Plan B

Plan B

…or maybe Plan C, in any event, oftentimes things just don’t always work out as originally intended or planned.
..and so the story goes…

John and I spent about nine days in the beginning of January traveling in London and Paris. Originally we had reservations to fly San Luis Obispo – San Francisco-London and then spend three days in London. John reserved the train from London (through the chunnel uuuugghh..) to Paris and then immediately catch the TGV to Aix in Provence where he booked the Hotel Cezanne. We would spend a couple days in Aix and then Avignon and back to Paris, two days there and then back to San Francisco and on to SLO. A perfectly planned vacation! …….

Soooo, on our departure date John went online to check on the flights from SLO to SFO and he noticed that that fog was causing delays on all flights into San Francisco. He started to stress even more as he noticed that the delays were now two – three hours and our 3:30p flight was delayed to 5:00p. YIKES! …we had to connect to British Airways in SF for our flight to London and the media was stressing the need to be at the airport for international flights 2 – 3 hours prior to scheduled departure. The internet was saying that all flights were 2-3 hours delayed and when he called the airline they told him that all the flights we actually on time and that he shouldn’t stress or worry, just be at the SLO airport about an hour prior to departure..hmmm
What to do?
John jumped in the car and sped to the airport to find out what was what and indeed, all flights were backed up and delayed, but they told him there was space on the 11:00a flight that was leaving a 1:30p and so hurry up and check in and go. ZOOOOOM! John raced home, yelled at me to grab our stuff and then at Andrew to drive us to the airport because we have to leave “NOW” and off we went back to the airport. We arrived at the airport and not only had that flight left and no agent was around BUT in addition, in his state of mindful stress John had left all our travel documents on his desk at home……. eeeeekkkkk
Ok. Plan B……..
Race back home, pick up travel docs, hug Andrew and dogs good bye and drive to San Francisco and pray that there would be no traffic in San Jose nor on the peninsula, park in long term parking at SFO and be on time for the flight on BA to London. First time driving in under three hours from SLO to SF…I think the Range Rover had wings! Plus, we arrived at SFO and guess what! the BA flight was delayed because of security in London. Time to relax, have a glass of wine, a snack and chill.
A perfect flight to London – I watched Julie and Julia twice

We arrived in London…brrrrrrrrr the coldest winter on record in Britain! At our little hotel we checked in and dragged our bags up four stories to our room. The radiator had been turned on awaiting our arrival, so it must have been 95 degrees in our little itty bitty tiny room. We opened the window and attempted to turn off the radiator, but the knob was underneath the desk and neither John nor I could squeeze underneath. Through the open window, though, we saw the most beautiful snow flakes silently falling…and it was so fresh out. Back in our room, we smiled about the heater and the bathroom - when you sat on the toilet your knees were in the shower and the sink was the size of a dinner plate . But, really! What the heck! We were in London, jet lagged but excited to begin our adventure! I put on my new gray boots, looking quite Euro -trendy, and off we went to explore, eat and drink! One step out the door I slipped on the ice and then the next step I did the same ….Plan B. I ran up the four flights of stairs to our room and put on my UGG boots. Less Euro-trendy, but I didn’t slip and my feet stayed cozy and dry. I wore those UGG boots the entire trip!

London was fabulous! Pubs and Guinness, H & M stores, pubs and Guinness, trendy Soho, Picadilly Circus but, sadly, an unsuccessful search for a favorite East Indian Curry restaurant was had been dying to revisit. We did have curry, though, and the next day we did lots of walking, pubs and Guinness and that night we saw Wicked at the Victoria Theatre (lots of fun!). We took a cab back from the theatre, but the Cabbie was stopped by a Bobbie for running a red light, and again “Plan B” we had to walk in the snow and cold back to our little hotel. It was really peaceful and lovely out, though, and the walk back gave us time to hold hands, snuggle and reminisce about Wicked.

The Brits were warm and friendly but the whole UK was quite taken aback by the brutal storms and cold weather. The third morning, early, we taxied to St. Pancreas train station for the train to Paris. We arrived in great time, grabbed a coffee, did some Facebooking and hopped on the train. We were served a lovely, light breakfast of smoked salmon and breads and other goodies and we watched the English villages, covered in snow, fly by. But then, the train stopped and the then came the announcement , ”We will be returning to London as a train has broken down in the chunnel and the all trains are cancelled for the remainder of the day.” Back to London we go. Plan B

St. Pancreas was filled with misplaced travelers trying to figure out their “Plan B”, as were we. It was a bit confusing…well really, a lot confusing, but our Plan B took us to the Sofitel Hotel and to one of the most beautiful hotel rooms we have ever stayed in. The shower was bigger than our last hotel’s entire room, heated towel bars, and many other elegant features that made this experience really special. We asked the concierge to recommend a favorite curry restaurant and to make a reservation for us and we stepped out (in my Uggs again) to lots of fresh snow and around the corner, Big Ben, bigger than life right in front of us. Amazing! We walked and walked inhaling the history surrounding the Thames, Westminster Cathedral, three hundred year old pubs (and Guinness), a snow covered St. James Park and the Houses of Parliament. We walked to Oxford Street and Regents Street, Carnaby Street and found another pub and a Guinness and yet another H&M store. A really fun day!

That evening we got directions to the restaurant that the concierge reserved for us - about a mile away……and there it was! The restaurant that we had remembered and loved and had hoped to find _ Mela! The young waiter was so attentive and we had pappadums and tandoori and nan and an assortment of hot and spicy, wickedly delicious Indian foods. With full tummies we smiled and giggled about the serendipity of our Plan B – an totally unplanned extra day in London.

Early the next morning, back to St Pancreas hoping that the trains would be running. They were, but were once again delayed and delayed and we missed all connections to Provence. Plan B, again. This time the new plan was to just stay put in Paris for four days and hope for a full refund for all our unused train tickets.

The hotel that John had reserved in Paris actually had vacancy for our two day early arrival, so we checked in, I threw on my UGGS again and went off to explore Paris. Needless to say, Paris is magical even in the dead of winter, in the snow and with the wind blowing to a chill of about 15 degrees (for California peeps that is mighty, mighty cold!). For the next few days we did lots of exploring and shopping, ate fresh croissants, baguettes with butter an jam, and Café au Lait for breakfast and dined at charming bistros in the evenings. Our friend, and winemaker extraordinaire Mike Sinor, Facebooked us and recommended Willi’s Wine Bar, so we googled it and hoofed maybe three miles (getting lost, of course) and found the little wine bistro hidden on a tiny street somewhere behind the Louvre. The repast at Willi’s was beyond the beyond as was the wine, the service and the ambiance. We walked back and stood on the footbridge crossing the Seine and counted our blessings for how truly lucky we were to be in PARIS, the glorious City of Lights.

The next few days were filled with the Eiffel Tower, Tuilleries Garden, cruising the Champs-élysées, Arc de Triumph, having a drink at the Hotel George V, onion soup, fondue with about two loaves of bread, and a fabulous pizza with an egg on top at a bistro across the Champs from the Louis Vuitton Showcase Store. Magical, I mean really really magical!

The last “Plan B” was that the flight from Paris to SFO was delayed a few due to high security checks on all international flights, so instead of driving back to SLO we, jetlagged and giddy, stayed overnight in Carmel.

We truly had a bon voyage of Plan B’s!

En fin, I agree with the old cliché "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” and sanction that “Plan B” can be better than the best laid original plan.

Celebrate Plan B!

……
February – Love, Valentines and Cupcakes, Mardi Gras fun and some stellar wines

Valentine’s Weekend is President’s weekend, a three -day weekend followed closely by Mardi Gras. So much fun in such a few days!

We do have a couple of Valentine’s treats: one; “Amy Bakes Cupcakes” will be surprising us at Petit with some special treats from her kitchen and two; Caroline Dahlberg ,a beloved guest of ours and blogger extraordinaire, (http://coeurdela.blogspot.com) shared her recipe for Red Velvet pancakes and we are going to make them for the big HEART weekend, as well. We have lots of sparkling wines and cremants to share and check out our wines for February (below)..
Mardi Gras is always fun at Petit with Zydeco, Zinfandel, masks and Cajun goodies…maybe some Praline Pain Perdu and Bon Temps Andouille Strata…. Sound good?

2008 Changala Willow Creek White - a lovely Rhone blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc

2008 Forefront Sauvignon Blanc - a luscious Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley (yup, I stepped out of the box and went to Napa for this extraordinary wine)

2007 Chateau D’Esclans Whispering Angel Rose - from Cotes de Provence region, a most incredible dry Rose with hints of strawberry and lavender and minerals with a dry clean finish. The name ‘Whispering Angel’ says it all!

2006 Clos la Chance Buff- Bellied Zinfandel - I really do love a good Zinfandel, especially with our Cheddar Chive Scones and with Zydeco. This one we have had before and loved, from the Santa Cruz Mountain Clos la Chance Estate Vineyard. I know our guests will love this fruity and bright Zin.

2008 Labyrinth Freebird – I tasted this wine with Kiwi winemaker, Rick Hill, and I fell in love! It is a blend of Merlot and Tempranillo which Rick explains “Suave Bordeaux boy meets fiery passionate Rioja girl” Fun!
and

2007 Ortman Cuvee Eddy – Ortman family winemaking traditions are infused into this Rhone blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. It is full of berries and vanilla – it is yummy! (We are having this with curry tonight…oooOOOoo)

I have rambled enough…..

Hearts and love,
Dianne