researcher found a stand of over 100 acres of 47,000 tree trunks that was one single organism.

Our photo above of the aspens near Maroon Bells was just “pretty fall colors” that brought oohs and aahs before we learned about aspen genetics. Now we realize that the clumps of different colors are so uniform because each is a single organism of hundreds of trees. Neat.

Posted in Travel Journal | Tagged Aspen, Buttermilk, Colorado, Maroon Bells | Leave a comment

Tour de France

Posted on August 20, 2015 by noconbach

The elite Tour de France is over for the year, 21 stages and more than 2,000 miles only a memory. We have memories of our own of our shorter, smaller Tour de France. Some of the same hills, but tackled by amateurs.

Jesse and Liz rented bikes for a few days and cycled over 130 miles, going from Malaucene to Avignon, Cavaillon to Apt, Pont du Gard to Malaucene.

The dynamic biking duo, Liz and Jesse

Lovely rides on generally quiet French country roads (which do not have shoulders!) Michael and Nancy were the support team, meeting up at a hotel at the end of day, and often having a meal of wine, cheese, pate, and a baguette. Very civilized biking.

Liz and Jesse with two favorites of the trip: Provencal rose and Jesse’s pate.

However, this biking wasn’t enough of a challenge for Jesse. First a brief anecdote about Jesse’s biking commitment, (which later became part of Michael’s toast at the wedding). After biking about 20 miles one day, Jesse and Michael were making a steep climb toward Menerbes, a difficult task. While pedaling his legs off, Jesse was passed, not by just anyone but by a little old lady. Sacre bleu! Jesse would not be beaten by a little old lady. He found some inner strength and pedaled on, faster and harder, eventually passing the lady and beating her to the top. When Michael caught up to him, he was chuckling. What Jesse didn’t realize was that he wasn’t passed by a little old lady; he was passed by someone on an e-bike (e for electric), a bike that essentially powers itself. Nevertheless, Jesse won!

So Jesse was looking for something more challenging than the rolling hills of Provence. One of the most famous peaks of the Tour de France in some years is Mont Ventoux, 6,240 feet tall, with miles of biking above 10% grade. Naturally this is a siren for competitive amateurs. Jesse wanted it. Michael, who completed three triathlons in 2014, was up for it too.

View from 3/4 of the way to Mont Ventoux. (We drove the car up.)

The day dawned clear and pleasant. Two men in lycra set off from Malaucene on the climb up Mont Ventoux, 13 miles and 4,900 feet of elevation change, with average grade of 7.2%. Could they do it?

Jesse and Michael together at the start of the climb.

Within a few minutes Jesse was speeding ahead, out of sight, never visible again on the climb. Michael made a valiant effort, not to catch up, but to reach the top.

With 6 miles to the top, Michael’s bike requested a short break. “Only” a 12% grade.

At just a couple miles shy of the peak Michael had to give in. His legs had turned to jelly. Jesse was far ahead, tackling the final stretches.

The last bit of the climb is cold, windy, lonely. Oh, and still very steep. Yes that is snow.

Jesse reached the top!

Jesse’s bike selfie?

Jesse arrived at the peak long before the bikers were expected. His support team (Liz and Nancy) had to drive the car up a different route and got there after Jesse, cold and tired, had already headed back down. Unfortunately, his dry shirt and jacket were in the car. It was a long, very fast coast down the hill, with the wind chill making it very, very cold. Back at the base Jesse was shivering with excitement at his accomplishment. Check that: He was shivering with near hypothermia!

In any event, it’s a significant biking accomplishment for both of our boys. Congrats!

On to another favorite climb of the Tour, the Alpe d’Huez.

Is biking in the mountains popular here? Yes.

Alpe d’Huez is over 8 miles up the 6,100-foot mountain at 8% grade. No, we did not attempt this.

Mid-May and there is still snow on the mountain.

This was about 8 weeks before the official Tour de France. Lots of guys in lycra shorts, and some ladies, were tackling the route.

The image doesn’t capture the actual steepness of the grade.

Along the serpentine road up the mountain (21 hairpins), many curves have signs dedicated to prior Tour leaders. The 19-kilometer marker still shows Lance Armstrong’s name.

Is the Lance Armstrong sign behind a fence as protection?

We were happy to ride the route in the comfort of our car. Last month we watched dozens of bikers making the climb look easy.

Alpe d’Huez. View from the top!

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged bicycling, France, Mont Ventoux, Tour de France | Leave a comment

It takes a village…to host a Keuka Lake wedding

Posted on August 9, 2015 by noconbach

A year ago we didn’t think about what would happen when our quest for lavender fields brought us back to the very lavender field we started from, less than a half-mile from our home on Keuka Lake. But a lot of things change in one year. The lavender we loved biking past last summer made its way into Liz and Jesse’s Keuka Lake wedding this summer…and delivered new friends from the villages around Keuka. We were really pleased to meet Leslie Belsito, whose lavender field photo has been our banner for this year of blogging. The actual lavender became a sweet scent throughout the wedding events. The wedding was a locavore’s wedding dream all around.

Leslie provided 11 bundles of lavender to use for the wedding. Could we possibly use it all? (Yes!)

Last summer Liz, Jesse, Mike and Nance (as Jesse calls his in-laws) biked around the bluff at the center of Keuka Lake’s Y shape. We hiked up a long hill to see Garrett Memorial Chapel only to find an event underway, so we couldn’t get close.

Garrett Memorial Chapel, a lovely spot.

A day or two later Liz and Jesse kayaked the mile across the lake and hiked up the long, long hill and walked around the chapel. Was Jesse already planning his proposal and thinking of this as his wedding venue? Could be…

The proposal happened in Nafplio, Greece in October. Just before leaving for Greece, Jesse, always the polite young man his parents raised him to be, contacted Mike and Nance to share his intentions. (We knew before Liz did!)

Happy day. Wedding planning countdown begins!

Garrett Chapel receives hundreds of requests a year for wedding events, but Liz and Jesse’s application saying how much they loved Keuka earned them one of the few remaining spots. Planning was on!

Garrett Memorial Chapel, painted by Juliette Jardim! (Find Liz and Jesse in the picture.)

A month before the wedding, Marvin Anani was very busy. He visited Keuka to photograph Liz, Jesse, Paul, and Maynor in the Keuka triathlon and did the engagement shoot for Liz and Jesse in Virginia. (See photos from both at Marvin Anani‘s website)

Photo by Marvin Anani. Dogs from SBBS.

The couple quickly found a wedding planner, Nichole Dresser from Hammondsport, and a caterer, Jane Russell, from Around the Corner Catering, which is pretty much just around the corner from our house in Pulteney. These two ladies became immensely helpful, not only with their assigned tasks, but in providing ideas and support for many aspects of planning.

We booked Art and Missy Sable’s Manor House, just a few miles from our house, for a spot for Liz, Jesse, and many of the wedding guests to stay. We soon realized that it was a perfect location for the reception. We could set up a tent with beautiful views of the lake. Liz booked a luxury bathroom trailer from Crescent Moon Restrooms of Farmington. The tent came from Tailored Events in Canandaigua.

Looking out and looking in at the Manor House

Events began days before the wedding. Virginia and Philip, Jesse’s parents, arrived for a few days of assembly line wedding prep tasks broken up by paddle boarding competition. We picked blueberries at Jim Bedient’s Blueberry Patch near the top of the lake and made decorated jam for wedding guests.

Chris is now a fully certified jam-making expert. This is the “before” photo of one batch of jam.

Our long-time neighbor and friend, Sandy Pietropaoli, gave us some of her jars.

And the jam “after” photo with lavender or white covers (usable to loosen tight jar lids). Michael and Philip are now raffia artistes.

It was time for more prep at the Manor House, creating lavender garnishes to go around candle holders (made from Ball jars, many lent from Sandy), lavender sprigs tied around napkins, and lavender decorations for the chapel pews.

The warmth of the candles released lavender scents all evening.

Virginia also created personalized name “cards” from pieces of shale from Keuka Lake…when she wasn’t paddle boarding.

Local lavender and rocks

Thursday night, many of the folks who had already arrived in town gathered at the Waterfront restaurant to meet or remeet each other and enjoy the good food and lakeside ambiance. The restaurant is owned by the Sable family and easy walking distance from our house. (Check their website. It’s the same view with the same sailboats we see from our dock.)

Meghan, Liz, Nancy, Kathy at the Waterfront. Behind us is the bluff Liz and Jesse swam to.

Friday Liz’s NYU dance friends, Pamela and Colleen, hosted a ladies luncheon at Bully Hill Vineyards (1.6 miles from the Manor House) to help Liz transition from Miss to Mrs.

Pamela and Teddy made a tear-jerking speech at the luncheon.

Colleen celebrated Liz’s transition from Miss to Mrs. with a custom-designed t-shirt. The best truly is Yet to be.

Cousin Madison modeling the special shirt.

Liz, Jess, and Krystal at Bully Hill, a long way from the Lower East Side

From the luncheon it was on to rehearsal, with the Rev. Lynne Sharp, the Episcopal celebrant from Hammondsport’s St. James’ Episcopal Church reminding us all (mostly Liz and Jesse) to eat something the day of the wedding, stay hydrated, and not have any alcohol. (Note foreshadowing.)

Friday night things heated up with the rehearsal dinner, actually a pre-wedding reception for all wedding guests, with Marvin Anani the official rehearsal dinner photographer (and many others snapping candids).

Philip and Virginia getting in some precious hugs.

Jane catered the event with pulled pork and roasted corn, tasty food that fit the setting at the Abandon Brewing Company at the top of the lake, with local beer and wine. The great view from Abandon is the western branch of Keuka’s “Y.”

The SBBS team, able to relax together.

Leslie, our new friend from the lavender field, provided beautiful yellow and red flowers from her personal garden, with a bit of dill added in.

Colleen and Gavin enjoying the flowers (or about to eat them). The dill IS edible…

We learned that it wouldn’t be a Jardim-Charlton gathering without an impromptu music fest. We closed the place down with full stomachs and a festive mood.

Juliette and Michael creating music. Liz and Jesse dancing. Marvin Anani finding an innovative view from above at Abandon.

Before dawn Saturday the rains came. Our thought: There goes the wedding! Au contraire. By 8AM the sun was shining and the skies were clear. Chris was dispatched to Wegmans for impromptu wedding cakes. Nothing was reserved, which could have been catastrophic, but Wegmans (and Chris!) came through, as always. Philip and Jonathan picked more Bedient berries to garnish the cakes and the ladies of SBBS decorated. (Thanks, Lauren and Sarah.)

Can’t beat Wegmans cake and Bedient berries. Note the doggie caketopper.

The SBBS gang was working on last-minute setup at the Manor House. It included a team effort to help get Jesse ready for the wedding.

Joe, Maynor, Jesse, with Christian doing a final “inspection.”

Liz’s Aunt Kathy and Uncle Stephen invited the bride to get ready for the wedding in the historic 1870 Stonehouse they had rented, conveniently located rolling-down-the-hill distance from Abandon. Kathy arranged for Tabitha of Tropic Salon of Penn Yan to do hair.

The before photo of the bride. Lots of after shots to follow…

Liz’s village of friends (Krystal, Colleen, Devon, and Jess) did makeup.

The makeup team, nicely made-up.

Kathy put on a major spread to meet the “eat something and stay hydrated” requirements, but ignored the third part of Lynne’s advice.

A pre-wedding champagne toast.

Liz’s dress was by Nicole Miller and made in the USA. She picked it out from Lovely Bride in Washington, D.C with help from her grandmother Marcia and Aunt Linda. Susie, a neighbor of SBBS in Del Ray took care of tailoring her dress and Jesse’s suit.

Pretty on the hanger, even prettier on the bride.

Her veil was handmade by Emily of Bride’s Head Revisited. Jesse arranged for beautiful custom rings from Dejan Studio Jewelry.

Liz’s rings from Jesse: one-of-a-kind expressions of love, devotion, and commitment.

We picked up the wedding flowers from Mrs. Hoover, just around the corner from the Stonehouse. This lovely Amish lady and her daughters worried that the rains would ruin their flowers before they could be picked. In fact, they provided 20 beautiful arrangements and flowers for Liz’s bouquet!

One of many unique flower arrangements from Mrs. Hoover

It was time to work at the Stonehouse, finishing up the bouquet and making boutonnieres. Lynn Rhatigan McVey, the official wedding crasher, and Meghan showed off their Etsyable skills.

Liz’s bouquet of snapdragons, larkspur, alyssum, and more. Lavender, of course!

Meghan and Lynn finally resting after putting together a couple dozen boutonnieres.

Meghan giving Liz a final pep talk (scream) before the wedding.

On to the wedding at Garrett Memorial Chapel.

Happily anticipating the big event.

Liz walked down the aisle with musical accompaniment from Jesse’s cousin Connor.

Among other songs, Connor played the theme from Princess Bride, which Liz heard countless times as an infant waking up for feedings during the night.

Liz’s brother Chris and Jesse’s brother Jonathan ushered. Grandmother Marcia, Liz’s Uncle Stephen, and Jesse’s Aunt Judy did readings.

Aunt Judy doing a reading from the Song of Solomon inside the beautiful Garrett Memorial Chapel.

Marcia’s heartfelt improvised additions praised Liz and Jesse and even brought SBBS into the ceremony. Pamela and Sal’s son James was the ring bearer. He did so well he was rewarded with candy.

“I’m the ring bear.”

The simple and elegant ceremony was officiated by Lynne (the celebrant, not the crasher), with a homily by Jesse’s grandfather, the Rt. Reverend Charlton, stressing the importance of forgiveness in a marriage.

It’s official. Elizabeth Bach O’Connell and Jesse Duncan Jardim are wed!

The reception at the Manor House began with Jane’s appetizers, mostly local: rainbow chard pastries, zucchini and carrot patés, cheeses, and so much more. The signature drink of Lavender French 75 had lavender ice cubes. (Lavender…the gift that keeps on giving!)

Meghan, Chris, and Tom comparing how many Lavender 75s each had had. Tom, 10, really?

Nichole and her right-hand-man, her husband Steve, orchestrated the evening. Steve’s emergency skills as a Hammondsport fireman were not needed, but it was nice to know we had a professional on the site. Liz’s brother Pat MC’d the evening with a sound system from Revolution Music Shop in Bath.

Pat and his girlfriend, Jordan, before the MC duties started.

Liz and Jesse entered the tent to the appropriate song of Jesse’s Girl, with Liz twirling to the max.

Is she happy, or what?

Jane’s dinner included tenderloin from Bedient Farms (a different Bedient) cooked to perfection, roasted vegetables from Hoover Farm (the same Hoover), lovely lentils, and multiple salads. Liz, the one-time vegetarian, does love her vegetables! Wines came from the two wineries nearest our home: Dr. Konstantin Frank on the hill behind the house and Ravines on the hill just opposite the house, a mile across the lake, or 22 miles by car. Beer was from Finger Lakes Beer Company, whose owner happens to live about six houses up the lake from us.

Michael and Liz danced to Tiny Dancer, so appropriate after nearly 20 years of seeing Liz dance in recitals and performances. Jesse and Virginia danced to Forever Young. Jesse and Liz danced to You Send Me, fitting for Jesse and Elizabeth, with all the travel that they do together.

Mr. and Mrs. Jardim dance their first dance…of many to come.

Sunny Sleuth, Sherlock Bones, and Dr. Angelica Spotson from SBBS joined the crowd for an outdoor photo shoot in front of beautiful lake views while official wedding photographer Erich Camping (of Rochester) and a cast of hundreds took pictures.

Liz, Jesse, and the dogs of SBBS (#dogsofSBBS) have a quiet moment in front of the Keuka view.

Liz’s Uncle Tom took live action videos with his mountain bike GoPro cameras. Michael welcomed everyone to the Keuka Lake wedding of the year.

Are we happy, or what?

Jesse toasted the guests with Dr. Frank’s champagne. Juliette, Meghan, Sung, and Jess O. provided warm and witty toasts as well. Guests wined and dined and danced and mingled.

Speeches, serenading, sitting, and standing on one’s head? (Marvin Anani is also a hip hop dancer in his spare time.) Truly a good time.

We finished the evening with the cakes, some special pastries from Jane, coffee from Keuka Lake Coffee Roasters, and another Dr. K. champagne. Maynor, once a bartender, made some killer after-hours drinks. As expected, a good time was had by all. Lots of planning, love and support from friends and relatives, and reliable local suppliers made it happen.

The rest of the world found out about the wedding couple, how they met, and plans for the wedding in their announcement in the New York Times. An infatuation, not an infestation! (We wager this is the first time the word infestation has appeared on the New York Times wedding page.)

Jesse and Liz with the bed-bug-hunting chick magnets, Sunny and Sherlock (read the NYT announcement to understand)

This wedding stuff was so much fun that Liz and Jesse wanted to have another ceremony, this one making the big marriage leap from the dock at Keuka.

They’re all in.

All the best to the new Mr. and Mrs. Jardim!

P.S. The couple headed to Canada for their honeymoon but returned early to spend a few days with Sunny and Sherlock and Mike and Nance back on Keuka Lake. The last bit of lavender was baths for the dogs with Dr. Bronner’s lavender soap.

Sunny gets a much-needed lavender bath.

A big thanks to all the suppliers and a final thanks to Marvin Anani, Sung Park, Erich Camping, and all the others who shared their photos of the events to #lizjesse2015.

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged Abandon Brewing Company, Around the Corner Catering, Bedient Farms, Bride's Head Revisited, Bully Hill Vineyards, Crescent Moon Restrooms, Dejan Studio Jewelry, Dr. Konstantin Frank, Erich Camping, Finger Lakes, Finger Lakes Beer Company, Garrett Memorial Chapel, Hoover Farms, Italy Hill Farms, Jim Bedient's Blueberry Patch, Keuka Lake, Keuka Lake Coffee Roasters, Keuka Lake wedding, lavender, Lavender French 75, Lovely Bride, Manor House, Marvin Anani, New York Times, Ravines, Revolution Music Shop, Sandy Pietropaoli, SBBS, St. James' Episcopal Church, Stonehouse, Tailored Events, Tropic Salon, Waterfront, wedding, wedding planning, Wegmans | 12 Comments

Like snowflakes, no two mistral bells are alike

Posted on July 26, 2015 by noconbach

The mistral is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows around the south of France through Provence and the Rhone Valley. Winds can reach 60 miles an hour or more and last for days at a time. To protect their beloved churches against these strong winds, communities install elaborate iron cages for their church bells. The wind can bluster through the open iron work so the bell isn’t knocked onto some unwitting resident’s head.

Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey outside Grasse on the way to Gorges du Verdon.

Every mistral bell is a bit different. Some towns have additional artwork, as in Comps-sur-Artuby, with a wooden French flag atop the bell. Note the mural showing a baker at the boulangerie/patisserie.

Comps-sur-Artuby returning from Gorges du Verdon

Gorges du Verdon, of course, is the “Grand Canyon” of France. It’s easy to understand how the wind could rush through this long, deep valley.

Aiguines, Portes des Gorges du Verdon

Even the tiniest towns have their bells. Rougon has a population of about 100 (up from 40 in 1975) although it may have been as big as 500 people when the bell was installed.

Rougon, top of Gorges du Verdon

Why are these bells here? One theory (mine) is that blacksmiths no longer had horses to shoe, so they convinced their communities to fund other work in the form of these bells.

Antibes

In some cases, the mistral bell is just next to a conventional bell tower. If the brick bell tower can survive, why was the mistral tower needed?

Grasse

Wealthier towns, such as Nice, have their mistral bells integrated with other features: clocktowers, flags, domes.

Nice

In Avignon, once the papal residence, the mistral sits atop a tall Gothic tower.

Avignon

In several spots in Provence we saw statues of Frédéric Mistral, a Provençal poet who lived from 1830 to 1914. It seemed certain that there would be a connection between the poet and this poetry of construction, but apparently not.

Menerbes, the village perche overlooking Peter Mayle’s home when he spent A Year in Provence.

When I was trying to find information about mistral bells I ran across this note online from someone in Chicago:“Frederic Mistral and Peter Mayle both died in my garden.” Oh, no! On the one hand, what an unfortunate homeowner to have two famous people pass away in her garden. Was she feeding them foxglove? On the other hand, as I write this, Peter Mayle is 75 and alive. What gives? It turns out these are two varieties of roses. Frederic Mistral is a delicate pink while Peter Mayle is a deep pink.

Roussillon, near Menerbes

Our personal experience with the mistral wind was in Saint-Tropez on the Mediterranean coast. The public parking lot was along a pier jutting into the ocean. The wind whipped up the sea and gave our car a lovely coat of salt, Michael too, on his walk back from parking. Interestingly, we had the bluest, clearest skies during this time, with views to the distant mountains. The mistral wind must drive away clouds and particulate in the air.

Sainte Maxime. Note the rose window.

In contrast to the open structure keeping their bells from being harmed by the mistral winds, residents protect their homes with a thick-walled building style known as a mas, facing south for protection from the winds coming from the north. Our friends, the Youngs, told us that the mistral can last 1, 3 or 6 days and make people crazy.

Eygalieres

We stayed in a mas in the Luberon. Our host also shared stories of the mistral, saying it could last 1, 3, 6, or even 9 days, which would surely drive a man mad. Maybe it was the mistral making us crazy enough to have an addiction for capturing photos of the mistral bells. We loved driving into towns, eyes glued to the skyline, looking for the distinctive shape. It’s hard to break the habit, even back in the U.S.

near Silver Spring, Maryland

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged France, mistral bell, Provence, wind | Leave a comment

The Italian Riviera, with pastel homes and pink meerkats

Posted on May 23, 2015 by noconbach

When you get to Monaco it’s a short hop, skip, and jump to Italy, so we did!*

First stop Genoa, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, home of our favorite salami, and once the site of Kodak’s European digital center.

Where would we be without this man, Cristoforo Columbo?

Nancy visited the Kodak site here in 2001. Her dad was actually stationed in Genoa shortly during World War II. His experiences in the city were quite different from ours, but quite memorable. For anyone visiting then or now, the St. Lawrence Cathedral creates a striking impression. We wondered why it had the distinctive stripes and found this research on striped churches (from Brisbane, no less) that suggests it’s similar to the “Does this striped skirt make my butt look big?” effect. The horizontal stripes make the church look larger and more impressive and authoritative. We noticed stripes on multiple other churches later in Italy and France.

St. Lawrence Cathedral, Genoa Italy

The first church on this site was built sometime prior to the 6th century. This church is from around 1100. Miraculously when a bomb landed inside during World War II, it didn’t explode. The shell has a place of honor in the church symbolizing grace and gratitude.

Piazza De Ferrari at the heart of Genoa, a major tourist and commercial center

Another major Genovese gathering spot is the Piazza della Vittoria, Victory Square. Here a triumphal arch was erected to honor the patriots of World War I (1915 to 1918 in the inscription).

Piazza della Vittoria (Victory Square)

South of Genoa, we stopped in Portofino. This required taking a ferry, much more fun than taking a car to this remote coastal village. Portofino is a tall, straight up and down harbor town, a “fine port.” Here we saw the first of many coastal Italian towns with colorful pastel buildings.

Arrive by boat and select from many restaurants.

Pastels also show up in other odd places. Or maybe this is more neon pink than pastel.

Pink meerkats at the Portofino Sculpture Garden. Why? We don’t know. It’s Italian.

Despite the eclectic modern art, Portofino is a traditional old town. We stopped at a spot on one side of the port and a young waiter told us his family had owned the restaurant for eight generations. Later on the other side of the port we met someone who looked a lot like him. (Do all Italians look alike to Americans?) It was his twin brother at another family restaurant. In Portofino we discovered Aperol Spritz, a distinctly Italian drink, very sweet and refreshing. It will be the drink of the summer at Keuka Lake.

Aperol Spritz: 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, splash of soda.

Then we moved on to Cinque Terre, the five villages perched along the coast. Cinque Terre means five lands. The villages could be called Cinque Terrazos since they are all terraced up from the ocean. The first challenge was learning all five names: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. Hiking from village to village along the clifftop trails is the big draw to the region.

Our home base was in Riomaggiore (the name rolls off the tongue with a bit of Italian lilt). We stayed just inside the town gate way up the hill from the port. Cars are not really allowed in the narrow street so we walked down to the port and train station (and the long way up at the end of the day).

From the port, looking up into the village of Riomaggiore with more pastel homes.

The next town is Manarola. It should be a 15-minute walk between towns, but the famed shoreline hike, Via dell’Amore, has been closed for some time because of rockslides. (We saw workers repairing other hiking trails and can understand how difficult and time-consuming it is to make repairs on these paths. But darn it, anyway.) The train between the towns takes about a minute. A ferry runs up and down the shoreline stopping at four of the five villages.

Manarola as the sun sets, taken from the terrace restaurant of Nessun Dorma, a great spot!

We hiked from Manarola to Corniglia, climbing many stairs to the top of the cliff, walking through terraced vineyards, and then descending on a primitive path to the village.

There is a bus up from the coastal town of Manarola to the hiking level high on the cliff at Volastra, but we decided to do the stairs rather than wait an hour. LOTS of stairs!

Hiking views from Manarola to Corniglia. The vines were just starting to show buds. The trail was delightfully rugged.

The middle town of Corniglia is perched so high on the cliff that it isn’t even served by the ferry that runs along the coastline of Cinque Terre. Even so, it’s still a long walk down from the hiking trail.

Corniglia from above.

After the long walk and tiring stairs, we deserved a break, right? More Aperol spritzes.

Aperol Spritz in Corniglia, from Bar Terza Terra, a new favorite.

Although the full hike from Riomaggiore to Monterosso can nominally be done in about five hours, we took the ferry to the other two towns. This gave us great views from the water.

The fourth town of Vernazza is a fishing village that has the largest port of the five towns. The story behind the different colors on the adjacent homes is that fishermen coming to port after a long day at sea want to be able to easily identify which home is theirs so they can see if their wives are busily making dinner…or making “amour” with the baker.

Vernazza, with the church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia

The fifth village of Cinque Terre is Monterosso al Mare. This village has both the traditional old town and a newer section complete with a modern resort with room for a beach. In the photo below, the arched roadway is actually the train tracks. The ferry arrives to the left. In the mountains behind, hiking trails come down from the heights, but there doesn’t seem to be any possibility for access by car. (There is a narrow road.)

Monterosso al Mare from the sea

Another striped church, Church of San Giovanni Battista, in Monterosso. Note the pretty rose window too.

Returning from Cinque Terra we made one final Italian stop in Sanremo. When we drove through here in 2001 we noticed the hundreds of greenhouses. They’re still here. Sanremo is known for its extra-virgin olive oil. (Look for a special destination of origin on the label.) It’s also known as the City of Flowers and hosts an international flower market, thus explaining all the greenhouses.

Greenhouses in Sanremo

Flower harvest is underway in Sanremo

In our original ’round the world planning we didn’t expect a stop in Italy, but it turned out to be a very pleasant treat, well worth the sidetrip.

Farewell to Italy, back to the grind of travel in France! (from Manarola looking out over the Ligurian Sea)

*We took a brief hiatus with the blog, so these posts are a bit delayed and out of order. We are already back in the US but the memories are still with us.

Posted in Travel Journal | Tagged Aperol, Cinque Terre, Genoa, Italy, Portofino, Sanremo | Leave a comment

Monaco, a city, a country, a principality, and a way of life

Posted on April 29, 2015 by noconbach

Monaco is already setting up for the big Grand Prix Formula One car race in late May. The course runs right through the town, with hairpin turns on narrow European streets.

Driving on the twisting course just in front of the port.

When you watch the race, look for this statue of an Olympic Diver, le Plongeur Olympique, by Emma de Sigaldi. It’s also on a 1986 stamp.

And then there is the port itself, with LOTS of big boats. Most are in a clean-up mode with crew readying them for the arrival of their owners or celebrity guests.

High-density living

While the boats above are almost rubbing shoulders, people are actually quite crowded here. Monaco has the highest population density of any sovereign state in the world. (Macau is higher, but it’s part of China. Surprisingly, Hong Kong is lower than both.)

Boats within boats. A full-size ski boat and pontoon boat, with at least one Jet-Ski off to the side.

Some boats are still hiring crew, particularly pretty young stewardesses with French skills.

Nancy delivers her CV. What the heck! It’s worth a shot. When we walked past two hours later, there were three more CVs…for slightly younger applicants.

Why are there so many people here? One reason is that Monaco is a tax haven. It has no personal income tax and low business taxes. And of course, there is gambling. Didn’t James Bond frequent the Casino de Monte-Carlo in Casino Royale?

Another view of the port from high on a hill. One of the big boats in the port belongs to the prince.

Another view of the port from high on a hill. Nicely framed, don’t you think?

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée, or Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Grace Kelly was married and is buried here.

Does this gargoyle look a bit like a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz?

The Monaco Courthouse, next to the church

The Palais Princier de Monaco is the royal palace where the actress Grace Kelly lived after marrying Prince Rainier. Quite a difference from Hollywood.

The grand palace in Monaco…

Ready to defend against any 1800s attack.

The changing of the guard. No pom-poms on their shoes.

Monaco is full of gardens. And the gardens are full of sculptures.

We’ve heard of the bald eagle, the American eagle, and now the rainbow eagle.

Another bronze sculpture by Emma de Sigaldi. This time instead of a le plongeur, it’s la pieuvre, an octopus.

Another Arman deconstruction, like we saw in Nice and Antibes.

An ancient mariner

A hooded monk. It’s actually Francesco Grimaldi, ready to seize “the Rock”

The Ligure people might have been living on the rocky peninsula of Monaco since 400,000 B.C. Later it was a Greek colony, probably from about the 6th century B.C. Then it was under Roman rule and Genoese (Genova). In the late 1200s, Francesco Grimaldi of Genoa snuck in wearing a monk’s cloak and let his men into the fortress to attack and take over the area. The Grimaldis have maintained control of Monaco for about 700 years.

A bear, not in the woods. Why?

A bit of female vanity

Prince Rainier III was a Grimaldi heir. He took over the throne in 1949 and made international headlines when he married the actress Grace Kelly in 1956, much to the chagrin of her fans since she stopped acting and became Princess Grace. She died in 1982, but Prince Rainier ruled until 2005. Their son Albert (same age as Michael) took over the princedom.

Lovers

Monaco was in a bit of a pickle in the early 2000s. Prince Albert was the successive heir but he was not married and had no legitimate children. (He did have two illegitimate kids.) If he had died, the principality would have lost its independence and become a protectorate of the French Republic. Laws were rewritten to allow his sister (and her heirs) to succeed to the throne, but the need has now been eliminated. Prince Albert fell in love with a South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock, they married in 2011,

More lovers.

The royal couple just had twins in December of 2014, a girl, and, most importantly, a boy. Hooray. The princedom is saved and they will all live happily ever after. As of April 27, 2015, you can buy a stamp of the new royal family.

The babies may have made the most important achievements of their lives, just by being born.

Leaving Monaco along the Formula One course.

All this and we didn’t even visit the casino in Monte Carlo. We left that for Kathy and Lynn!

Posted in Travel Journal | Tagged boats, Monaco, sculptures | Leave a comment

Eygalieres – Leaving Saint-Remy

Posted on April 28, 2015 by noconbach

We stayed in our pied-a-terre in Saint-Remy again for a few days. Great airbnb hosts and a convenient spot next to a fantastic boulanger for morning croissants. Where Saint-Remy-de-Provence ends in the east, Eygalieres begins. The hilltop village has just over 1,000 people, with a large shrine to the Virgin Mary atop a 12th-century chapel.

Mary, atop the Sainte-Sixte chapel in Eygalieres

Mary withstands the wind and rain in her lofty position.

The town, of course, has a mistral bell. Very important today with the strong mistral winds blowing through.

The mountains, Les Alpilles, tower in the background.

We passed through the “suburbs” and found some interesting sights. Things have changed in just a couple weeks since our last visit.

Before and after. No buds on the trees in early April. Luscious green foliage now.

In fact, the trees are starting to form the magnificent green tunnel that characterizes so many smaller roads in France.

Just above these waterfalls, this canal splits into two. The other leg is the canal we walked along near the Van Gogh museum in Saint-Remy.

Note the bright green moss under the falls.

While we’re waiting for the lavender to bloom, we’re seeing lots of flowers in the same hues. The lavender-colored wisteria was lovely. Now it’s already passing its peak. Today we have lilacs! Just like the ones in Rochester, New York, the Flower City. Almost time for Rochester’s Lilac Festival.

The mistral winds today are blowing all the beautiful scent from the blooms.

We have found lavender irises too.

Along the roadside, growing wild, or so it seems.

No wonder Van Gogh was inspired by their beauty and irregularity.

We have also found les taureaux, the bulls, in the wild, or actually at a farm.

Massive horns on a not-so-big body. This one looks so peaceful.

We wondered if these were bulls being bred for la corrida, the bullfight. They seem rather docile.

There are so many! And they don’t seem angry at all. Could they be females? Les Tauresses?

Speaking of bulls…pit bull…Brad Pitt, it’s reported that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have purchased a farmhouse here. No sign of them so far.

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged bulls, church, Eygalieres, France, irises, lilacs, waterfall | Leave a comment

Celebs have arrived in Saint-Tropez!

Posted on April 26, 2015 by noconbach

We heard that two famous people were coming to Saint-Tropez for just one day so we returned to our first home in France to be their official paparazzi team.

From our spot across the water in Sainte-Maxime, we watched the jumbo yacht sail in.

We raced around the Gulf of Saint-Tropez to await their arrival at the port

It’s her! Kathy is here!

And Lynnie too!

They brought their bodyguards.

We wait for their arrival at the next photo spot.

The photographer scouts out the best lighting for les photos.

It’s Kathy and Lynn! They have arrived again. This time a smaller yacht has brought them to the restaurant.

Not any restaurant, but the tres chic, Le Club 55.

Le Panier de Crudites, DIY salad

More wine for the ladies, please!

Le dessert, three-berry tart: Strawberries, raspberries, and strawberries of the forest (wild)

The celebs step to the beach for a post-lunch photo shoot with the crew.

Then it’s on to “le shopping.”

Le shopping! Kathy sports her new tres chic chapeau.

Lynn has chosen a slightly different style, also tres chic.

Mon marie (my husband) Michael Bach (if he had changed his name when we married).

After watching boules, it’s one more stop at Le Sporting.

All too soon the day is over. Kathy and Lynn are back on board the yacht for an evening of dancing.

Au revoir! All of Saint-Tropez misses you!

Posted in Smell the Roses | Tagged France, Le Club 55, Saint-Tropez | 1 Comment

Gorges du Verdon, a very grand canyon in France

Posted on April 25, 2015 by noconbach

Les Gorges du Verdon is France’s version of the Grand Canyon. There are a number of similarities. In both cases, a relatively small river has etched its way through several thousand feet of limestone, leaving a wide gorge with walls of colored sedimentary stripes.

Note the small trail of blue-green, the Verdon River in the valley of Gorges du Verdon.

Gorges du Verdon means gorge of the Verdon River. The word Verdon plays on the greenness of the water. Its similar to the blue-green of the glacial waters we’ve seen in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Here the river is fairly narrow and shallow, up to 2,000 feet below the top of the gorge, and slipping underground at times. The drive around the gorge allows access close to the river level, quite a bit closer than our views from the top of the Grand Canyon in Arizona into the gorge a mile below.

This tiny river has done a lot of work eroding the rock to make the canyon.

Just as the Rockies were formed by geological uplift, this area of Provence was lifted out of the sea to form mountains. Note the pitch of the layers in the rock behind Michael below.

Plenty of walking paths and climbing faces along and above the river.

Surprisingly, these rocky expanses are full of trees, shrubs, and even flowers.

Early spring flowers growing out of…rock.

The whole path is lined with wild thyme, with a lovely smell.

And the views are spectacular.

Alps in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

In mid-April, there is still a little snow on the peaks.

In the mid-1970s, the river was dammed to provide electric power and a water supply. Water covered the small village of Salles sur Verdon and the residents were removed to a new village on the hillside. The result was the beautiful blue-green Lac de Sainte-Croix.

Lac de Sainte-Croix

Taking a photo of his loved one in front of the scenic view of the lake.

Just as important as its utility uses are the lake’s tourist opportunities.

Boating is popular, but only electric or human-powered.

Beautiful, sunny day. Perfect for a pedalo ride.

The Pont de l’Artuby is popular for bungee jumping (Saut à l’elastique).

In the Haute (high) region is the tiny town of Rougon, with a population of 114 people, an unknown number of goats.

Rougon, a tiny town on the top of a mountain.

Person number 65 created this shield for the city.

Rougon’s goats

Isidore Blanc is one of the men credited with first exploring and charting the full Gorges du Verdon in 1905. He’s honored at several points on the trail and here in Rougon where he was a schoolteacher (when the population was more than 300).

Stone, wood, and flowers, a Rougon doorway.

The “lavoir” is one of Rougon’s main attractions. It’s a great spot to wash your clothes.

With only 114 people in the town, we didn’t know if we would find a restaurant or at least one that was open. Then we stumbled on a creperie known as Le Mur d’Abeilles, the Wall of Beeboxes.

The little boxes were once used for keeping bees.

We couldn’t beat the views. Birds of prey soared over the valley.

How many ridges can you see?

So relaxing in the sun on the mountains.

Michael is “having a moment” with his ice cream break atop the mountain.

Posted in Smell the Roses, Travel Journal | Tagged France, Gorges du Verdon, Isidore Blanc, Lac de Sainte-Croix, mountains, river, Rougon | 1 Comment