Viva la France!

There is another election between good and evil, I mean liberal vs conservative this year in Europe.  France has had a very close race, and the two who will be on the ballot this June are Marcon (liberal/centrist) and La Pen (batshit crazy daughter of Nazi-esque founder of her party).  And yes, the dad is alive and he thinks his daughter is "too soft".

We are heading back to Paris to collect the high schooler for his month with us, and then onward further south to Italy.  There's a Magic the Gathering Grand Prix in Bologna next weekend, and then we'll go to Sorrento/Naples and meet up with friends on the Amalfi Coast.  Trains, trains and more trains this time around, swooping down from Paris to Geneva for a swift Swiss interlude as well.

I have loved our time here in Eastbourne, but we are antsy to move on.  This is a parochial town, and they voted Leave on the Brexit vote.  They have a lot of outsiders here, and yet there are a lot of misunderstandings as well.  So the open borders are no longer open, and we'll see what's next in the EU with France and then the Netherlands election.  Germany's as well.  If all vote to leave, we'll get a bunch more stamps on the passports, won't we?

Looking forward to French baguettes, French fruits, and French food in general!  And the sunny, warmth of Italy's coast versus the frigid temps of the English Channel.

Tiny Houses and Digital Nomads

We've been staying in places that are, in some cases, only 200 sq ft large.  Hotel rooms, studio apartments and even some LARGE 600 sq ft one bedroom apartments.  Our desire to get rid of the "stuff" began with our first trips to Europe over eight years ago.  It's progressed to "why buy a house when you can rent and move when you wish"?  For example, we had the Ah Ha moment in March that we need never be cold again.  It will be a choice!  We can be the ultimate Snow Birds, those mid-western USA folk who flock every winter to the sunny climes of Arizona and Florida, very similar to those UK folks who flock every winter to the sunny climes of Spain and Portugal.

We have read blogs of some folks who felt like minded but hadn't yet met anyone who had made that leap in much of a fashion other than to own two properties in two different locations.  Until this week.  A dear lady I had worked with many years ago had moved from UK to Massachusetts and back again.  Recently, she and her husband seem to always be on their lovely boat, a beautiful sailboat, sailing someplace in the UK or France.  I saw that she was in London and let her know via Facebook that we'd be in Eastbourne, and to wave as she went past.  Instead, they berthed (is that the right word? I am such a novice!) in Eastbourne and invited us over for cocktails and munchies on the boat.

The conversation roamed to include technology, wifi, best cell services, which phones are best, recruiting training and practices, and new software tools to have things work and work well.  Then we went for dinner and talked more about Wranglers, of which both husbands are die hard fans.  If we ever get another car, I'm afraid it will have to be a Wrangler again.  The hubs was ready to volunteer as tribute to help move her hubs things the next day just to ride in one again, and those that know him know that he pays others to move his own things.

We had a great time learning more about their plan, their journey of downsizing and their reasons for also going to "tiny house".  They have a plot of land with small buildings in France and are building a house on it, but for now, the stuff is either gone or in storage, and they are operating as we are, digital nomads.   Their tiny house has sails, ours currently has a laundry next door.  Either way, for now, we both have a lovely view of the same sea until they push off later today, and we are happy to learn we are not alone out here with our views.

Continental Market

So the Easter weekend has a wonderful side effect here in Eastbourne.  You get the "Continental Market" with fun vendors of things and foodstuffs from all over the "Continent".  The French cheeses are here, the Hungarian goulashes and schnitzel stand is here, the sausage maker is here, the Creperie is here (Oohlala!) and the Wait, What???  Memphis pulled pork and ribs?  BBQ sauce?  Slaw and potato salad?  YES!  We split a rib plate with slaw and potato salad.  And it was darn tasty!

The slaw was wonderful and different.  It looked spiraled noodle like, vs  chopped cabbage.  Turns out it was made with Granny Smith apples and Celeriac root.  And it was really delicious.  Then Richard had a butter/sugar crepe for dessert and we were on our way to the Mall to get groceries.  Yes, we had plenty of French cheese, but no real meal makings.  But first, salami from the Italian market.  And LaVazza Crema Gusto coffee!  And then to the jumbo supermarket at the Mall for the rest.

We finally found a one cup french press for Richard's coffee!  And they had a cheap-ish sharp paring knife, which has been a big missing for me the entire time we have been here.  Then some meat and makings for peanut butter and jelly and we are on our way home.

This and that, or making it a home

We are developing a short, shared shopping list for new arrival.  Each location has it's own charms and quirks as we are discovering.  Because I love to cook and we are "living", not "vacationing", I brought and use US version silicone collapsing measuring cups and spoons.  That way I don't have to a) decipher all US measurements to metric for every recipe or b) count on each location to have a usable kitchen with any measuring cups and spoons.

In some cases, there aren't covers for pots.  In others, there are only two pans/pots.  In one location, not enough silverware to serve two people.  In another, no sharp knife.  In almost all, no storage containers or mixing bowls.  In almost no cases are there any kitchen linens.  In one case, not even a sponge.  Dish soap?  Yes or no.  Oven?  Yes or no.  Microwave?  Yes or no.

I've learned to improvise.  A lot.  The large pot becomes a mixing bowl, and a serving bowl if there's microwave popcorn to be had:)  Or those good quality plastic bags from grocery shopping could be a popcorn serving device.  If there are enough dishes/bowls, we buy plastic wrap to store leftovers.  In other locations, we buy small plastic containers with covers.  In the UK, they are identical to the take away containers you are handed in restaurants when you need a doggy bag.

Sponges, dish soap, plastic wrap, knives, kitchen towel to double as a pot holder, and sometimes even can openers need to be purchased at each location.  It depends.  In most cases, we ask the host to provide it.  We are learning to screen Airbnb better, as the "hotel/apartments" are not the same as someone's "home".  They suck.  You need to purchase everything from toilet paper to garbage bags for those hotel/apartments.  I wish Airbnb let you fine tune your search to eliminate them.  Although one actual "home" had the worst kitchen so far.  (I'm looking at you, Cancun)

Shampoo/conditioner, hand lotion, laundry soap, hand soap, dish towels, kitchen sponges, pot holders, paper towels, and the occasional knife and can opener all run less than $20 US in each country so far.  We have done laundry in house once, and had it washed and folded at two other locations.  Either way is fine.  A large box of tissues is what really makes it a home for the hubs though:)

For me, a good knife and a covered pot.  All is well.

The Tooth from Denver

I have had a long standing crown.  Almost 40 years ago a wonderful dentist named Dr. Levkowitz put a gold crown over two molars.  The one on top received a root canal and the one on bottom had such a large filling that he worried the upper, harder gold would destroy it without a crown.  It has served me very well for these 39 years.  Until a year ago, when I bit down on a popcorn kernal and developed pain in the darn thing.

But it was on and off pain, never really super bad, and we kept x-raying it, and it didn't get much worse and it never got completely better.   So the prognosis was it will need a root canal at some point.  I had researched pulp therapy with ozone over root canal and thought I would have time to get to Switzerland to try that out instead of a root canal.  But my luck ran out in Eastbourne.

The hot drinks and cold drinks began to really bother me.  When I needed to take ibuprofen, the hubs insisted I see the dentist who did his recent root canal.  So on Thursday, I made the appointment for today.  Except they had a cancellation on Thursday and called me back and began the root canal immediately.  In two weeks I will return for the remainder of the clean out and have a long awaited functioning tooth again.

In my defense, I thought the tooth was cracked under the crown.  My experience with having a cracked tooth and root canal has not been good, as I paid for that darn thing and then had to pull that tooth after all, six months later.  The good news here is twice over.  One, the tooth was not cracked.  Two, this dentist must have said "sorry" one million times during the treatment, so incredibly empathetic and concerned to not cause pain.  We picked a winner with this woman, she is amazing!  I highly recommend Lushington Road Dental Clinic in Eastbourne.  www.lushingtondental.com Dr. Anjali Patel.  She is a jewel.  And root canals are half of what they are in the US.  Saved the tooth mom!

Londontown and Don Juan

I happened to go hunting for a play for us to watch, partly because an old neighborhood friend was in London recently seeing the new Harry Potter play.  Lo and behold, there it was in big letters!  DAVID TENNANT.  He is a fantastic actor, classically trained with a background in theater whom we fell in love with on TV.  In "Dr Who".  And he was playing in a new play for a short run, called "Don Juan in SoHo".

We booked matinee tickets at the Wyndham Theater, which is a lovely theater with no bad seats.  We were in the Opera Circle, one balcony up, front row, essentially about 20 or 30 feet from the stage.  And at one point, David Tennant is up on a contraption over the crowd and even closer to us.  It was very funny, and we enjoyed it immensely.  I eavesdropped on the American couple next to us who were discussing Brexit and Trump with the English couple next to them and learned that even these Republicans were appalled with Trump and did not vote for him.  Gives me some more hope for our country.

I'm a little anxious about our travel with the EU plan to enforce stronger Visas on US Citizens.  That's supposed to go into effect later this year.  But in the meantime, we are loving our seaside location in Eastbourne, which is a "lovely place to retire" according the "The Moo Man" documentary. (Again, available on Amazon)

Friends in Denver had recently told us that Denver had "bad" Indian food.  We were surprised, because we have loved the Indian food at the downtown location of "Little India".  Then we got to Paris and had Indian food at "Nawab" and we said, OOOOOHHHH.  Then we got back to London, where we had previously eaten at two different Indian restaurants and fell in love with Indian food in the first place, seven years ago.  We ate at "Punjab" and said OOOOHHHHH, again.  Delightful food, delicious Naan, simmeringly saucy, spicy dishes with rice so repeatedly washed that not one grain sticks to another.  Mmmm.

We met "Mr. Moo" and you can too!

I already mentioned the twice weekly markets here in Eastbourne.  Wednesdays and Sundays they put up the tents, load up the things and sell the stuff.  Purses, bric-a-brac, clothing, tie dye, fruit, bread and the best darn dairy products ever.  We know, because when we stopped at his shop, no fewer than two other people stopped by to tell us his stuff is the absolute best.  Then he shared the incredible story of a documentary that won awards in the US at the Sundance Film Festival.  We were speaking with one half of the founders of the "Hook & Son" Dairy.  In other words, "Mr. Moo" himself.  I can't wait to watch it now! "The Moo Man" is available on Amazon.

We sampled organic raw milk, cream, yogurt, and promptly bought all three plus some butter.  All of it UNPASTEURIZED!  Ironic given we had been told earlier about the UK's strong commitment to food safety and were unable to buy hair dye/stripper at the Salon we had our hair cut earlier that very day.   And again, all the eggs are stored at room temperature.  The cream is in a solid state, much like the consistency of yogurt.  The milk needs to be shaken before use, because the "cream rises to the top".  Not just a cheeky phrase, it's actually true.

I'm starting my day now with some Greek Yogurt, to which I added a touch of honey and oatmeal.  And PG Tips tea with homemade 1/2 and 1/2, e.g. a dab of solid cream and a splash of shaken, organic, unpasteurized milk, fresh from the grass fed cows who live 10 miles from here.  Mmmmm.  Great Grandpa Jensen on the farm in WI would be so tickled, I think:)

Polish Pickles, French Cheese, Spanish Olives and Italian Gelato

You may have already discerned that the hubs and I spend a lot of time enjoying food.  We have a shared enthusiasm for fine food. Europe has proven to be a cornucopia of good eating, mixed in with some few clunkers.   (I'm looking at you "Seafront Tandoori" in Eastbourne, UK)

There is a twice weekly market here in Eastbourne that has a French Cheese stand that I'm dying to try out.  There's a permanent pastry shop here with French pastries and bread.  There is a Mediterranean market with Spanish Olives and there is a Polish market with my beloved Polski Wyrob pickles.  I thank my father every day for introducing me to pickled things and stinky cheese:)  I thank my mother for Halvah candy, Tacos and even for the disgusting cold soup effort of Gazpacho.  Children could not appreciate that one.  But for Florida in the 1960's, we were pretty adventurous eaters on the whole.

Below us and five doors down is this deliciousness.  http://www.fusciardiicecreams.co.uk/our-history  Everything gelato is made onsite, and it's third generation family owned.  Creamy goodness in some unique flavors.  We love, love, love the coffee flavor one.  The raspberry ripple was delicious as well. I will skip the bubblegum flavor, thank you very much.

People here are incredibly friendly and mostly outgoing.  Our day out and about yesterday went like this:

We left the house yesterday! Mo Mamba. Terrific Italian food and a great deal of advice on what to see in southern Italy/Capri. The owner's father is featured on the wall with Sophia Loren, he was a tour guide and it was his finest hour when she invited him to come dine with them after the tour. Then we finally walked all the way to Beachy to see the chalk white cliffs that are here in Eastbourne, and ended that hike at the Hollywell Tea Chalet. Then we hiked back partway, stopping along the way for some delicious Thai food on the far end of town from where we are staying. We went to the Anglican All Saints Church last night and watched a 50 person choir and four guest singers with a full orchestra perform Mozart's Requiem. In this tiny little town, there is such a richness of art and culture mixed with touristy stuff. We loved the performance, it was beautifully done. The elderly couple who came from eight miles away to see the concert, and were at the bus stop right after the concert, had talked about how stupid and scary Brexit is and asked us what the heck is up with Trump? He is on the news DAILY here for the stupid things he says. We told them he is cray cray. We finished our evening off at Piri Piri Chicken and a pizza. Richard has been craving pizza. The man who made our pizza is from Afghanistan. He's a Muslim, and has tattoos, so he is a "bad Muslim" according to him, but his best friend, who was also working, is a Christian from Poland. I nearly cried at the goodness in this world last night.