Honfleur, Normandy France

 

Two years ago, Stelios and I flew to Paris and rented a car for a road trip around France. France is one of those countries that dreams are made of. Impressive architecture, magnificent counrtyside, some of the best food and wine, beautiful people, and lots of history. And did I mention the food and wine?

After a few days in Paris we drove north to the coastal town of Honfleur. Honfleur is a Commune in the Calvados Department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais.

It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, including in particular, Claude Monet, forming the école de Honfleur (Honfleur school) which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.

Our room at La Petite Folie

 Breakfast at La Petite Folie

We stayed at a lovely B&B, La Petit Folie, owned by an American! The B&B was something out of a fairy tale with it's beautifully restored old interiors, and it's perfectly manicured grounds.

 The Petite Folie grounds

 French Yogurt. Magnifique!

The highlight was a seafood dinner with one of those towers of shellfish, a chilled white, a bouillabaisse, champagne aperitifs, and, of course, dessert. It was all served outside on a beautiful evening in this magical town.

 The seafood tower!

 Bouillabaisse

  The wine

 Le petit!

Macarons!

If you're ever in France take an excursion to Honfleur.You'll be enchanted!

Enjoy!

Maria

America the Beautiful - Grand Canyon, Arizona-II

The Grand Canyon has some amazing trails to hike. The trails are steep, strenuous and amazing! They have incredible views.

Our second day in the Park we decided to hike down the Kaibab trail as far as we could. Then we'd return back to the South Rim since we did not have a permit to camp inside the Canyon.

 A mule train.

We came across mule trains carrying supplies and passengers.

If you don't want to hoof it you can hop on a mule and let it hoof it for you!

 Morning start was chilly

 Lunch Break

 It was a breathtaking hike, with views I could not believe.

If I ever get to go back to the Grand Canyon I'd like to hike all the way to the bottom. Maybe next time we'll get a permit!
Enjoy!


Maria

Archangel Book Signing at the Lake - Success!

I am so lucky to live in this wonderful community of Erskine Lakes! Tuesday night was a beautiful summer evening and so many people came out to support me at my first Book Signing for Archangel!

 We had Greek wines, spinach pie, baklava and ouzo! What more could you ask for?

 

 Reading

 Laura and Kelly preparing the food for the party

People listening while I'm reading an excerpt from the book.

 Maria Reading

Thank you Erskine Lakes Women's club, thank you Erskine Lakes Men's Club!


Maria

Join me for my first Book Signing for Archangel!

Book Signing

Archangel

by

Maria Menico Sifniades

Tuesday June 24, at 7pm

Upper Lake Pavilion

Upper Lakeview Avenue, Ringwood, NJ 07456

Sponsored by the Men's and Women's Clubs of Erskine Lakes Property Owner's Association, ELPOA

Author signed copies of Archangel will be available for purchase. I'll be reading an excerpt from the book and we'll have some Greek inspired refreshments and music.

See you at the Lake!
Maria

Dining with Drew Barrymore

Need I say more, Drew Barrymore and I dined at Marea restaurant last night. She dined at her table with her friends and I at mine with Stelios!
Marea is a great seafood restaurant on Central Park South in New York City. The food is sublime, the service is excellent and the ambiance special!

Stelios and I went there for our anniversary dinner after taking a spin around the Metropolitan Museum of Art(you all know it's one of my haunts.) The museum is a great place to go on a rainy day, you can park your car in the garage and take the elevator to the galleries, so no umbrella, no problem!
Yesterday, however, we were lucky enough to find a parking spot on Fifth Avenue and 90th street. Who could believe that, finding on street parking in New York City. It's like finding a needle in  a haystack! Stelios did a great job of fitting the SUV car into a tiny parking space that left barely an inch of space on each end. I was impressed.
It was still overcast but the rain had pretty much stopped so we walked the few blocks to the museum.

When we emerged several hours later(I'll show you what we saw in my next post) the sun was out and we found a different New York City, bright and shiny. We strolled down Fifth towards our restaurant and made it in time for our 6 o'clock reservation.
We were seated at a comfortable table with a nice view of the dining room. You all must know by now that if there are oysters on the menu, we're ordering them. We got a bottle of the Greek Santorini Thalasitis wine and shared the dozen briny mollusks.

 Next came a wonderful grilled octopus with tiny potatoes and a delicious glaze.

 My main course was an Italian fish soup that was full of shellfish and flavor.

 Stelios had the black Sea Bass.

For dessert we shared a pistachio pana coda with a rhubarb and rose petal  sorbet, it was sublime. I love anything with rose in it and this one did not disappoint.

We were finishing  our coffee when I saw the Maître' D escorting a woman through the restaurant. She was not disabled nor old, so I took a closer look. Drew Barrymore had just been escorted past our table! She was just as pretty as in the movies or magazine pictures. Dressed nicely but unassumingly she had dinner with her husband and another couple. They seemed to be having a good time. I thought about getting her picture but I would never succeed as a paparazzi. Let her enjoy herself in peace, I decided and, sat back to chat about her movie, Firestarter, with Stelios and the diners next to us.
Enjoy!,

Maria

Thank you to all my readers for embracing my novel, Archangel!

A BIG Thank You to all my readers around the world who've embraced my novel Archangel!

http://www.amazon.com/Archangel-Maria-Menico-Sifniades/dp/0991579607/

I have been touched by the positive reception of the book, by the wonderful comments people have written on Amazon's reviews, and generally by the fact that people are willing to take a chance and read my book.


I was moved when, after a recent book club discussion of my novel, the readers welcomed me and had so many thoughtful things to say about the book, the story, the writing. The type of questions readers asked me were interesting and I want to share a few:


Q: Did I personally live through the specific war events that I describe in the book?
A: No, but the events I describe are a composite of ordeals other Cypriots experienced during the Turkish invasion. I did experience the bombing, the fear and the displacement.


Q:Am I faithful?(this is a tricky one)
A:No, not in a conventional sense but I'm a spiritual person. The Greek Orthodox tradition is part of my culture and I relate to it deeply.


Q: Have I ever been to Lythrangomi?
A: No. Lythrangomi is a real village in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, but I have never been there. The description of the village came out of my imagination.


Q: Is the Church of Panagia Kanakaria a real church?
A: Yes, the church is real and I have tried to describe it as close to the real church as I could from research that I did.


Q: Are the mosaics real, and have I ever seen them?
A: Yes, the mosaics are real and I got to see them at the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus long after I completed the book. They are as magnificent as I imagined them to be and more.


Readers wanted to know more about the situation in Cyprus and my personal story as a displaced person as a consequence of the Turkish invasion.


Every time I see that someone purchases a copy of Archangel I am overjoyed and happy to share my writing with everyone! On my cross-country car trip across America I also packed a box of books and cards. People along the way were open to buying "Archangel," either in hard copy or Kindle, and I cherish the discussions about Archangel I shared with them.


Enjoy!


Maria

Cross Country USA! A Road Trip

You're all probably wondering about all my "America the Beautiful" series posts. It's surely obvious by now that Stelios and I loaded-up the car to the hilt and took off to look for America as the song goes!
We packed a tent, sleeping bags, camp stove, camp coffee maker(very important), bags of food, clothes, bedding, boots, coats, hiking gear. Get the picture? With just enough room left for Stelios and me to ride along, we took off from New Jersey on April 17.
After six weeks in a car together almost 24/7, yes, for those who asked, we're still speaking to each other. We're back now doing all the things that needed to be done while we were away! Don't you love that! Those chores don't go away just because you did.

Like making my own breakfast! You know I love to do that!

I won't bore you with the details of cutting the lawn, washing the fridge(hey it was empty for a change!), changing the bedding etc, etc, etc.

Don't you love a clean fridge? I don't do it often but when I decide it's time, nothing stops me until that fridge sparkles!
It was an amazing trip where we saw an America that is vast, it's people are welcoming and friendly, it's bounty is immense, it's diversity incredible both in landcape, culture and wealth. What we found is that the American spirit is bright and strong and we are grateful for the opprotunity to experience it!

Enjoy!
Maria