We continued our sentimental tour of Des Moines, stopping at favorite spots and remembered how much we enjoyed life here. first to Graziano’s Italian Import store where I had to restrain myself from buying too much at the deli counter. but I did get cacciatore, smoked provolone, salami, spicy green olives, for a gathering here.
Nadia’s
We stopped at Moglea, which few people in Des Moines seem to know about but has its colorful paper products prominently displayed in fancy stationary stores and art museum gift shops in places like Chicago and New York. It’s Des Moines production print shop has a little retail space and better yet, some good sale merch so I stocked up on gifts.
Moglea
Onto a little French bakery called Nadia’s near the governor’s mansion at Terrace Hill. The pastries looked good but we went to Zanzibar, an old favorite for coffee and met our friend Veronica at La Mie, another favorite bakery and lunch spot.
Busy day in my old stomping ground. I had an excellent lunch downtown at Allora, a sophisticated but casual lunch place in the very cool Krause Center, a 2018 Renzo Piano marvel, formerly home of the Kum & Go, that is now practically empty after the sale of that awkwardly name gas/convenience store company. The food was terrific.
I had a salad with long strip so of crispy prosciutto cooked like bacon, slices of Parmesan, apples, pecans, walnuts on greens. My friend Judy had a delicous creamy polenta with grilled mushrooms, carrots, garlic and onion. Excellent flavor. And there’s the Des Moines sculpture park to look at across the street.
Art center installation (with video screens inside)
I was sad to see that Bauder’s Ice cream on the now nicely named Ingersoll Ave is no more but Judy gave me the tip of the day: nearby Tandem Brick (frame shop/gifts) has a cooler full of bauder’s famouse peppermint ice cream sandwiches, so you don’t have to wait until the iowa state fair to get them! (The also sell the killer peppermint ice cream pie with chocolate cookie crust and a layer of chocolate fudge.😳
Next stop the fantastic Des Moines Art Center which has an interesting one-room exhibit of Haitian art borrowed from the famous collection in Waterloo. I dropped by Worn, one of my favorite resale shops and scored big time with two pairs of my favorite jeans, Democracy; also stopped at Gateway Market, picked up worlds best bread from South Union bakery. For old times sake, I ripped off a piece of chewy choibattta in the car to eat as a midday snack.
This afternoon, my friends Kathy and I went to an anti-Trump rally at the state Capitol. So good to see so many people there, resisting!
We made such good time on our drive from Chicago to Detroit – and the weather was suddenly sunny and a balmy 57 degrees- that we had time to stop en route for lunch at zingerman’s in Ann Arbor. I wisely called ahead to order our sandwich (lean corned beef, coleslaw, emmenthaler cheese, Russian dressing on hardy bread) so it was waiting when we arrived. Otherwise the wait time was one hour for a sandwich. I also got some outstanding chopped liver (from Amish chickens, supposedly.)
We had fun looking at all the cheeses, including Lively Run, a Finger Lakes fav (NY) and cured meats and Michigan products including American spoon (red haven peach preserves) and CherryRepublic.
We explored a farmers market across the street and Catching Fireflies, a fun shop with Michigan gifts. We were apparently in the Kerrytown Shopping area, with historic 19th- century buildings from lumber and agriculture purveyors in this town best known for the University of Michigan.
Whistlestop
On a dreary rainy Sunday we went to the Emagine (yes, E not I) theater to see the new Bob Dylan bio pic, which was excellent. This was our second movie theater outing since 2020 (pre-pandemic). We sat in snazzy fake leather recliners, reserved in advance, row D not too close to the giant screen. The sound was loud but fortunately the movie was full of music not noisy battles from some blockbuster action movie.
We had a pleasant late lunch/brunch (good eggs, sausage, blt) at The Whistlestop cafe in Birmingham and dinner (upscale Mediterranean/middle eastern) earlier at Phoenicia in Birmingham.
Music by Laura Nyro, my favorite singer when I was a teenager, was blaring in the Alvin Ailey exhibit at The Whitney Museum when we entered, surely a good sign. I never connected the two although apparently there was a connection. What it was I never did learn. The exhibit was a bit obtuse that way, with lots of interesting, often provocative, artwork juxtaposed beneath a huge wrap-around wall screen airing films of Ailey dancers, accompanied by various musical scores. I tried to join a tour that might have tied things together but my audio didn’t work so I opted to wander and just soak it all in. I left with more questions than answers but maybe that’s okay? The landscape show on the floor above deserved more than our brief visit but it was time to move onto the High Line for a brisk walk in chilly but bright and sunny weather.
The day’s dining highlight was the fantastic. Spanish food at Mercado, Little Spain, a food hall below Hudson yards created by renowned chef (and humanitarian/anti-hunger crusader) Jose Andreas. Although there are three sit down restaurants, we opted for the food court/hall route, planting ourselves at a table in the center then taking turns going to various counters to pick up a plate or two to share between three of us.
It was Myra Monday, with a visit from my longtime pal, so the food court at 3 p.m. was also a place to sit comfortably for several hours, catching up. A NYTimes story on the 20 best things to eat was very helpful as was a list of the 100 best restaurants in NYC in 2024 which included the food hall!
Paella and tortilla de patatas
Highlights: paella with savory brown rice, chicken, grilled artichokes, peppers; a tortilla de patatas, a fluffy egg omelette filled with creamy potatoes, a long narrow baguette with salty dried ham, an empanada de cerdo that was a thin piece of savory pie filled with stewed pork; an orange tangy gazpacho (akin to one of several versions I make), perfect sangria ( not too sweet or alcoholic), light churros sprinkled with sugar and served with a small cup of hot bittersweet chocolate to dunk them in.
There were several more items on my list but we were full, and lost track of what we spent (each item, was $9-12) so it was time to stop. Must return to try: tarta de queso (Spanish cheesecake), pina borrach (“drunken pineapple”), gamba Al estilo de El Bulli (shrimp from the famous chef-driven restaurant) chistorra con patatas frites (potato and sausage bites), pomelo en texturas (grapefruit dessert), lacon con patatas ( potatoes and ham) pan de Cristal con tomate (bread rubbed with tomatoes), and cardinal (meringue plus sponge cake).
I don’t know how I’ve missed going to Old John’s Diner, since it’s been in my relatives’ upper west side neighborhood since 1951. I don’t even remember having walked on the block of 67th street that it’s on (between Amsterdam and Broadway).
But tonight, we got there, with our niece Erika, nephew Jonathan and his girlfriend Calista and it was really fun. I was worried it might be dead on a Sunday night, and more of a breakfast or lunch place but it was busy enough.
And the food was very good diner food, not fancy restaurant. We also had excellent service and a nice big table where we were welcome to linger. My aunt, who has hearing issues, would like it because she would be able to hear the conversation. We enjoyed hearty chicken soup, matzoh ball soup, a tuna melt (alas the tuna had relish in it, which I dislike but Jonathan was fine with), crispy chicken sandwich, Greek salad, fries – all good and some inventive (the Greek salad had romaine lettuce and fried chickpeas) and excellent fries. The desserts were great too especially the lemon meringue pie and ny cheese cake. The carrot cake was tasty but a little dry, according to our table’s expert, dirck. We’ll be back!
In the 70s, near Central Park West, my brother also recommends Yasaka for sushi, on 72nd, and Solid State coffee on 71st between Columbus and Amsterdam.
We took the Jitney (private bus) back from the Hamptons (Water Mill) family thanksgiving on Sunday at 1:35 pm. The bus was comfortable and well-run but packed, and a long haul. It made several stops including near LaGuardia airport, and with holiday traffic took over 3 hours (an hour more than usual/advertised). Next time, we’ll leave Saturday night or Sunday morning to try to beat the traffic.
The weather finally turned on us, getting rainy and cold (30s) but that didn’t stop us from one final day in central London, seeing two old friends (Una and Patti) and visiting old stomping grounds (CoventGarden and surrounds).
The National Portrait Gallery is a favorite and recently remodeled, we’re told. And free! I went to the contemporary portraits (Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Dua Lipa, the most recent queen Elizabeth…) while dirck headed to the old folks (Shakespeare and Cromwell, Queen Elizabeth #1, Queen Victoria). Then we briefly visited the excellent gift shop. In Covent Garden we happened past a cafe run by Petersham Nursery, which we’ve visited in Richmond so we shared a very salty prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich. Covent Garden has more American chains (shakeshack) and luxury brands but still some interesting stuff including the seven dials market and old favorites (Neal’s Yard cheese, Monmouth coffee.) and I still love the tight little lanes lined with shops, even if they’re too expensive.
In the once decrepit now hip spitalfields neighborhood in the city financial district, I spent most of my time at the Bishopsgate Institute, a quirky old place that is home to the Great Diary Project, although you’d never know it. The signage for the archive highlights the UK’s largest LGBTQIA+ (IA+ ??) collection.
I read some old diaries in a cramped reading room with a handful of other researchers. Una later joined me and found an amazing WW2 diary a woman wrote complete with hand drawn maps of Europe. I was obsessed with the 1980s “Dairy Diaries” which were offered as promotions by the now defunct Milk Marketing board. The entries were dull (rundowns of the often “dull” weather, comings and goings) but the pre-printed material especially the recipes for various cheesy dishes (Kipper soufflé, chicken chaudfroid) were fun to read and a telling look at the diet of that day (or aspirational diet). Dirck wandered around the shops and met as at the pleasant old worldy Market Coffee House for drinks.
With UnaBishopsgate
Next stop, dinner with Patti in Primrose Hill at Lemonia, a long-standing Greek restaurant, surrounded by a few blocks of attractive shops. (I bought a furry head band at a shelter housing second-hand charity shop and a baguette at a bagel store.)
Covent garden
Now we’re waiting on a British Airways plane to take off – we’re delayed as we wait for luggage to be loaded but the flight is not packed. Dirck and I have row of four seats to ourselves, although we can’t get the antiquated entertainment system to work.
Hard to believe such a momentous event occurred near the deserted beach by our hotel on June 6,1944 but we learned more about it at the powerful D-day disembarkment museum next door, with a compelling audio guide accompanying displays of maps, artifacts, soldiers accounts and models of the remarkable artificial harbor created to allow the British troops to unload their tanks, jeeps and equipment.
D-day disembarkment museum
The Normandy American cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach in colleville-sur-Mer, a short drive west through rolling green countryside along narrow roads lined with tan stone walls and hedges, past small lovely villages with old stone buildings, that recalled war movie sets.
Omaha beach
But the reality of war was on full display at the museum, with a short film and displays about soldiers who lost their lives.
The sight of so many white marble crosses and occasional Jewish stars, laid out on a green lawn in impeccably straight rows above the ocean and Omaha Beach was as powerful as expected.There were other ww2 battlefields and museums but the three we visited (including the 360 film) offered a good rundown and feel for the past.
Bayeax
In nearby Bayeux, we visited the famous Bayeux Tapestry in a solemn stone building in the pretty old city center. Hand embroidered probably by women in the 11th century, it is displayed horizontally in a lit glass case that wraps around a dark room, with numbered panels detailing the conquest of England by William the Duke of Normandy. It looked like the ancient precursor of a comic strip, with graphic scenes of battle meticulously sewn with colored thread.
We had delicious galettes and pear cider near Bayeux’s gothic cathedral (lit at night for extra drama) at popular L’Insolite, a creperie on a cobblestone lane with old stone and half-timber buildings.
Arromanches
We joined locals in Arromanches (including our waiter from the hotel) at Mary Celestepub in a cozy stone building, where the fellas drank beer and f & I drank hot chocolate. We introduced the Brits to the card game, hearts. And laughed a lot.
The rain we expected finally arrived the next day as we were leaving Normandy after one last breakfast in the hotel dining room with picture windows looking out on the waves crashing onto the shore, we drove to the Caen gare, dropped off our rental car at the Sixt office and stopped at Mollard, a classic brasserie in Paris circa 1867 for a late lunch in a gorgeous l’art nouveau dining room with wall and floor mosaics. I dared to eat dishes from my youth – steak tartare (my dad’s favorite) and crème caramel (my mom’s speciality). A little rich but delicious. (I couldn’t eat anywhere near the full tartare.)
After a stressful rush hour taxi search and ride to the second train station (we arrived at gare du saint lazare and had to get to gare du nord)‘we are now safely on board the Eurostar in what we suspect are special”senior seats” back to London, playing hearts with a pack of 32 (not the standard 52 😳) cards F bought at the station. more laughter.
La Marine Hotel reminds me of the Michigan house I grew up in — white brick with a mansard roof. Except that we are surrounded here in the small village of Arromanches by the Atlantic Ocean and famous World War Two battlefields. My childhood home was 1930’s “French eclectic” architecture, popular with soldiers returning from Europe after the First World War.
Arromanches is pretty, with a tight cluster of buildings by a wide expanse of sand leading to the English Channel. We lucked out with a corner room offering spectacular window views of “port Winston” (as in Winston Churchill) the artificial arrival harbor created for the d-day landing.
Houlgate
We walked up the bluff to a 360 theater for a sobering 20 minute film about the D-Day offensive by American, English, and Canadian that began here on June 6, 1944, 80 years ago. About 100,000 people died during the Normandy campaign. That alone is sobering but there is added poignancy given this months US election, and rise of a right-wing, potentially isolationist government that doesn’t seem to value the alliance that fought back the Nazis.
Driving along a two-lane road along the coast, we passed some stunning mansions just east of Honfleur but the resort towns of trouville and Deauville seemed overbuilt and lacking the charm of Honfleur. (Granted, we didn’t stop to explore or find the charming old bits.) The seaside town of Houlgate was more low-key and inviting so we walked through the center ville and along the beach promenade past tall eccentric brick homes, stopping at a cheerful restaurant for hot chocolate and popping into the covered market to gawk at the prepared foods, cheeses, and foie gras selection.
NOTE: publishing this late (somehow it wasn’t published earlier.)
A day is about right to explore the ancient (sort of) seaside village of Honfleur. The sea is largely absent, as the coast has gotten farther away but there is a small contained harbor lined with tall narrow buildings, some half-timbered, or red brick and stone or clad in thin black slate tiles.
Our sweet b&b
La Cour Saint Catherine, a small b&b on a narrow residential street, is as charming as promised with big wooden doors that open onto a Normand courtyard with a garden surrounded by a mishmash of timbered and brick buildings. To get to our room, we must climb a small narrow spiral staircase with a rope to hold onto. F& R are one flight above.
Chocolate shopping in Honfleur
It reminds me of my friend’s staircase in her tower outside London (hi Marion!) but this is not a tower. Our room is not small and round or half-round. It’s huge, with a fireplace, large bed with many pillows, a sitting area, a day bed, old paintings, big windows. tres luxurious.
The breakfast also is very large, with cheese, charcuterie, fresh baked goods, plus the usual baguette and croissants. The town is charming and not over-touristed now, although I imagine it is in the summer.
More hotel
We walked around the old harbor and along narrow winding street lined with shops, most not-great art but I found one woman selling delicate landscapes and bought one of the cliffs. I also found a good gallery near the tourist office by the harbor called Gallerie Chaye.
St.Catherine Church reminded us of a stave church in Scandinavia – with its dark wood-shingled exterior. It is an odd charming duck with two naves, each with a ceiling that looks like an upside down wooden boat. Fitting for a community of fisherman and sailors, and reportedly built by boat builders not architects. The first nave was built in 1497. When the congregation outgrew the church, it added a second nave.
The church
We had a good fancy dinner at entre mere et terre but I was even more impressed by the better reviewed SaQuaNa. It’s a sophisticated Japanese-influenced French restaurant with a wonderful patisserie. The bouillabaisse was surprisingly light and full of complicated flavor, not heavy or too fishy, and a Japanese pancake with bacon and flakey onions was like a less eggy quiche. The lemon meringue pastry and chocolate torte were amazing.
SaQuaNon
After dinner we ended up at a nearby bar, Vintage, listening to a blues rock band playing American standards, while we drank kir Normand (with cider, yum) and other regional favorites- calvados (too strong even for the guys) and an aperil spritz with cider.
The vintage
Mid-afternoon, we stumbled into a classy ladies-who-lunch salon de the, La Maison du Tripot, on a quiet street worlds away from the tourist places along the harbor and had excellent chaude chocolate and a slice of moist apple cake.
Satie museum contraption
The Satie Museum was bizarre, as promised, an interactive ode to the famous composer Eric Satie, born in Honfleur. At one point, we sat on what looked (and felt) like a rugby ball and slowly peddled on a round track, prompting a marry go round contraption to come to life. As Francine noted, we didn’t really learn much about Satie except that he was a surreal guy. So this museum was fitting.
Although some confusion remains about which of the two worn cliffs jutting into the ocean most resembles an elephant, we agreed that they are equally stunning as we stood on the rocky beach in Etretat, a village on the Normandy coast. Monet thought so too and duly painted them, as have others.
The light was particularly dramatic over the yellower cliff, as the sun attempted to break through the clouds, creating streaks of blue, gray and white in the sky and turning the water a pale blue. Just down the beach at the other cliff, the color of the sky and water was darker and more moody but a swath of velvety green grass blanketed the cliff top.
Mussels
We took a short steep hike up the less grassy one for more spectacular views from on high.
Although the beachfront town has a ticky tacky feel with a faded casino, we found a quaint sophisticated restaurant for mussels and frites further from the shore – Le bel Ami – and some cool old half timber and brick buildings
TakeBetsywithyou 