Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Before we left for France, I purchased a micro-sim card for my iPad so I could get online during the trip. Unfortunately the service has been spotty for the past week or so. I never know when I'll be able to get online and it seems to cut off at whim. I've contacted the service company for help and they said I used up all my time last Saturday, which is impossible. So they are investigating the issue and I hope that it's resolved soon, at least before we leave for Paris tomorrow. But I have no idea when this post will be uploaded. (Later note--Now the 3G is working fine, but I still can't post this note. Something is up with the blogging program that I'm using. I apologize for the delay in getting this post uploaded, but technology has been working against me.)

On Saturday, Allen & I drove north a little bit to explore the countryside. We found our way to a winery that is also has an outdoor art exhibit. We hiked around the winery (including going up a rather large hill) and viewed the art, all of it quite large. The scenery was beautiful, though the hike was quite a bit more than I was used to. The art and architecture was very interesting though.

Yesterday (Sunday), we visited the town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a town surrounded by a moat which has several waterwheels around. It is about an hour north of us here in Aix. Sunday is their big market day. But their market includes antiques, as well as the usual foods and other items. It was a big market that covers most of the old town. We strolled among the booths that people had set up looking at the antiques that we couldn't afford even if we could take them home with us. I did find a copy of Le Petit Prince in French, a book I read in my high school French class. It's a marvelous little tale and I highly recommend it; even the English version.

Marilyn, Allen, & I then went off in search of a place called the Cathedral of Images. It's a video presentation evidently in an old limestone quarry and is near Les Baux, the hilltop village we visited earlier in the week. Unfortunately, the search turned into a wild goose chase. We had trouble finding it at first and when we did find it it turned out to be closed. So no Cathedrale d'Images for us on this trip.

We returned home to have another meal at the tapas restaurant we've come to think of as our home restaurant, which is called, by the way, au Gout du Monde. If you're ever in Aix, be sure to stop by and tell Franck & Helene that we said hi.

This is our last day in Aix. Tomorrow we're piling ourselves and our suitcases into our Fiat Duplo and driving to Paris. We have one night in Paris during which we plan to eat dinner and then we begin the process of hoping we get on a flight to Chicago. Wish us luck. Adieu.

Pictures below:
--Scenery from our drive on Saturday
--Art from the winery walk
--Waterwheel in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Paris--need I write more?

Today was my day in Paris. A day free of going to the airport and standing by to no avail. I began with the usual routine of catching the shuttle bus to the airport and then taking the RER train into downtown. I got off at my usual stop: the Notre Dame-St. Michel stop. The RER is very deep underground, below the metro system, which is of course well below the surface. So wending one's way up from there can be challenging. But I did it and found the light of day. I then proceeded to one of my favorite places on this earth: the Sainte-Chapelle. Sainte-Chapelle was built in the 13th century by the king, Louis, I think it's the 6th. (He's the one who became St. Louis.) The joy of this building is hard to describe. They had figured out how to have stained glass in buildings by this point and, boy, did they ever use it here. Much of the wall space is stained glass, starting at about 10 feet. It so delicate and thin, yet colorful. One way to describe it would be to say it's like being in a brightly colored egg shell. The chapelle isn't very big. To get to it you have to climb up a winding staircase--up,up until the walls burst with their color. I spent about an hour there just sitting and walking around and looking. It remains one of my favorite places to visit. This was my 3rd time there. I then walked past the Louvre, I didn't go in as I didn't have enough time to give it any justice, to the Tuileries Garden, which extends from the Louvre along the Seine. Finally I arrived at the Orangerie, a museum of impressionistic art. The main attraction here is Monet's Waterlilies paintings. I've only seen snippets of them, I learned, because they are massive. They had two oval rooms devoted to them, each room had 4 paintings. Beautiful is all I can say. I wandered around the rest of their exhibits, taking in the Renoirs, Cézannes, and all the others. I skirted La Place de la Concorde and walked up to the Madeleine, an area surrounding a church of the same name. I had an overpriced lunch, and then went into the church. Some would find it beautiful though I thought it was a little drear. Maybe it's the contrast to the Sainte-Chapelle, but it felt grey and somewhat oppressive in there. I strolled along the Seine to return to the RER station that I had come to know so well. It was a fairly long walk, but it had warmed up a little by then (it felt terribly chilly when I was out earlier) so I didn't mind too much. After all the walking and standing, I was glad to get a seat on the train. Now it's time for dinner so I'll close this chapter. Adieu.

The saga continues...

If you have been following this blog, you may be wondering where I am. The answer is that I am still in Paris. I've tried three days in a row to get on the flight back to San Franocisco, all to no avail. So here I am, sitting in a hotel room a few kilometers from the Charles de Gaulle airport. Actually, I'm in the village of Le Mesnil-Amelot. I haven't actually seen the village yet, but I plan on taking a walk later in the day. The past two days, I traveled into Paris for dinner. To do so, I have to catch the shuttle bus which arrives at the hotel every 35 minutes. I take it to the airport and then go to the RER station which is a suburban train system here. Then after a 30-45 minute ride, I arrive in Paris, right near Notre Dame Cathedral. My first night here I had little energy and didn't feel like doing much so I basically just walked around a little and then found a cafe to have dinner in. Yesterday I had much more energy and felt much better so I spent more time. I wandered into Notre Dame where they were in the midst of having a service--evening vespers perhaps. I'm not certain because it was all in French and I don't understand it well enough to catch exactly what was going on. When I thought the service was over (even though it really wasn't) I wandered around the cathedral a bit marveling that people have been worshipping in that same building for centuries. It boggled the mind. And I've made a decision regarding my travel home: I've purchased a last minute ticket for Sunday. So I'll be flying on a legitimate ticket via Lufthansa Airline meaning I've given up on the stand by method of travel for now. And that also means I have another day in Paris to play, which is exactly what I plan to do. As wrote in a previous post,there are worse places to be stranded. Adieu.

Stranded...in Paris

I haven't been able to get the last post to updload so this will be a little out of order. Check back later to see what we did over the weekend. Hopefully that one will post at some point...maybe when I get home. Speaking of getting home...as you can tell from subject line of this post, I am in Paris. Well, technically, I'm several miles outside of Paris at a hotel near Charles de Gaulle Airport. Allen & Marilyn left this morning, as planned, but when they called Allen and me to the desk, they said they only had one seat. So he took it since he's supposed to be at his job tomorrow. So they are winging their way across the Atlantic as I write while I sit here in my hotel room. Of all the places to be stranded, I suppose Paris doesn't rate high on the sympathy scale. Yesterday, (Monday) we drove up from Aix to Paris. It was about an eight to nine hour drive. Allen and I took turns and we made good time crossing the country. It was a fun way to get here. We saw a lot of the countryside and enjoyed each other's company. We arrived in Paris, at the airport,at about 3 p.m. We returned our car (and were glad to be rid of it!) and then took the train into the city. Once there we stopped in a cafe, since that is what one does in Paris! We then found our way to a favorite restaurant, the Brasserie Balzar. It's there that their house wine comes from the Chateau de Brague, an old family business. This morning was a rush to get over to the airport from our hotel which we did in good time. Later, when the boarding was called, is when I learned that iw would remain behind and the others would go. As I already wrote, if you're going to be stranded somewhere for a day, try to make it somewhere like Paris, because I'm about to go downtown again for dinner (okay, I admit it--I took a nap this afternoon) and see what fun I can have. Wish me luck with my flight tomorrow...I don't know how long this stranded thing can go on. Adieu.

Nice Nice

Okay, so the title to this blog has probably been done before. But you're probably not reading this for the titles...at least I hope not.

As you probably have surmised, we did drive to Nice yesterday. Allen, Marilyn, & I drove to Nice which is not far from Monaco and the Italian border. While driving there,we crossed a river called la Brague. I exclaimed that we drove over my roots! I don't know where my name originated but it's becoming clearer that it is a French name.

Nice is a decent sized town (about 350,000) right on the Mediterranean. We arrived there about 11 a.m. and had quite a time finding parking. But eventually we found a garage and did a little exploring by foot.

We found some seats just above the beach facing the sea. It was very relaxing to just sit and watch the waves. There were a few braves souls on the beach though it was overcast and a little breezy. None of the nude or topless sunbathing going on which the French Rivière is famous for. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant where I had some of the best calamari I've ever eaten!

We then set off for the Matisse museum. Matisse was from Nice and they had a very good collection or his work. After the museum, we set off for a town named Vence, northwest of Nice. In Vence, Matisse designed a chapel for the Dominican nuns. Unfortunately, the chapel was closed so we couldn't visit it but we did see it from afar. We also wandered around the town a bit, stopping for a snack and then discovered the old town where we strolled the narrow streets.

Today (Saturday), Allen & I drove north a little bit. We were aiming to just wander around the Luberon, the hills to the north of us. Instead, as we drove, we found a winery that has an outdoor art exhibit. At Domaine La Coste, they have invested in major works of art and architecture by well-known and well-respected artists and architects. To view the art, one has to walk a path around and above the vineyards. The walk is well worth it though.

We drove a little further north for a late lunch and then decided to call it a day and drove home for naps, something we're very good at. That was after stopping for eclairs as a snack. (How can you come to France and not have an eclair?) Adieu.

Photos below:
--The flower market in Aix
--Along the Mediterranean in Nice
--The beach in Nice
--In the narrow streets of Vence

Around Aix

It's early morning--I can't sleep for some reason. So I'm up before everyone else in the quiet of the morning. And first an apology: I haven't been able to get online for over 24 hours. Thus there are two posts here in quick succession. Hopefully, my 3G provider will figure out soon what is going on and fix whatever the problem is.

Yesterday was a quieter day: we stayed close to home and spent time in Aix again. First we dropped off Pam, Bob, & Stan at TGV station. They are in Paris overnight for a visit.

Then Allen and I tried to trade In our behemoth car for something a little more compact. We originally reserved a compact from our car rental place (Europcar) and were given, as I mentioned in a previous post, this larger Fiat Duplo, which drives tank-like. On Monday, when we went in to report the damage to our car, we asked about trading for a smaller car in the compact size. The woman there said she didn't have any at that time but if we came back later in the week they would have a compact. Well, we stopped at the rental place yesterday and found out that our car is considered a compact. This after we had just spent about $100 to fill up the gas tank, something I don't expect a compact to do. The upshot: we still have our Duplo which which we're rolling around the French countryside.

I do have good news to report on the pants front though, if you read my post of a few days ago. As you might remember I needed to replace one of the pairs of pants that I packed. I couldn't find anything approaching my size in stores though. But at a the market in St. Remy there was a man selling clothing who had my size! So I was able, after all, to increase my wardrobe by one pair of pants, which even fit.

We visited a museum yesterday, the Musée Granet, which is a nice collection here in Aix. They showed the full gamut from modern to classical art. Included in their collection were several Cézannes. Cézanne came from and lived in Aix. He painted many versions of Mount Sainte Victoire, which is on the outskirts of Aix. It was a very pleasurable way to spend some time, roaming among the art.

Last night, Marilyn, Allen, & I went to a new restaurant which came highly recommend by a previous tenant of the villa we're staying in. (There is a book here that has been added to over the years that is an accumulation of information by previous tenants and the owner.) There's a good reason it's highly recommended: it was delicious and the staff was very fun and engaging. It's called Pasta Cosy and as their name indicates they emphasize serving pasta. I had a gnocchi dish with crayfish, Allen had ravioli like I've never seen or tasted before, and Marilyn had their signature dish, the Pasta Cosy. The staff and owner were fun; they wouldn't down with you and talk about the dishes and were generally very much a part of the experience. If you're ever in Aix, search it out and try it; we recommend it.

Today our plans are to head to Nice, which is on the Mediterranean about two hours (we think) away. Maybe by the time we get home the Internet will be working again.
Adieu.

Old, older, oldest

It's been a busy day. We've just finished dinner and are relaxing; Allen, Marilyn, & Stan are starting a game of Scrabble. Pam & Bob are out to dinner so it's a quiet evening after our day of adventure. But first I have to catch you up with what we did yesterday.

We started out on Tuesday heading to Avignon, the papal city for 80 years in the 14th century. After a somewhat manic search for parking, which was successful, we started to walk the city. Avignon became the seat of the Papacy when Pope Clement V moved it when Rome became so dangerous and difficult in 1305. Over the course of their time there, they built and added onto some rather large edifices. In fact, the Palace of the Popes is the largest gothic structure in Europe,

We didn't go into the Palace, instead opting for motorized train ride around the old part of the city, which took us around the old part of the city. Of course our ride included a view of the Pont d'Avignon,famous in song. The bridge, known as the Pont St-Benezet, was originally built in 1177, first as a narrow thoroughfare for foot traffic & horseback riders. The bridge was restored in the 15th century, spanning the Rhone River with 22 arches. In the middle of the 17th century, a flood destroyed the bridge, leaving only the four arches that remain today.

We drove home and relaxed a bit, then Pam, Bob, Allen, & I went out and enjoyed dinner at what's become our favorite restaurant in Aix, the tapas restaurant that we "discovered." Then home to bed and some rest.

Today brought about a new day of adventure. Allen, Marilyn, Stan, & I started out driving to the medieval town of Les Baux. But we got sidetracked along the way and ended up in the town of St. Remy. And it happened to be market day! So we did some shopping and then enjoyed lunch.

Just outside of St. Remy is a well-preserved Roman town called Glanum. It was first settled by the Gauls in the 6th to 3rd century B.C. Then the Greeks came in and expanded the town. Finally the Romans built their city on top of the original city. All of us were expecting a brief stop to see some old ruins. But we were surprised to find a large town of ruins with a very good interpretive program in signs that included English even. It was really interesting to walk about the ruins knowing that 2,000 years ago this was a active, bustling city. The city was abandoned in 260 A.D. because of invasion and has sat for 17 centuries undisturbed until discovered in the early 20th century.

We then did continue our drive to Les Baux, a mideaval town clinging to the top of a mountain in the Alpilles, the mountains of central Provence. The village grew because of its easily defensible position until, in 1632, a more powerful ruler grew tired of the rebellious town and had the ramparts and castle destroyed. Today about 200 people live in the village, perched high above Provence.

Now we've had a good meal at home and are looking forward to what may lie ahead. Adieu.

Pictures below:
--The end of the Palace of Popes
--Glanum
--Les Baux

Mistrals, Cassis, pants, et boules

It's Monday afternoon at the moment. I'm sitting outside in a gentle breeze with the late afternoon sun starting to dip below the tree across the road. The breezes weren't so gentle this past weekend as the Mistral came in. The Mistrals are the high winds that hit Provence from time to time. They usually last about 3 days and that's how long they lasted this time. The winds were indeed strong, knocking over signs and trash cans. We survived though, none the worse for wear.

On Sunday, Allen & I took Pam & Stan into the downtown area so they could attend Mass at Saint Saveur, the Roman Catholic cathedral for Aix. After dropping them off, we did a little bit of exploration, ending up in Les Plantanes, a village on the outskirts of town. Our big discovery was a boulangerie, where we bought some pastries and a couple of loaves of baguettes.

After they came home from church, we all ventured back downtown to find a place to eat. We ended up going back to the tapas restaurant that four of us enjoyed so much the other day. Being Sunday, they had a brunch menu, which we all enjoyed.

Following brunch, we got back into our cars and headed to Cassis, a town that clings to the Mediterranean. Sitting in a steep valley at the edge of the sea, Cassis is a popular escape for tourists and locals alike, it seems. We strolled around the town, which is mostly restaurants, souvenir shops, & boats. Since it was about dinner time, we settled down to another meal. By the time that we had finished eating it had grown dark outside so we decided to head back home.

On the drive into Cassis, as we tried to park, we sustained some damage to our Duplo. Nothing serious, but enough to warrant a trip to the car rental place this morning. They made note of the damage but couldn't offer us another, smaller car (like we reserved) at the moment. I think both Allen & I would be more comfortable driving something a little more compact. We'll see; maybe we'll get used to it.

Another, this time embarrassing, incident which occurred as we were arriving at the TGV station in Paris the other day was that as I bent down to pick up some papers, because it was humid and I was sweating, my pants split and ripped in a way that they can't be repaired. Since I only packed two other pairs of pants, I wanted to replace them. Well I've been on a quest ever since to find a new pair. Not as easy as one might imagine. French men, to the last of them, seem to be way too thin to describe. Thus their pants come in sizes that don't begin to approach the size that I need. I've started to give up on this quest, thinking of myself as one of those large Americans. C'est la vie.

Marilyn, Stan, Allen, & I tried a particularly Provencal activity this afternoon: a game of pentaque or boules. It's a game similar to bocci or lawn bowling in which you try to get your boules (or metal balls) closer to the little ball than your opponent's boules. It takes some skill and some luck, we found out. Knocking your opponent's boules out of the way while trying to get yours closer takes some doing. It was fun even though Marilyn & I lost to Allen & Stan. But it was a well-fought game.

The other excitement today was laundry doing, which doesn't really deserve a mention but I thought you'd like to know that we have clean clothes. Adieu.

Pictures below:
--Allen at boules
--Four dolphins fountain in Aix
--Cassis

Aix & Arles

Today, Saturday, has been the first day that I know what day of the week it is. I guess that means I'm settling in and am through the time change.

We've spent the past couple of days exploring Aix-en-Provence, our home for these two weeks. Aix is a medium-sized city in the south of France. It's a very youthful city due to several universities that are located here. The nightlife is lively and going strong. It must also be a popular place for American students to study abroad as I've heard American English being spoken on several occasions.

There's no lack of restaurants in this city. And they're good ones too; I haven't had a bad meal yet! A favorite has been the tapas restaurant that Pam, Bob, Allen, & I had lunch in yesterday. We were the only people there at the time so we had very attentive service, from one of the owners himself. He and his girlfriend, the other owner, had just completed a round-the-world trip last year. The restaurant was only 2 months old. They based the menu on the trip they took offering foods of the world. Everything we had was really delicious.

Aix is known for its water. It was founded by the Romans in the first century (I think) as a hot water spa. The hot water baths still exist today though they are now a fancy, expensive spa. All around the downtown area are fountains, the biggest of which is at le Rotunde, a large traffic circle at the heart of the old city.

The streets of the old city are narrow and twisty. Fortunately we don't have to drive downtown; whenever we go there we can take the bus, which is much easier. The bus stop is just about a 5-10 minute walk away from our house.

We did get a surprise yesterday when we picked up our rental car. We had reserved a compact expecting something along the lines of our Honda Civic parked in the garage back home. Instead we got a Fiat Duplo which is much larger than our trusty little Civic. It's also a standard shift, which is typical in Europe. So we are getting used to it.

Today the adventure was to drive to Arles, a city about 45 minutes away. I had downloaded an app for my iPad which was supposed to be a GPS system for France. I paid little or nothing for it so wasn't sure what to expect. It worked great on the drive over to & back from Arles, I'm happy to report. It even has voice instructions, in English yet.

It was the big market day in Arles, so we first did some shopping, mostly picking up food for the house. After lunch, Stan, Allen,& I wandered around to see some of the antiquities that makes up Arles. The city has several Roman ruins: a theatre, some baths, and a coliseum still intact. We only went into an old church and it's cloisters, which dated from the 12th-15th centuries, if I remember correctly. It was a fun day. And Allen gets great amounts of credit for his driving skills through the narrow, twisting streets of old-town Arles in our Fiat.

Now the afternoon sun is starting to set and we are settling down to some cheese and crackers prior to dinner. Adieu.

Pictures below:
--The fountain at le Rotunde
--Market day in Aix
--The front door of our house

Nous sommes arrivè

Well, we did it! We are here. After our flights, we connected to the TGV (pronounced tay jay vay) which is the high speed train through France. (TGV stands for tres grande vitesse or very high speed.) And it's true--it does go very fast. We zoomed through the countryside taking only about 3 & 1/4 hours to get from Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris to Aix. (If I knew how far it was, I'd tell you but I don't so you'll just have to wonder or look it up yourself!). From the train station we took a cab to our villa.


Once here we did some unpacking and settled in for some naptime. We made sure that we had alarms on so we wouldn't sleep too long, so we could get onto schedule quickly. I actually didn't even sleep the whole time but woke up before the alarm went off.

Our house is in the northern part of Aix, not within walking distance from downtown. So we found the nearby bus stop and took the bus into downtown to stroll around and find some dinner for ourselves. We successfully did both, I'm happy to report. Dinner was outside, at a creperie, and it was quite good. Following dinner, we walked up one of the streets near our restaurant to find an epicerie, which is a small grocery market so we could get some provisions for the house.

We returned and soon went to bed. During the night Stan, Pam, & Bob arrived around midnight. They flew into Barcelona, via Amsterdam, and then drove north to Provence. They too were travel weary, obviously.

In the morning, all of us refreshed to one degree or another, we took off for downtown again to go to the farmer's market which is held there three days per week. It wasn't very large but had a good number of vendors. We stocked up on provisions for the next few days and then found a place for lunch. Allen and I wandered around a little bit and then came home for, you guessed it, a nap.

Now I'm sitting in the late afternoon sun by the pool (which is quite chilly, I'm told) enjoying a relaxed afternoon. If I can remember how to do it, I'll add some pictures to the blog. Adieu.

Hurtling through Time & Space

Greetings from 36,014 feet above the North Atlantic. We're about 2 hours and 6minutes from landing in Paris. We've traveled 3159 miles so far and have about 566left to go. So now you know the end of the story: yes, we got on our flight. But that's hardly the whole story.

The day began at 2 a.m., an early hour by anyone's reckoning. After getting ourselves up and getting all the last minute things done, Super Shuttle showed up on time at 3:30 to pick Allen & me up. We got to the airport just fine and checked our luggage.

As if flying standby wasn't enough excitement, I decided to add to the thrill of it all by playing a game of hide & seek with my passport case. I had used the resstroom and was then talking with my brother on the phone when I rallied that I wasn't holding my passport case anymore which not only contained my passport but also all the papers I needed for the trip.

I ran back to the restroom and checked all the stalls but no passport case. Panic by this time is rearing its ugly head. The are two airline employees who are outside the restroom who are sympathetic but really can't help. They do point me to the courtesy phone where I call the police. The very nice women on the other end of the line says she'll get a policeman to me soon. So I wait, shaking and practically in tears. As I'm waiting, another airline employee exits the restroom holding, yes!, my passport case. I identify myself and he reunites us. It takes me until we're over Utah to stop shaking.

And, yes, we do get on our flight. We have three middle seats but that's bearable if it will get us closer to our goal. So we arrive in Chicago about noon ready to wait the six hours until the flight to Paris. We have a fairly nice lunch at O'Hare and then begin our vigil at our gate. Allen and I pass the time with an Indiana Jones movie on my iPad. Marilyn had begun the day saying that it wasn't likely that we'd get on the plane. When you use companion passes to fly standby you can access a website that lists a flight as green, amber, or red. Green means that there are plenty of seats available. Amber means that it's getting crowded and red means it's not likely that you'll get on. When Marilyn first met us in the morning she brought with her the news that the flight had turned red that morning. Oh great!

We waited anyways because what else is there to do, really? As they start the boarding process, they still haven't called our names. But then suddenly we hear, "Foster, party of three." Yes! That's the sign that they've got room for us. We eagerly approach the desk assuming that they'll give us three middle seats again. But my boarding pass indicates that I'm on the aisle. And we're all in the same row. And, as it turns out,we have three seats together! Another yes!

So here we are, high above the earth, bidding our time until we touch down. According to the map on the little tv screen in front of me, we're just about over Ireland now, so we are indeed getting close. More to come later. Adieu!

Departure Imminent

We're down to the wire now. As John Denver sang (or did he write it? Or both?) "all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." Well, most of my bags are packed; my main suitcase is done (and comes in 10 lbs under weight, thank you very much) and most of my carry on is finished. So I'm in good shape. I think.

It's very interesting to be traveling standby, not that this is the first time I've done it. When Marilyn & I went to Venice a few years ago we did that on standby. It led to some interesting waiting at the airport gate. You don't get called for a seat until the last minute usually. So you sit and watch everyone else board and all you can do is wait. And wait. And wait. Returning from Venice in the Frankfort airport was a particularly interesting experience which I won't go into here but ask me about it sometime.

But at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday (that's tomorrow) Super Shuttle will be outside our door. It almost makes it not worthwhile to go to bed. (But I will.) And then the adventure begins. Hopefully my next post will come to you from France. Wish us luck!

The Countdown Continues

We've just a little over two weeks before we leave. The excitement grows,in fact it's just 15 days. Fifteen days to get a lot done. We should probably convert some currency to euros and stuff like that.

At the moment I'm on my way home from a family event in Pennsylvania. It was fun to see most everyone though it was a very quick trip; in on Saturday and out on Monday with a baptism on Sunday. But I'm looking at the flights as run-throughs for the longer flight I'll hopefully be on in two-week's time.

I say hopefully because we're flying standby for this trip. We have to get to Chicago first and then onto a flight to Paris. Marilyn, who is a pro at this, doesn't seem worried so I'm not worrying either. A few years ago, she and I went to Venice on standby and everything was fine. It does get tense as you sit and wait for your name to be called at the gate. It requires patience and some fortitude. This time though there'll be three of us traveling which makes it all the more interesting. We're already discussing what to do if only one or two of us get on the flight to Paris: who goes and who stays for the next day's flight? Stay tuned for what happens in this department.

The picture below is one of my worries; will our cats let us go. As I was packing to leave for my current trip, I had put my open suitcase on the bed. When went back later to pack it, not one but two cats were inside the suitcase, as if to prevent me from leaving. So Baxter (the gray and white feline in the front) and his pal Audrey (mostly black in the back) had definite opinions about my departure. And that was just me for a weekend; imagine if they thought that both Allen & I were leaving for two weeks! We'll have to see how they handle that one.

We're going to land soon so I'll close this post for now and write more another time. Adieu.

The Countdown Begins

In a little over a month, we leave for a vacation in Provence, in the south of France. Six of us will be staying in a house in Aix-en-Provence. Aix (pronounced like the letter X) will be our base for exploring Provence and the countryside.

Besides Allen & me, the other four are: our friend Marilyn, with whom we have traveled many times in the past, and her friends Stan, Pam, & Bob. One of the women who lives in Marilyn's building lived in France and she has been giving us basic French lessons. I took French for several years in junior and senior high school (and we won't mention how many years ago THAT was!) and am pleased with how much I remember.

I've also been preparing by reading a book by Peter Mayle, Provence A - Z. It was a fun read. I know he has written several other books about his life in Provence (he moved there from Britain) so I may try to find them to read also.

So follow along if you like. Adieu!