Trains, Boats, Swimming Pools, Great CUISINE & SNOW

After moving over 500 pounds of luggage (ourselves) from the South of France, through Northern Italy down to Rome to catch a big boat  (during a freezing MISTRAL) to cross the BIG BLUE OCEAN, we arrived 15 days later in Breezy Balmy Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Our friends greeted us with 2 cars to carry the massive amount of luggage.

Our new beginning couldn’t have been more warm, especially with the fresh southern french cuisine of shrimp, mussels, scallops in a tomato vegetable sauce.  Wow.  Although they were the loveliest of hosts, their house kept rocking for days, and then I realized it was me sea legs, not acquainted with land legs.  Their dog Lucky, a golden retriever, we almost stole from them.

Then another good friend and former colleague took us in the last few days and welcomed us with candles lit, decorations galore, a fresh pot of coffee and tasty key lime pie when we arrived.

Key lime pie. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KEY LIME PIE from FLORIDA is always the best.  She put up with my (nameless) puppy and already started training him!!

Then, HER  friend had us over to his “trailer” and cooked an ENTIRE meal from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.

Cover via Amazon

We couldn’t believe it  !!!   Incredible.   Everything.   His trailer was really a stylishly designed (by him) condo on the Inter-coastal waterway

English: A view of the Fort Lauderdale Skyline at night from the 17th St Causeway. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

on Sunny Isles with a view of sparkling high-rises in the distance over the expanse of water.    He’s so fun – and very very funny.

My brother’s friend, a Chef, cooked Thanksgiving dinner in Miami where the spread was top notched from appetizers to golden TASTY turkey with trimmings at his house on the bay.   Yum to delectable fixings Donald!!!  On the long table were superbly designed table decorations entirely created from nature…..grape leaves, driftwood, berries, sandalwood.  Creativity at it’s finest.  Fun to see my neice and nephew and laugh the Thanksgiving night away, with our tummies very full and jiggling with our cracking up.

My friends from USAirways gave us a fabulous party at their “Architectural Digest home”  in Ft. Lauderdale before we took the final trip home to Saint Louis.  Such a great time with old friends, talking, reminiscing, imbibing in wonderful food (more French dishes, yeah)  and taking a lot of  pictures.  That’s where it went awry.  Rushing as usual to get a great shot, I tripped off the step and flipped into their fabulously lighted and huge pool, head first.   Ofcourse the iPhone went to the bottom.  I came up for air, people rushed, someone said, ‘YOUR PHONE!!!”  I dived back down to the depths of the pool, twice, retrieving it on the 2nd dive and came up, like a bullet, arm extended upwards with phone in hand shouting, “RICE!!!!!!!! ”  Derek said “You looked like Shelly Winters in the POSEIDON Adventure diving for that phone.”   LOL  –  Well, it was worth it to use that drop dead gorgeous  shower  with the palm fronds in it, have my clothes dried, …….as someone outside the door said, “Well, I hardly know you and I’m drying your underwear”  – chuckle…..and got me warm and cozy in their jogging clothes.  Wow, now that’s a host with the most.

We are now tucked into our new apartment in a walking “Bedford Falls like area”  of Saint Louis, a train line passing right by our balcony, as lights twinkle and the SNOW falls steadily.  Our sons moved us while we were “boating back in” and everything was put in place, including beer in the frig, chocolate almonds, delightful CANDLE even, the bed made up & cozy!!!  What a FAMILY!!!!!  (Ofcourse the alternative was moving in with THEM!! ha ha)

The phone is out of rice, plugged in, and 4 days and  30 minutes later – it is actually alive.

THIS – was SUCH a Welcome home from our friends/ family  in Miami and Fort Lauderdale  and our family in Saint Louis after 2 years far far away……

This journey was one for the books……

PS – Pictures to come to this blog after the phone is fully charged !