REAL Co-founders Caryn Hartglass and Gary De Mattei share their joyful discoveries with vegan food in London, Paris, Rapallo, Nice, and Aix-en-Provence.
October 11, 2022 London and New York This is it. The last day of our 25-Day Magical European Tour. We packed in a lot of adventures with good food. There was an electric tea pot in our hotel room however the cord did not reach the outlet. It also didn’t have a plug…
October 10, 2022 London Our adventure is almost over. We leave tomorrow. I am amazed at everything we have packed in so far. Still we have a full day left. I wanted to try to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens. We left the hotel a little after 10am. We stood at a bus…
October 9, 2022 Aix-en-Provence, France and London, England All good things must come to an end. It is time to say Au Revoir to Aix-en-Provence. We are sad, but we will return. Josée had recommended a restaurant on the Cours Mirabeau, Le Singe Vert, or the green monkey. With a few hours left, we…
October 8 Aix-en-Provence, France Good morning. This is the church across from our hotel. Gary took the photo from our hotel window. Everywhere you look is beauty, charm and history. We are back at one of our favorite French Vegan Bakeries. Oh how I like the sound of that! We have experienced not…
October 7, 2022 Aix-en-Provence, France We’ve got a lot of plans for today. Still full from yesterday’s dinner, we walked a few steps from our hotel to Le Cours Mirabeau for a classic moment, sitting at an outdoor table at a cafe, positioned to watch the passersby. We had tea. Gary is so French.…
October 6 Aix-en-Provence, France And we are back. If it’s morning and we are in Aix-en-Provence, you will find us at Instant V. Today we are trying some different treats, a chocolate chip muffin for me and a cinnamon snail for Gary. It’s vacation! A floating mannequin outside one of the boutiques adds…
October 5, 2022 Aix-en-Provence, France Bonjour! We had a comfortable night’s sleep, our first night in Aix. Josée sent a text early in the morning saying we would go to La Plage Dorée, the golden beach, instead of Porquerolles. It was closer, about an hour drive away. We would picnic there on the beach.…
October 4, 2022 Nice and Aix-en-Provence, France It was a short but full time here in Nice and we would be leaving on the 11:53am TGV to Aix-en-Provence. We’d arrive in Aix after 2:30pm. This schedule worked brilliantly allowing us a luxurious morning in Nice and then a satisfying afternoon and evening in Aix-en-Provence.…
October 3, 2022 Nice, France We had big plans today. Our friends Mehmouna and Guy, who live in Nice, offered to take us on a drive, to see the sights, all the way to Menton, France and back. We were to meet at 10:45am at the Place Jacques Toja. While we waited, we learned…
October 2, 2022 Rapallo, Italy and Nice, France Our train was leaving Rapallo at 7:33am. After eight days, we were ready for our next destination and adventure in Nice. I made our last cups of tea in our beautiful room overlooking the sea. I don’t like wasting food and ate the remaining two melted…
October 1 Rapallo, Italy Gary’s feeling better but still not quite his best. We were supposed to take a trip to Lavagna today with his cousin Vittorio. Vittorio lives and works there and he wanted to show us his ‘hood. Gary was disappointed not to go but thought it best to lay low for…
September 29, 30 Rapallo, Italy It’s rare that Gary is under the weather. Today he woke up feeling “blech” and said he’d like to stay inside our room which had a beautiful view overlooking the Ligurian Sea. I ventured out on my own. I started by ordering more tea at the front desk, which was…
September 28 Rapallo, Italy It’s a good day to relax. We got up late. I ordered some hot tea to have in the room. We got up to go for a stroll. I needed some kind of skin moisturizer. Not an easy thing to find in this small, Italian town. We stopped by La…
September 27, 2022 Rapallo, Italy Today, Gary’s cousin Vittorio and his wife Cinzia were picking us up at our hotel and driving us to Genoa! Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. Gary’s brother-in-law decided not to make the trip today, so we waited for Gary’s…
September 26, 2022 Rapallo We arrived two nights ago and I am still in awe of the location of our hotel, right on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. Today we are walking to Portofino. Gary’s sister Deb told us about it. We could walk the whole way or take a ferry. She…
September 25, 2022 Rapallo This was a very, very special day. And because there was so much activity and love and excitement, I forgot to take pictures of our very special meal. Scusi! The day started earlier than expected. I was thrilled to have a room with a balcony overlooking the Ligurian Sea. We left…
September 24, 2022 Paris Just before leaving our hotel we stopped at a Monop’, a small grocery chain that is part of the Monoprix department stores around France. These small grocery stores, along with Carrefour Express are everywhere in Paris. Although I am not certain, I believe they have taken over many of the “mom…
September 23, 2022 After another “grace matinée” we got up in the afternoon and walked down the Rue du Faubourg Montmartre in the direction of the Seine. It’s our museum day. Whether in a museum or painted on a wall on the street, we appreciate art. It was recommended to not miss the…
September 22, 2022 Paris As much as we would have liked to have stayed in our little boutique hotel, the Hotel Residence Quintinie Square, in the 15th arrondissement, I was not able to reserve this place for any more days. When we were checking out we were told they would be renovating soon. We’ll have…
September 21, 2022 Paris The plan today was to meander North from the Hotel in the 15th arrondissement to Le Jardin de Luxembourg, pass by La Sorbonne University, the Latin Quarter, and Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, with the ultimate destination of le Théâtre de la Huchette to see Ionesco’s play La Cantratrice Chauve (The Bald…