Bonjour mes amis,
I know...no news from me, nor Gail, for quite a while. What do they say....no news is good news?! a combination of factors has made it difficult to keep you updated...being largely outside of cities where internet service is not as readily available, and being quite busy, too busy to stop and write!
Anyways, our trip is rapidly coming to an end. We are flying home this Saturday, and we are all excited. the kids especially have been looking forward to sleep in their own bed! I too am looking forward to not having to share small, two double bed rooms with 3 other people!
the last 6 weeks in France and Italy have been very different than our time in Latin America. We rented a car, and rented 4 different farm houses in southern france--one in Provence near Avignon, one on the Meditarean coast near Marseilles, one en Dordogne, and one near Nice. the gites were great because we were not moving around so much, and we could finally cook our own meals. Yes, we missed that luxury--big time! It was nice to not feel the obligation to get up and do something, see something etc. the boys started reading a lot more; sometimes spending a whole day reading, and sometimes rereqding, Harry Potter! Dylan stqrted to take a lot of enjoyment writing in his journal! surprising, yes; I know! I think he got a lot of pleasure reflecting back on earlier parts of the trip. Being forced to write about it...forced in the sense that it was our carrot to later take him to Euro Disney in Paris...forced him to try and remember details, and the pleasure lay in the details.
For my part, I really enjoyed going back to places in Southern France that I had first discovered in my early tzenties when I spend a year studying in Toulouse. It was fun to see the same places through different; hopefully wiser; eyes, and being able to share the experiences with Gail and the boys. Little things, like living in a traditional French farm house, with the huge windows; tall ceiling, shutters etc all left a mark on me. I want to come back again, and again!
We are in Paris at the moment, after spending last week in Italy. the highlight in Italy was hiking in Cinque Terre..;spelling? just south of Genoa. In Paris,, the highlights have been renting the cities municipal bicycles....an environmental initiative to get Parisiens out of their cars; and using thousands of bikes placed aroung the city to travel on..;to disover Paris on two wheels. We went to the tour Eiffel, and the Louvre, and walked around the Maris, and went to Euro Disney, and walked, and walked....until we hqve got so tired that we want to get on the plane, and come home.
It has been a reat trip, but it is time to savour that sweeeeeeeeeet feeling of coming home! e llok forward to seeing you soon.
Best wishes,
Mike
ps excuse the typos;;;I have been warned that i have to sent this now, or i will be cut off!
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