Tomorrow we leave for France.....and oh yeah, I'm more than ready!

Those of you who know me or who visit here often know about the passion and love I have for France.  I suppose it could be due to the fact that 50% of my genes are French.  All I know is that the first time I set foot on French soil back in 1985......it "felt" like I was home.  I soaked it up.  All of it.  The language, the culture, the people, the wine, the food, the beauty.  And each time I get to return (and I've lost count over all these years how many times I've been there) it's always like that first time.  It never becomes second-hand for me.  The excitement starts building and by the time I'm walking through Charles de Gaulle and Customs, once again I "feel" like I've returned home.

We have a 1:30 flight tomorrow from Tampa to Newark. (And yes, OF course it's on Continental)  And then we wait just a few hours in Newark to depart for Paris at 6:15 p.m.  We arrive Paris 7:30 Tuesday morning and we're booked at the Hilton at the airport for that night.

So after we check in, drop the luggage, we'll grab the RER and head into Paris.  We'll change our dollars to Euros, do a bit of shopping, have lunch and head back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Wednesday morning at 9:30 we get the TGV to Montpellier.  We arrive there at 1:45 and that's where we'll get our rental car.  Then a 40 minute drive to the town of Sete, on the Mediterranean.  We booked one night there at a hotel right on the canal.

Thursday we head west.  We'll drive an hour and stop at a village called Lagrasse for lunch and to look around.  From my research it looked like a very nice village.  And then we drive 50 minutes to Caunes-Minervois, where we've rented a house for a week.  From there we plan to do lots of exploring of the surrounding area.

So, my friends, the next time I see you here at Island Writer................I'll see you from my beloved France.