France
Our last day in France!
We've had a great time the last 21 days.
As planned we picked up our rental car, a Renault Twingo - immediately dubbed by me "The Twinky" - in Nice and got as far as Castellane the first night. The next day we hiked the incredible Gorge of the Verdun - France's "Grand Canyon" and stayed that night at Moustiers - a beautiful Medeival Village. We spent the next two days slowly meandering across South France on back roads, to Albi in the Tarn District. Sites included the incredible Pont du Gard (Roman aqueduct) and the fabled Cote du Rhone wine district and Dentelle Mountains.
We spent ten days in Albi with our friends Jean-Pierre and Marie-Jose, who are also the parents of our Sandpoint neighbor, Marie-Do. Everyday we set out on a tour of a different sector of the Tarn selected by Jean Pierre - visiting incredibly beautiful and unique villages, castles, ruins, cathedrals, and taking in the pretty Spring countryside of this part of France.
Then we spent 3 days working our way back to Nice, taking in the Gorge of the Tarn, the Roman ruins in Arles, the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, and the Mediterranean coastal village of Bandol. We're spending our last 4 days with Tinsley and Dennis, our Seattle friends who bought a beautifully restored 15th century house in 1999 in the living Medieval Village of Haut de Cagne just outside of Nice. It would be hard to imagine a more interesting, beautiful and historic place.
En route back to Sandpoint we will spend 2 days in NYC with my sister Lorna, then take the Amtrak up to Boston to visit my parents. We get back to Spokane late on Thursday the 25th. I will stop in Coeur d'Alene on the way to Sandpoint on Friday for my first dose of the second round of the Velcade. Plans for June include working part time at the hospital - first work in 15 months! - a Comanche Fly-in to beautiful Joseph, Oregon in the Wallowa Mountains, preparing to host a Fly-in at my home airport in Sandpoint the 1st of July, and the return to NIH the 3rd week for tests and the DLI (Donor Lymphocyte Infusion). The evening of my return from that, June 23rd, Mary Catherine and I will celebrate our 33rd Anniversary!
Phil
posted by Mary Catherine @ 3:38 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Looking forward to your visit, tho I know that coming to NYC is a harsh jolt from la belle france!
David is on the road with Hijiki (the name for my car) -- driving to Ohio and then Wisconsin-- so I wont be able to meet you at the auerpuerto.. BUT.. treats will await you at 473 and a nice cozy bed, which is probably what you'll really be up for given your ETA...
love
BRAT
Sounds like you had an incredible trip! On our one trip to France, we visited some of the same sites. I discovered my distant cousins in the small village of St. Jean de Valeriscle near Cornillon. So glad you had a great time.
We have been thinking about you and sending our best "vibes". We hope this next battle is short and successful.
Brenda and Michael
Phil: You did not inform us if you did the greatest thing in France, chanx!!!
SO IT SOUNDS AS IF YOU HAD A GREAT TIME IN FRANCE AND WE ALL SHOULD BE GREEN WITH ENVY!!!! I KNOW I AM!!
WHEN IS THE FLY IN? CAN OTHERS COME IF THEY DON'T HAVE A COMMANCHE AND IF THEY DON'T BELONG TO YOUR CLUB? I HAVE A FRIEND THAT LIVES IN MOSCOW.. DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE FLY'S BUT MAYBE.... IF I AM OFF AND IT FITS HER SCHEDULE WE COULD MEET YOU THERE....
JUST A THOUGHT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS A GOOD OR A BAD IDEA...
P.S. KNOW ANYBODY SINGLE, SMART AND LIKES INDEPENDENT WOMEN... THIS ONE IT A GREAT ONE!!!!
LOVE,LIGHT AND LAUGHTER...
LANE
Dear Lane and all the People: Newsflash: Phil ,MC and his Parents, Ted and Josephine and myself, Dr. Dong and wife had CHANX in Millis, MA. The Manhattens were divine. Bag out this winter in Sandpoint.
Dear Mary Catherine and Phil,
Well,your trip to France was much better than mine 34 years ago. The highlight was that we were treated to a seven course meal by the president-general-director of the department of agriculture we hitched a ride with. Lowlights: We slept in an irrigation ditch (3 19-year-old girls) because of all those nasty things we had heard about the fast Frenchmen (especially after our hitchhiking experience with the Sheffield United soccer team from Dover to Belgium! But they were so cute....) And then getting picked up in Biarritz in our jeans, hiking boots and bandanas, all so very attractive and unbathed for days, by a pimp (I just thought he was showing us family photos, and I couldn't figure out why she didn't like the German hotdog she was eating--ours in Frankfurt was delicious! Of course, the fact that she had no clothes on got me to thinkin' it wasn't his sister...so we got out at the next stop. Funniest thing, we stopped at the nearest patisserie and stuffed ourselves, we were so hungry. Oh, yes, the lovely beaches of Biarritz! We couldn't take our hiking boots off (the only shoes we had) because after only a short time on the sand, the bottoms were caked with goo from a recent oil spill. And the bus to San Sebastian to get our mail (thank God we did, for Mama had sent $50, which got us back to Hethrow in one piece, we were down to our last $25!) almost went off the road in the mountains. I could stick my hand out of the window and touch some of the buildings we passed, the streets were so narrow.
But it was fun! And nobody hated us then. There was attitude, of course, but they were French! And we were stupid! Did I mention that it poured the first night in the campgrounds, and the rest of the time, we slept in the "Salle de Repassage" (ironing room, I was told). I'm sure they were glad to be rid of us. And we laughed at the huge lines of silly tourists at some old castle--Louis XIV, or something like that. I saw a picture book of it at my friend Pam's house when I got home. Ah, youth!
Glad you had a good time, and hope you can sneak through here again. I'll bet work will be interesting to say the least. Blessings and hopes and love to you!
Elizabeth
Lane: Your friend who is a pilot and is single and lovely, but does she like chanx!!!
Phil, Burney sent me your site and sounds like you had a fabulous trip. Would love to see some pictures. Sending lots of positive prayers your way. My love to you both, Dynva -- Just got back from visiting Page for three weeks. I taught two gourd masks classes in Cherokee, NC, went to see Page's family in Athens, our relatives in Forsyth, Page's son in Atlanta, back to Athens and then on to Charleston, SC where Page now lives with Nick. A wonderful trip.
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