* about pat and lew
Pat and I retired in 2005, left Manhattan where we had lived for 15 years, and settled in Key West, FL.
Since we love to travel, we’ve created what we think is a unique mode of seeing the world. Two primary components of our plan are a small apartment in Collioure (an ancient fishing village in southern France), and extensive use of home exchanges, mostly in Europe.
pat … Pat is a retired attorney and marathon runner. A graduate of Rutgers University and Rutgers Law School, her law practice included criminal defense and family law. She’s a voracious reader and a political junkie, and currently President of the Key West chapter of the ACLU.
lew … Lew is a retired CEO, whose career spanned the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Once, long ago, he ran for US Congress. Lew is the author of three published novels: The Heretic, which tells the story of a family of secret Jews struggling to survive on the eve of the Spanish Inquisition, A Good Conviction, the story of a young man imprisoned in Sing Sing for a murder he did not commit, and Case Closed, a fictional account of why the FBI failed to solve the 2001 anthrax attacks. He’s currently working on a sequel to The Heretic, set in the Renaissance Florence of Lorenzo de Medici, called The Pope’s Conspiracy.
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for more about Lew’s books, click … http://www.amazon.com/Lewis-M.-Weinstein/e/B002IZ1BNK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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If you’re interested in considering a home exchange with us, please click
We are listing #52059
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TRAVEL with pat and lew 
Joanne E. said
Hello Pat and Lew,
Your story of how you came to France is wonderful and inspiring. I am also a member of Homeexchange but since my place is in Sarasota, I guess you don’t need more of Florida!
I am also a published author (John Wiley and Sons), recently retired, and will be in your area this August. In fact, I aspire to be your neighbor there. Wondered if you might share with me the name of your realtor who could show me a few apts like yours. I really don’t know where to start my search so would greatly appreciate some expert guidance. Liked the photos very much. Your smiles are infectious. Looks as if you are enjoying life to the fullest! A bien tot, Joanne
Wei ling said
Hi, I was wondering in your entry re Provence you wrote,
“As if the mountains weren’t spectacular enough, we came across one of Pat’s major objectives, a glorious field of lavender nestled in a cleft between the hills adjacent to an ancient monastery.”
Can you tell me where exactly that lavender field is and what is the name of the ancient monastery? Thanks!
Lew Weinstein said
We were travelling through mountain roads on the way from Gordes to Carpentras, probably on D177. It was in the forest of Venasque, near the abbey of Senanque. See a new post with a view of the fields and the abbey.
thetravellingprince said
Hi there
We share many similiarities! We have a second home in South Africa where we love to spend time and offer it for exchange in order to travel the world, as you have in France.
In the past two years we have been travelling for about 10 months and enjoyed exchanges in Greece, Ireland, London, New York, Canada, California, Hawaii, Monaco …. to name just a few.
We have 6 children between us and have just launched our own home exchange website called
The Travelling Prince Home Exchange and also have a blog about some of our adventures
Cheryl’s blog about Home Exchange Travel.
Keep travelling and writing!
Best regards
Cheryl
Jeannette McDonnell said
Bonjour Pat, Lew
Know Collioure and its surroundings very well.
Do you rent out your house while you are on your travels? If you do maybe you would forward me the details, I am planning a trip there as I write this to you.
Fascinating following your travels you are both an inspiration.
Maybe we will meet in Collioure sometime!
Beir bua agus beannacht,
A bientot,
Jeannette.
Lillian Meyers said
Hi–If you haven’t seen them before, please take a look at the these links about the former Jewish community in Ciechanow:
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/ciechanow/
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/ciechanow/cie001.html
Read especially about Rosa Robota, z”l, and Noach Zabludowicz, z”l, heroes in the uprising at Auschwitz, where most of the Jews from Ciechanow were sent to be murdered (not Treblinka, as far as I know). Noach’s testimony at the Eichmann trial was key in getting him convicted. He was my father’s cousin. From reading the yizkor book (link above), I believe the cemetery was cleaned up and the monument built, not by the city, but by the few Jews from Ciechanow who survived the camps and returned to find nothing left of their community.
My grandparents were from Ciechanow, emigrating in 1929. My grandmother told me many stories about growing up there (born in 1900). They did have a railway to Warsaw that was used regularly in the early 1900s—my grandmother’s family used it to go to Warsaw to stock up on provisions for their wholesale grocery store. The early 1900s were terrible in terms of financial depression and anti-semitic pogroms in C.—many Jews would have left if they could, and many did. My grandfather’s father also went to England, where he worked on the docks in London in order to send money home to his family; he was trapped there when WW1 broke out and the money did not get through to his children in Poland who were now orphans.
Thank you for posting the pictures and for your descriptions of your trip to Ciechanow. I don’t know if I will ever go there in person.
Brian Luckhurst said
Hi to you both
I read that you have a home in Collioure, you lucky things you. My wife and I discovered this wonderful place whilst driving around France on honeymoon over 30 years ago now and although we have only been back twice since we do have lots of fond memories of there.
Enjoy your travels via home exchange – a great way to see the world.
Best regards
Brian Luckhurst
Kathy Goonan said
Hi Lew
Don’t know if my previous message went through–I entered my street rather than email address.
Looks like you’ve put together a marvelous travel life.
I just ordered THE HERETIC and I look forward to reading it.
Did you ever get the email list togther? Thanks for doing that.
Best,
Kathy
howard weinzimmer and marla hawes said
PAt and Lew – it was wonderful sharing dinner with you tonight in Limoges.
My email address is above and Marla can be reached at marlamh@alo.com
See from your blog that you were Taormina. Marla and I spent a week there 2 years ago and loved it. We did the late afternoon trip up Mt. Etna and saw the sunset from the top – absolutely spectacular.
Look forward to communicating regularly.
Best
Howard and Marla
Ben Woolf said
Dear Pat & Lew
I “discovred” your website after receiving a message from friends whom my Partner & I met some 10 years ago whilst making our first visit to Collioure. We immediatelt fell in love with Collioure and after some prompting from our friends Gemma & Kevin Otoole (they have a 2nd home there) we followed their advice to “GO FOR IT”.
We visit our small (originally a “fishermans cottage c. 1600 or earlier” situated on the square where most of the “action” occurs, facing nthe Office de Tourism and a few steps from beach, Copacabana Restaurant and especially the “sound of music” when the bands & buskers are entertaining the visitors from the “stage” opposite our tiny balcony.
We try to visit a few times annually, other home & family matters permitting, are glad to get away from overcrowded London to unwind.
We are both well into retirement, I was an electrical/mechanical/telecomms Engineer (pre-computer age!) and my partner Pixie is an Artist (Fine Arts University Degree, she is modest about that, so Collioure has a lot to offer !
We would love to meet you both, we plan to be in Collioure from end August (28th) to 17 Sept 2008. An email exchange would establish addresses and phone contact numbers, look forward to meeting !
p.s. I guess we have some”common ground” with our respective ancestors and origins and await our further contact with great interest.
best regards
Ben & Pixie
Kerry said
You mentioned in your “live the dream” section that you had 7 children between you. I’m sure with role models such as the two of you they are truly fascinating in their own right 😉 I’m wondering if others are curious about how your children feel about your retirement plans and what sort of challenges you face, if any, in living this lifestyle.
Déplacement heureux,
Kerry