As our trip draws closer you'll notice that I'm blogging every six days so that my post date will eventually be on Monday...the day of the week that we fly across the pond!
Today we received notice from American Airlines that our flight details were changed. Have you ever booked flights months in advance and not had them change? This is the second change for the flight home...a minor bump that keeps us on the same plane in Austin...yes...we go through customs in Dallas and then hop to Austin before our final flight to LAX. But...we'll be arriving an hour later than originally. Not good for our lucky relatives who will be meeting us with the car!
We've been working on discovering the actual size of the trunk space in the car that we've rented in France. All the information is in meters that they have sent us...also in French...and after translating everything we really don't know much more than we did last October. So me thinks we'll just trust the original estimate and assume everything will fit! Linda did email me the information that we had in October and that helped reassure me.
I found my padlock for the bridge in Paris. Yes, we're taking one with a key...printed our names on it...and will attach it to the bridge with everyone else's...then toss the key into the Seine River as a symbol of our undying love. It's been 52 years so I guess we qualify! I think it started in Rome near Trevi Fountain and has become a phenomenon in cities as varied as Belgium to Japan. Last year the locks on the bridge Pont des Arts near the Louvre were cut off, reportedly by the government. But romance won and now locks are on two bridges in Paris: Pont des Art and Pont de l'Archevéché. We also have directions to find a friend's lock to verify that it is still there.
The sun is shining and it'll be 80 degrees here in sunny California today; compared to the 50's in Paris. But, it's better than the 20 degree weather they were having early this month. We are hoping that the daily temperatures continue to rise over the next six weeks.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Less Than Seven Weeks Until We Leave for Paris
It's been a busy week...purchased two "little black dresses" but had to pick only one to pack. I took out one of the two black pants I'd packed, along with the rain poncho (will do with just the umbrella) in order to fit an extra pair of tennis shoes. The weather looks rainy and cool in April so the extra shoes will be handy. I also squeaked a little short jacket in to dress up my black outfits. Yes...I'm going "french" and packing black...black...black. I'll have the pale green jacket that will look great with pants for visiting expensive bars in five star hotels so that we can see the inside. And a pastel flower short sleeve blouse....otherwise I'm black from the tip of my shoes to the top of my head! Must admit...I still have the gray hair!
You'll notice that I've added some French music to my blog...hope you enjoy it! You can change songs by clicking on a different tune if you roll down and look under the Achives on the left side. Must admit I got the ideal from the blog that I mentioned last week. It was easy to set up but learning to put it into my blog was another story! But, I kept at it until it worked.
This week I wrote to my friend in Provence who owns the Olive Mill; I told him that we'd be there to visit with him in April. I actually met him in California in 2007 when we were doing the California tour with our friends who are joining us for the last five weeks of our trip. My twin sister and I visited with him during our Twin Trip in 2009. It's always fun to meet with people that you know. We'll also be meeting with friends in Paris that I met in Australia. And, my son tells me that they have friends who will be in Paris during Easter break with their children and we hope to meet up with them....maybe a picnic in the jardin des tuileries!
Another project has been arranging for house sitters while we're gone. It's always so nice to have someone in your home when you're traveling to catch the little things that sometimes go array if the house sits empty for too long. Merci beaucoup to my generous friends and family who fill this need.
Working on my To Do list I've been able to scratch off: dental and eye exams; income taxes; estimating expenses until end of May for Quicken...a big project. And the list goes on and on but it's definitely getting shorter each day.
You'll notice that I've added some French music to my blog...hope you enjoy it! You can change songs by clicking on a different tune if you roll down and look under the Achives on the left side. Must admit I got the ideal from the blog that I mentioned last week. It was easy to set up but learning to put it into my blog was another story! But, I kept at it until it worked.
This week I wrote to my friend in Provence who owns the Olive Mill; I told him that we'd be there to visit with him in April. I actually met him in California in 2007 when we were doing the California tour with our friends who are joining us for the last five weeks of our trip. My twin sister and I visited with him during our Twin Trip in 2009. It's always fun to meet with people that you know. We'll also be meeting with friends in Paris that I met in Australia. And, my son tells me that they have friends who will be in Paris during Easter break with their children and we hope to meet up with them....maybe a picnic in the jardin des tuileries!
Another project has been arranging for house sitters while we're gone. It's always so nice to have someone in your home when you're traveling to catch the little things that sometimes go array if the house sits empty for too long. Merci beaucoup to my generous friends and family who fill this need.
Working on my To Do list I've been able to scratch off: dental and eye exams; income taxes; estimating expenses until end of May for Quicken...a big project. And the list goes on and on but it's definitely getting shorter each day.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR UPCOMING TRIP
Hard to believe that in less than eight weeks we'll begin our newest adventure...a two month trip to France. Yes...we're going again to our favorite places.
We will begin our trip with three weeks in Paris; something different than a week or a few days here and there staying in hotels. This time we have taken it one step further and rented a studio apartment in the 15th Arrodissement....that's walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. Our plans are to visit the twenty Arrondissements over the three weeks to discover the little treasures tucked in the secret corners of Paris.
Right now we are busy researching those secrets on the Internet, reading books and enjoying a few blogspots that feature daily photos of Paris. When you've time click on this one: http://paristhroughmylens.blogspot.com/ you may have to cut & paste but you'll enjoying returning each morning for a new photo and the wonderful French music on the site.
I'm busy putting everything on the bed in the guest room to determine what I need and how much of it I can squeeze into our two small pieces of luggage....always a challenge! I'm going to be blogging at least weekly...and maybe more....about our preparations! Stay tuned....
We will begin our trip with three weeks in Paris; something different than a week or a few days here and there staying in hotels. This time we have taken it one step further and rented a studio apartment in the 15th Arrodissement....that's walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. Our plans are to visit the twenty Arrondissements over the three weeks to discover the little treasures tucked in the secret corners of Paris.
Right now we are busy researching those secrets on the Internet, reading books and enjoying a few blogspots that feature daily photos of Paris. When you've time click on this one: http://paristhroughmylens.blogspot.com/ you may have to cut & paste but you'll enjoying returning each morning for a new photo and the wonderful French music on the site.
I'm busy putting everything on the bed in the guest room to determine what I need and how much of it I can squeeze into our two small pieces of luggage....always a challenge! I'm going to be blogging at least weekly...and maybe more....about our preparations! Stay tuned....
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