The Budget Babe's International Shopping Advisor Fifi LaMode visits Odessa, Ukraine, one hoppin' place. —TBB


by Fifi LaMode
Most of what I knew of Odessa I learned from a very old film by Sergei Eisenstein: Potemkin (silent movie about an event during the Russian Revolution).

Most of you may know of the film inadvertently through the famous scene of the baby carriage tumbling down the steps, copied many times in films by directors such as Woody Allen and Brian DePalma. These are the famous Potemkin Steps leading to the port in Odessa. Imagine my excitement when I saw them from our ship— all 193 of them (husband counted to make sure - LOL). No tumbling baby carriages though, just a pretty boulevard lined with trees and turn of the century homes, all fixed up and pretty.

Ukraine was formerly part of the Soviet Union, a.k.a. Evil Empire. Times have changed indeed. This is a very friendly country. People speak English in restaurants and shops, and the country is in the throes of a major building boom. Old stately buildings are being refurbished, wide boulevards abound, streets are clean, the city is alive and thriving, largely due to its port and the industries connected with it. Did I mention the casinos? Another sign of the times. Most of the cleaned-up old buildings turn out to be casinos.

Another thing that really stood out—and I mean REALLY stood out—are the young women. A lot of supermodel types: super-thin, super-pretty, super-long legs. They are really strikingly beautiful. Fifi hates them. (Kidding) Their uniform is a short tight jacket with big fur trim, poured-on jeans, and very very high heeled boots, very expensive looking, and not a scuff on them.

You have to realize that the streets ain't in good shape. I kept tripping on the uneven sidewalks, even in my practical fugly walking shoes (as my bud the Budget Babe calls them). But not these Olgas and Ludmillas—they just ambled along gracefully. One had red suede knee-high boots and once again, not one scratch, not one scuff. All these super-gorgeous women had shoes that looked like they w ere never worn. My theory is they wear them once, then throw them out! No other explanation is possible.

Abbeys, beaches and laughing cows—The Budget Babe's International Shopping Advisor Fifi LaMode reports on the ABC's of Normandy, France. —TBB


by Fifi LaMode
There is soooo much to see in Normandy, one visit won't cover it all. This is the birthplace of William the Bastard, whose victory at Hastings changed his name forever to the Conqueror (good thing for him, right?). It is also home to the Bayeux Tapestry, a nearly 1,000-year old work of art depicting said battle, which changed the face of England.

In more recent times, Normandy saw a different type of warfare during World War II, and the D-Day landings have left a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of the people, along with some of the most moving memorials to the dead of both sides—a stark reminder that there are no real victors in war. The French have not forgotten that we (and the Brits, Canadians and other Allies) liberated them and hospitality abounds here.

On a happier note, Normandy has served as inspiration to the Impressionists: Monet's garden in Giverny teems with tourists in every season, and the picturesque harbor at Honfleur really does look like the paintings. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, with its famous cathedral (also painted by Monet) and clock; the rich and famous congregate in Deauville for the races and the annual film festival, pausing to shop and dine in this fabulous jewel with its half-timbered houses where one can really use the term 'spoiled for choice;' the white cliffs of the Alabaster Coast contrast with Dover across the English Channel (call it La Manche here); the rugged beauty of Cap de la Hague draws hikers, fishermen and nature lovers, and Mont Saint-Michel with its abbey ruins reminds us that truly "time and tide wait for no man." (Visit Mont St-M. early in the morning or in the evening—this place gets CROWDED!). The Dukes of Normandy wanted to make sure that they had a place in heaven after all their conquering (they got as far as Sicily - Monreale Cathedral has a mosaic of St. Thomas a Becket!), so they invested some of their hard-won loot into building some of the finest churches and monasteries in Europe. Visit at least one.

If you must shop, there are some beautiful tapestries from French Flanders in the shop across from Bayeux' cathedral. Reasonably priced too. The museum housing the Bayeux Tapestry has a gift shop where my husband could not resist buying his own repro of a piece of the big cloth.

What you will do a lot of in Normandy is eat and drink. The food is outstanding (here's the "budget" bit). The French have a talent for making wonderful meals from local cheap things like eggs, meat, fish and cheese. A typical Norman dish is the "gallette", a crepe made from buckwheat flour and filled with whatever your heart desires: We usually ordered some combination of the following - fried eggs, ham or bacon, melted camembert, caramelized onions, sometimes with some calvados thrown in. Yummmmmm! Add a carafe of house red (Remember Fifi's rule about wine in France? Always order carafes of the house wine - cheaper than bottles and never a disappointment in our experience) and you've had a hearty, healthy, and inexpensive lunch. They use natural ingredients, no "enriched" anything, because they don't take the goodness out to begin with so they don't need to enrich it afterwards!