Not a spelling error. Today was pretty much a day of just deserts. The first was Gaza. Not a desert in the conventional sense perhaps, but a barren and desolate-looking place nonetheless, where living conditions are needlessly harsh and inhospitable. We stood on a hill and trained our binoculars at the closed-off city not an…

We are here, it is amazing, and I feel fine. So glad I did not turn tail and come home. Got in around 4 pm yesterday. It is WARM here. Nice after chilly Paris. Our hotel, the Dan Panorama, is on the sea, which is the only nice thing I can say about it. This…

Fast, cheap, and easy. In the US that describes the way we eat. In France the way they eat is way more time consuming and complex but, boy, the medical system here is a snap. I am still feeling kind of punk. My hotel called a doctor for me and they apologized that it would…

Amazing food day, and I barely even got out of bed, once I got myself into it. We flew into Paris at about 6 am and it was pitch dark. Still dark when our train got into the city about an hour later. Walked to the Relais St. Germain from the St. Michel stop and…

We are home now and I am happy to be here. There’s no place like it, and all that. But I have to say it was an utterly fabulous vacation. I loved every single minute. A couple of great food moments I didn’t get blogged in real time. Shopping with the Chef in Valencia was…

There aren’t a lot of places that, when I leave them, I can say with any confidence that I shall not pass this way again. But with Ibiza, I am pretty sure. Despite the fact that we had an absolutely terrific lunch here, a place that goes by the nickname “the party island” and I…

Today is a long day at sea and my vow to myself is to stay away from the huge lunch buffet they stage to keep us entertained. Don’t need it, don’t want it, don’t even like it. So there. Yesterday we got off the ship for a few hours at Sete, which is a seaside…

Spent a couple days reading The Cuckoo’s Calling by J. K. Rowling. Really, really enjoyed it — fun start to a new detective series — but it means I haven’t been a very faithful blogger. We have been back-tracking a bit with this second ten day segment of the cruise. From Marseille to Le Lavandou…

[From July 28 — having some Internet issues.] Day 10 of a 20 day cruise for us, docked in Marseille. Some people who have had their 10, 20, 30 or whatever days already are leaving the ship here. Others are embarking for their own cruises of varying durations. Mean of me, but I am hoping…

Yesterday morning we were in Livorno, about 90 minutes from Florence. Dinner at the Colonnade (the less formal dining room with lots of outdoor tables) that night was going to be a Tuscan Market Dinner, and the ships’s executive chef, Franck Sollazzo, was going shopping with 20 of his hungry customers, two of whom were…

I have always thought I disliked marzipan. Maybe I do, or maybe I just haven’t tried any good stuff, because it turns out I LOVE what the Italians describe as Sicilian marzipan cookies. Fior di mandorla (or pasta di mandorla) are little bites of toothsome sweetness, like a coconut macaroon with ground almonds instead. They…

If it seems like I am ignoring the meals on the Seabourn Quest, it’s only because our lunches off of it have been so magnificent. Last night we ate at the Patio Grill by the pool — Jer had barbecued shortribs and I had a great salad and grilled vegetables. This morning I had the…