Thanks for the warm welcome home, everyone!

Well, I had a long nap and when I woke up, even though it was after 2 am, my body thought it was 10 am. I had a bite to eat got caught up on Survivor (only to find that it finished on Sunday and I've missed the finale). Though some could say, that our France sojourn was equivalent to an episode of Survivor. I'm going to head back to bed now and see if I can get a bit more on schedule.

Back to work tomorrow (Wednesday). I came home to a flood of emails, some work related and another telling me that my father is in the country. I wasn't expecting him until the weekend.

It was an amazing trip and I did my very best to eat every last escargot, even though Laurie couldn't look at me while I ate them.

We made a pretty big dent in the red wine stock too.

But it wasn't all food and drink. Our eyes feasted on the historical sites and our feet trod where kings and queens and popes have trod before us.

We have the Paris metro system mastered, can find our way most anywhere in the city . . .and most importantly find our way back too!

We made new friendships in our neighborhood in Paris and probably left at least one broken heart behind. As Pierre always said "nobody moves, no body gets hurt" and then he would add that he was trying to work on his French accent.

With one exception, we found the French people to be warm, generous, helpful, curious and humorous.

The whole trip was a delight though absolutely brutal on the body. Every day there was a new ache or pain and just when my body had become used to it and stopped hurting, it was sadly time to return home.

I have some tips for others that plan to make such a journey of adventure. 1) Do all the important site seeing early in the day and early in the trip if possible. 2) Give yourself as much time as you can at each place you visit, though it will never be enough. 3) Take the train, it's an awesome way to travel, but NEVER take the upper level if you are hauling more than one bag. 4) If you see something you want to buy, buy it when you see it! 5) Book tours to the famous sites, sure it costs more, but time is money. Laurie and I were ushered right in while others stood outside in massive lines of humanity for hours in the blistering sun. 6) Never pass up an opportunity to use la toilette 7) Don't be afraid to take the local bus through the Provence countryside. 8) Always make sure your room has a tub for soaking. Bubble baths can be your second best friend. 9) Take the best walking shoes/sandals you can find and take more than one pair 10) A woman can never have too many pashminas





A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?