* our wonderful apartment in Collioure is for sale … after I put these photos together I’m not sure we want to leave

Our intent was a 2 year adventure in Europe … it’s been 6 summers (this will be the 7th) and it’s time for a change.

The apartment has been everything we could have wanted. It’s very comfortable for 2 people. The terrace provides spectacular outdoor space for living, dining and entertaining.  

And, since many people want to come to Collioure, we have done over 20 great home exchanges, to Paris (many times) and Provence, elsewhere in Europe (Dublin, Vilnius), and to Hawaii, Australia, and Mexico. Great destinations provided by our apartment.

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the view from our terrace

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Our apartment is small inside, but it provides very comfortable living for 2 people. With the terrace adding to the living space, the apartment actually becomes quite large.

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Our apartment is 5 minutes from the beach, with a great parking space, and immediately adjacent to the train station with access to Paris, Barcelona, and all of Europe.

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Welcome to our home … dinner for 8 … cocktails for 14. Our apartment is perfect for entertaining.

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Collioure is a former fishing village located on the Mediterranean 25 miles north of the Spanish border … with highways, train service and airports leading everywhere in France and Europe 

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Collioure is an ancient and still largely authentic French village. It is a place where the French come on their vacations, with their children. All summer there is activity every day and night – street fairs, bands, Catalan dancing. A fresh market comes on Sundays and Wednesdays. There are 5 beaches, a 14th century chateau, and a 15th century church. Did I mention the weather – it’s perfect, in the low 80s by day, down to 70 or so at night. And the location is perfect for access to all of France and all of Europe.

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and then … this is the view you wake up to the next morning

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* CIA (Cuties in Action) in the 2012 Conch Republic Parade

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Only in Key West. A parade to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Conch Republic, formed when Key West seceded from the union (a whole other story). A group of Key West “cuties” dedicated to community service and having a great time. A container of margaritas and a huge smile, marching down Duval Street. Pat’s CIA moniker is “Miss Judge.” Others ladies are “Miss Appropriate,” “Miss Adventure,” … and nobody is “Miss Laid.”

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* 4 grandsons playing baseball

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Many years ago, I got a great deal of pleasure watching my sons Jon, Ben and Josh play baseball … 

Now the beat goes on, with Blake, Cole, Michael and Luke picking up gloves and bats.

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* visitors to Key West … Chris, Becky, Sean, Howard & Judy

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* visitors to Key West … Jon, Stacie, Evan & Natalia

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* visitors to Key West … Terry, Kerry & Susan

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* The Pope’s Conspiracy … Lew’s long-awaited sequel to The Heretic … is now available in PAPERBACK, KINDLE & NOOK formats

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in this exciting sequel to The Heretic …

• It is 1478 at the very peak of the Italian Renaissance in Florence.
• Benjamin and Esther Catalán are young Jews who have escaped the claws of the Spanish Inquisition and are brought to Florence under the patronage and protection of Lorenzo de Medici, the wealthiest and most powerful man in Europe.
• Their promising future is threatened, however, by a plot to murder Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano, a conspiracy organized by Pope Sixtus IV in Rome.
• As the fast-paced plot moves forward, Benjamin and Esther’s often heroic struggle to build their new lives is set against the evolving progress of the Pope’s plan.
• Esther Catalán, a woman unlike any other ever seen in Florence, shows blazing intelligence and engaging style as she sets the Catalán Press on a path to print previously unpublished works of Plato and the Jewish Talmud. Her friendship with Lucrezia de Medici, mother of Lorenzo and Giuliano, offers a unique look into the lives of one of the most famous families in history.
• Benjamin Catalán surprises Lorenzo with his boldness and political acumen. He develops a close friendship with Giuliano, involving football, hawking and hunting with a cheetah.
• Both Benjamin and Esther become integral participants in the cultured and opulent Medici inner circle even as they seek to re-make their Jewish life in an environment that resembles the anti-Jewish furor they experienced in Spain.
• Directed from the Vatican, the net around Lorenzo and Giuliano tightens. Rumors of a possible attack are reported by Medici spies.
• Benjamin joins with the Medici family to try to thwart the conspiracy.
• Lorenzo refuses to believe the Holy Father is brazen enough to attempt murder almost to the day the would-be assassins arrive in Florence.

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in PAPERBACK ($14.95) …

http://www.amazon.com/The-Popes-Conspiracy-Lewis-Weinstein/dp/1475058411/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332690047&sr=1-6

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in KINDLE format ($9.99) … 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Popes-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B007N7JLAI/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332690047&sr=1-4

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in NOOK format ($9.99) … 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-popes-conspiracy-lewis-m-weinstein/1109628986?ean=2940014249720&itm=1&usri=the+pope%27s+conspiracy

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* Spring training in Clearwater & Tampa

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a warm day in Clearwater and a cool day in Tampa

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the very special flavor of spring training and 3 generations of fans

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My sons have a long tradition of travelling to various major league parks together.

This year they included me and one of my grandchildren in a delightful March weekend.

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Cayo Hueso Literary Salon – Jan 24 2012

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Our first meeting of the Cayo Hueso Literary Salon.

We talked. We ate. We ate and talked. We may even have had a glass of wine.

Much of the discussion dealt with the book of the night … Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson

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* a visit to “Occupy Wall Street” at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan

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October 21, 2011 … We took the R train and walked to Zuccotti Park, where we observed the situation a week or so after the tents had been removed by the NYPD. At roughly 3:00 pm, there were only a few people protesting – less, we estimated, than the combined number of police and reporters.

We engaged in conversation with Megan, 28 years old and unemployed, an intelligent well-spoken young lady. Her issue of the day was the exorbitant power of corporations in America, with a focus on the “Corporate Personhood” issue raised by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

We think this is the absolute correct issue, but wonder how this movement will ever get to effective action on the evils of political campaign financing which we believe is at the heart of our current national impotence. We will comment further on the political implications of what we saw and heard on our political blog at http://lewandpatpolitics.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/occupy-wall-street-loses-focus-a-post-in-progress/.

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* the magic of Venice … Sept 2011

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Just say the word “Venice” and the mind conjures images of romantic canals and the slow passage of gondolas.

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St. Mark’s Square during the day is so jammed with cruise boat tourist groups moving like large herds that it’s best to stay away. At night, it is gorgeous, with music and (very expensive) open air bars. 

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At 7:00 am, it is a perfect place for a morning run.

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It’s also perfect for kids and pigeons … and dancers???

Perhaps an explanation is in order. A band was playing, and Pat and I danced. When we finished, a group at a nearby table applauded. So we asked them to join in the next dance.

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The Galerie del Accademia … a superb collection of art taken from the churches of Venice on the order of Napoleon.

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the saga of Ursula by Vittore Carpaccio

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Pat has arranged for herself a threefold course in Renaissance art … preparing before our trip to Italy, viewing the art, and then reviewing her course materials with the new appreciation of personally seeing the works. And I got to have my own personal art docent.

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And also to amuse myself by finding a mirror on the stairs up to our apartment.

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Sights of Venice

a door handle, music museum, lladro tango, dali’s clock

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thousands of great store windows

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What’s new on the Rialtro? Plenty! We find a tiny cafe tucked into a corner of the bridge at water level. Once we had coffee, the next time bellinis. And we watched the action, an ever-changing mosaic of water taxis, gondolas, ferries, and UPS boats conducting an intricate dance, never colliding.

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the Rialto Bridge

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and of course there are some shops on the Rialto

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The world’s first ghetto was established in Venice, at the site of an old foundry (ghetto means foundry). Our tour of the remains of a once vibrant Jewish community was fascinating. Several small synagogues. Stories from the period of Nazi occupation. “Fortunately,” our guide says, “the roundup of Jews was conducted in the Italian manner. Inefficiently.” He told us the old Jews in nursing homes were shipped off to Auschwitz and most of the rest, dispersed throughout the city (no longer living in the ghetto) survived.

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exterior of synagogues

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the skylight above the bima corresponds to the cuppola in the photo above

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There is an altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini at the church of San Zaccaria that was painted in place so that the light from the window sweeps across the painting and at one point in each sunny day illuminates the heads of both St. Peter and St. Zaccaria. It was truly an incredible experience to watch this happen, and appreciate just how fast the earth rotates on its axis.

Bellini's altarpiece at San Zaccaria

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We had eaten a large lunch and wanted only a prosecco and dessert. It was surprising to us that restaurants with mostly empty tables would not take us, insisting they would only serve full dinners. It worked out fine. We were finally accommodated in an otherwise empty courtyard where the atmosphere of an ancient time surrounded us.

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You don’t take a taxi to the airport. You take a water taxi, winding first through the interior canals and then gaining speed across the wide bay. A great way to end our three weeks in Italy.

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* just another day in the Jardin de Luxembourg

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a performance of the Northern Ambassadors of Music

The Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), located in the 6th arrondissement, is actually the garden of the French Senate, which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace. Both palace and gardens are the legacy of Marie de Medicis, the widow of Henry IV and the regent for the King Louis XIII, who in 1611 decided to build a palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence. It is one of the most beautiful places in Paris, and one of the most beautiful parks in the world.

Walking in the park, we followed the sounds of music to a bandstand where we came upon an ongoing performance of the Northern Ambassadors of Music. Comprised of over 300 students from North Dakota and Montana, the high school and college students were in the middle of their 16-day 2011 European tour through England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and Germany, including performances at Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Luxembourg Gardens.

The group, each of whom pays roughly $6,000 for the trip, is put together on recommendations of music teachers. They played a combination of classical, show and patriotic music, and apparently had their first rehearsal as a group just three days before we heard them. Their rousing Sousa marching music and a moving rendition of America the Beautiful were extraordinary, especially given the short time they’ve had together.

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views from a walk around the Jardin du Luxembourg ... note the Statue of Liberty, one of two in Paris ... a plaque next to the statue is dedicated to the memory of those killed on 9-11 and to the long spirit of friendship between the French and American people

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* impressions of Paris … July 2011

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Of course it’s a cliche. But you see it everywhere and it is beautiful, especially at dusk.

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We had a wonderful dinner with our friends Marilyn and Bernard, and on the way, Marilyn took this picture of us … the church in the background is one of the great shots from Woody Allen’s new film, Midnight in Paris, which of course we saw in Paris.

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Paris is a city of beautiful women … a photo shoot at the Opera … coffee at Starbucks … Madame Lenny emerging from a delightful passage … a classic lady on a bike … some younger women assaulting the studs at Abercrombie & Fitch on the Champs Elysees

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Strangers having dinner with Jim Haynes … he’s been organizing these events for 30 years or so every Sunday night … The cost is 25 euros, more or less … his friends cook the dinner … the location is Jim’s house and the adjacent garden area, in the 14th arrondissement … people learn about this from Jim’s website (http://www.jim-haynes.com/) and sign up until the guest list has filled the available space (less can be accommodated in winter than in summer) … the food and wine were excellent and plentiful … and the company was delightful, mostly English speaking, although from many different countries … everyone there was looking to meet others in Paris, for a variety of reasons … the result – a unique and entertaining evening

Jim is the guy in the apron … next to him are a couple who met at one of these dinners 13 years ago and have been married for the last 12 … lower left corner are  a professor at Queens College and a student at the same college, who had just met

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A fabulous experience at an afternoon auction at the Drouot Hotel … as many as 8 rooms operating at the same time … art, books, coins, cooking appliances, and a whole roomful of Louis Vuitton bags going for 250 or so euros

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Paris is loaded with great old passages … stunning architecture, beautiful shops, sometimes even bargains, espcially during July’s annual sale days

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Pat planned her trip to the Louvre for months … she had a list of the art and the details of each work she wanted to enjoy … on the way, I bought a sketch pad, two pencils and an eraser … I found a chair near this Greek fellow … I will NOT post my sketch!

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Adrian Leeds is one of the busiest Americans in Paris. She posts a blog (http://www.parlerparis.com/) which Pat reads regularly … very high content about what’s happening in Paris … Adrian also buys, renovates, sells and rents apartments in Paris … and she runs a monthly (2nd Tuesday) get together which features a speaker … this week that was Jeffrey Greene (author of French Spirits) who spoke entertainingly about living in the Burgundy area of France … we had a delightful afternoon and met many expats living in France including with our new Queens College friend from Jim Haynes’ dinner

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These are the steps where Owen Wilson waited for F. Scott and Ernest … up a hill and just below the Pantheon … there was no magic transport available at noon … but we did go to see the movie, for the second time … it is a marvelous, cultured fairy tale that is really a love story … for those who love the enduring beauty and eternal aura of Paris … thank you, Woody

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photo from ... http://news.yahoo.com/photos/france-celebrates-bastille-day-1310655079-slideshow/

FOOTNOTE: after we we returned to Collioure, I was sitting on our terrace, looking out at a glorious panorama of white clouds floating above the Pyrenees Mountains. Suddenly, there were the same blue, white and red smoke trails I had seen in Paris. Nine powerful jets put on a display of precision flying that took my breath away. Rapid turns. Dives straight down from rather low altitudes. Soaring out over the Mediterranean Sea in broad swoops, at what seemed like barely a wing length apart. Turning on edge so it seemed as if there was but a single plane. It was just spectacular.  A private show just for me.

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Bastille Day … crowds along the Champs … an impressive military parade … jets overhead … Nicolas Sarkozy, the 23rd president of the French Republic … and the very real presence of Charles de Gaulle, the 1st president whose unique combination of arrogance, grandeur and political skills seem to infuse France as much today as they did in the aftermath of WWII

… but Bastille Day ??? … honoring a day when 6 criminals were set free and a process initiated that ultimately became one of the bloodiest episodes in civilized society, a time when nobody’s head was safe … I have read and read about the French Revolution and I still don’t understand what happened and what results it accomplished … but we nevertheless enjoy the day and wish the French well

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* a stroll through New York’s Central Park

We love New York. And one the things we love most is Central Park, where Pat ran almost every day for ten years. So when we visited New York in November, we went straight to one of our favorite places. Come with us on our stroll …

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