Not being in Paris today, as originally planned, was made somewhat less disappointing with the hours and hours that I spent last week rescheduling our trip for the fall.  And believe me, I did do hours of research.  But I loved every minute of it.  And now.......everything is arranged, booked and actually, it's only 5 months away.

We decided that since we spent so much time in Paris last year, in March and again in October, that we'd explore a new area.  We'd been to Normandy and southern Brittany years ago.  Another trip took us to the Jura area, on the Swiss border.  When I wrote for Bonjour Paris, I spent a few days in Provence with my friend, Karen Fawcette, the owner of Bonjour Paris.  And on another trip to France, Ray and I spent a week in the northeast region of the Languedoc.

So this time we've decided to visit the southwest area of the Languedoc, very close to Carcassonne, and also very close to the Spain border. 

We will fly to Paris Monday night, September 29, arriving at Charles de Gaulle on Tuesday morning.  We've booked the Ibis Hotel at the airport to stay for Tuesday night.  So I still get a taste (and I do mean that literally) of Paris, because we'll take the RER into Paris after settling in at the hotel.  We'll change our dollars into Euros (and oh yeah, I'm hoping they'll be a bit better by then) and I'll do some shopping.  There's certain things I can't leave Paris without.  And we'll have a late lunch in Paris.  Then back to the hotel to get over jet lag.

Wednesday morning, we'll be booked on the TGV (high speed train).....which we get right at the airport......and 4 hr. and 17 min. later, we'll be in Montpellier, where our rental car will be waiting.  We'll browse around that area and wing it that night for a place to stay.  Although I am an organizer, I also love to be flexible and go with the flow.  Besides, you just never know what you might come across.  So we'll look for a place to stay outside of Montpellier. 

On Thursday, we'll drive from there about an hour and 45 min. to Caunes Minervois, which is just 20 minutes north of Carcassonne.  We've rented a charming and picturesque house there for a week.  It also happens to be owned by an author and her author husband.  "La Gaillarde" is a lovingly restored house in the medieval heart of Caunes Minervois.  Walls are original stone with century old beams, complete with a fireplace in the second floor country kitchen for cooking and our own garden accessed from the living room. But the house has 21st century conveniences, like WIFI.  (Yes!  I can blog from there) The house is furnished with local antiques and looks delightful.  Here's our entrance.

And our kitchen...........

And our garden.........

I'm already enchanted with the medieval village of Caunes-Minervois......with twisting, narrow streets and sand-colored stone buildings, it's surrounded by the great 8th Century Abbey that lies at its heart.  Although the village is small, with only about 1000 inhabitants, it has two restaurants, two bistros, a pharmacy, two grocery stores, bakeries, a butcher and a gas station.  Wineries are everywhere and I discovered in my research that some of the local wines sell for under $10 per bottle.  This particular one that I researched looks very good........

So I definitely plan to visit this winery.

Spain is under a two hour drive from our village, so we'll plan a day trip over the border.

I'm very much looking forward to this trip and the way the days seem to whiz on by, I have a feeling that September 29 will be here before I know it!

See you here next time.................

I'm off to Tenn. to the University there for a writers conference.  I'm looking forward to many of the presenters that will be doing workshops, so I think it'll be a good conference.  And I'm getting my manuscript critiqued.  That's always helpful.

I won't resume regular blogging until next Tuesday.  However, I DO hope you'll come back this Sat. June 9 for a visit.  I've done an entry and a video to celebrate Holly's life.  Saturday will be one month that she crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I wanted to do a positive celebration of the years she spent with us.  Both the entry and the video will be automatically posted. 

Enjoy the rest of your week and don't forget to pay a visit on Saturday.  I'll see you next Tuesday.

Hard to believe....but it's two weeks tomorrow already that I'm back from Paris.  As I sit here in my writers studio, this is what I see from my window.  Spring has arrived on the island.  Everything is in bloom and everything is covered with a coating of yellow pollen.

As I think most of you know, I love living here.  It's my slice of paradise.  It's where I'm supposed to be.  But over the past two weeks, I've found myself making comparisons between Paris and my island.  And this is what I've discovered......

• I love the hustle and bustle of Paris.  The people, the crowded Metro, that haunting sound of the ambulances and fire trucks which remind me of the movie, Diary of Anne Frank.

• But.....I also love the total, utter, complete, silence when I walk the dogs in the morning.  So silent, that when Ibis fly above me, I can hear the whisper of their wings as I detect the motor of an air boat in the distance.

• I love Sunday's in Paris.  When families are out and about, including extended family.  They're in the parks and gardens and watching them brings back memories of my own Sunday childhood and raising my children.

• But I love Mondays on the island.  When tourists go home.  Things quiet down.  Traffic is minimal and I can't go out without bumping into somebody that I know.

• I miss the aroma of that freshly baked bread drifting from the patisseries and the fragrance of flowers from florist shops.

• I welcome taking in a deep breath of that salt air from the Gulf in the morning on my walk.

• I love knowing that wherever I glance in Paris, my eyes will spot something that makes me pause to stare. 

• I enjoy soaking up all that I see on my island.  Mullet jumping in the Gulf, boats sailing by, sunsets that are difficult to equal, the tide lazily coming onto the beach.

So yes....all of my senses are affected in Paris.  But they're affected here on my island as well.  Just in a different way.  So as I sit here, no, I don't see chimney pots, or the Eiffel Tower, or a sidewalk cafe out my window.  I see Mother Nature.  I hear the sound of birds and I smell spring in the air.  And from my window.......that looks pretty good.

See you tomorrow......

We have a 5:20 flight from Tampa to Newark this evening.  And tomorrow night we leave Newark bound for Paris.  So I'll be doing blog entries as time permits.

All of you take care............See you soon.

.....AND I'M READY TO GO (As Peter, Paul and Mary sang)

The trip that I began planning last June is about to become reality.  We're returning to our beloved Paris.  All the wrinkles have been ironed out....

• I wish I could tell you that my cold is completely gone.  But it's not.  Nasal sprays and decongestants are helping, but my ear is still blocking off and on.  I'm hoping for a miracle by tomorrow.

• The flight to Paris for Tuesday night has seats available

• Holly is doing SO good health-wise and with her chemo.  No further symptoms of her tumor

• No snow or blizzards in the Newark area forecast for this coming week

Today will be spent doing last minute things and tomorrow evening we'll be on our way to Newark for the first leg of the trip.  Back to work here for me and I'll see you tomorrow........