It's Finally Happening

In June of 1970, I graduated from college and headed off to the mountains to be an assistant camp director for the summer before heading to Europe on a backpacking adventure.

Steve and I had been dating for a few months and he convinced me to cash in my ticket to Europe promising that we would go together.

Costa Rica 1995

We have done a lot of traveling in our 48 years of marriage and we have both been to Europe, but never together as Steve promised. 

In less than 2 weeks, that will change.

Since the moment the tickets were ordered

I have made our destination pretty obvious around the house - didn't realize I had so many books about France and Paris.

The tote bag full craft supplies was a gift from my sister

so I can journal each night 

in the apartment we have rented in the 6th arrondissement.

I haven't been to Paris since 1999 on an 8 country adventure with my sister and our daughters so I look forward to creating a new journal of my adventures with Steve, our son and his wife.

The timing was perfect when I was contacted last week by Mapiful asking if I was interested in collaborating - it was fun to design a map to be part of my journal. 

I originally used the super easy Mapiful website to design a map of Paris where we will spend the majority of our time.

We will fly to Pau in the south of France to visit friends - thus the second red dot on the map.

Via

They plan to take us to Spain for lunch one day 

via

which is why I settled on a map of France that includes the coast of Northern Spain.

We are both counting down the days until we arrive at this 17 century building that we will call home for 10 days.

In the meantime I have lots of Paris inspiration - but I welcome all ideas from you.

in the garden . . .

Oh, the excitement just reading about the party at

Castles Crowns and Cottages -France Simply Irresistible.

France - Simply Irresistible - isn't it just!

I knew exactly what I would share.

. . . . . . . . . . .

I'm big on lists - To Dos, I Want, Favorite Books, etc.

One of my favorite, incomplete, lists is my TOP 10 DAYS.

There are days, and then there are DAYS.

I don't include the obviously special "big ticket" days.

I focus on days that were out of the ordinary that happened for no special reason

Such as:

 horseback riding in the rain forest of Costa Rica - monkeys eating from my hands

sitting on the top of a pyramid at Chichen Itza - scared to death to climb back down

moving into our own beach house - 30 years in the planning stage

kayaking in Summerland - the dolphins jumping so close to our boats that we could hear them 'talking'

My #1 day was not with Steve and it happened with little thought or planning.

July 15, 1999.

I was in Paris with my daughter, my sister and my niece.

Below is the story I wrote and submitted to Victoria Magazine - it was rejected.

It was really written as a gift to my sister who gave us the gift of Europe -

 she did not reject my story.

. . . in the garden . . .

We all have special days in our lives - graduation, marriage, the birth of our children.  But most special are those stolen moments which happen unexpectedly that we savor forever.

My sister and I were taking our daughters on their "Grand Tour" of Europe. Marcia, who is  a frequent business traveler, had indulged us through seven countries viewing museums and monuments she had visited on numerous occasions.  She wanted to do something new to her. When we arrived in France, she suggested a trip to Giverny - Monet's house and gardens. The girls were quite unenthusiastic about relinquishing a minute of shopping time in Paris. We decided that it would be their loss. 1200 francs apiece and metro passes satisfied the girls for a day. We, on the other hand, grabbed our rail passes and packed our art supplies for a day of leisure in the French countryside.

A relatively quick train ride - compared to the 22 hour ride from Oslo to our relatives' homes in Northern Norway - brought us to the quaint French village of Vernon. We strolled about admiring the houses and flowers and picked up the requisite loaf of French bread for sustenance.

Bicycles were a tempting offer, but due to limited time, we opted for a taxi ride to Giverny. We were unprepared for the bus loads of school children and tour groups that rivaled the crowds at the Louvre. Undaunted, we lined up for the wait. Marcia got out her sketch pad and I my journal to pass the time.

Once inside the gardens, we were stunned by the beauty, a new color and scent greeting us at every turn.   Each new view was breathtaking. We located a stone bench with a view of the house peeking through the pinks, purples, oranges and reds.  As a dabbler, I merely sketched the abundant array  of flowers in each direction.  Marcia took out her water colors and began to paint Monet's home. 

Light sprinkles and the sense that we were hoarding the bench sent us off to see the lily pond.  We located a new bench with a charming view of the water lilies and a bridge tucked behind a weeping willow tree.

Marcia was engrossed in her artistic endeavors. I spent more time admiring my surroundings and people watching than actually sketching.  Her efforts came to the notice of most people who passed. Some simply smiled, others were intrigued with her work.  Many stopped to chat.  We met a family from Toronto who winters near us in California, a London couple who gave Marcia their son's address since he was job hunting in her field, and a Blackpool couple over to see the tall ships in Normandy. My favorite was the little French girl so in awe of Marcia's art that she lost track of time and her family. She yelled, "Mama" and ran away, but soon returned with her mother.  

Our feelings about the day were summed up by a precious little English boy holding his mother's hand.  As he passed by, he looked at his surroundings and spoke quietly, "we are so lucky to see this."

July 15, 1999 has been added to my "List of Days".  

No bells and whistles, no ceremony - I was simply sitting in a garden, with my sister.

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I'm (figuratively) on the road, bound for France, with many others at

Castles, Crowns and Cottages