Vacation:Days1-3

Day one: We left Houston around 1:30 p.m.

Day two: We arrived in Paris and had to race to catch the flight to Marseille. We landed in Marseille around noon, grabbed our rental car, hightailed it to Avignon where a) we had trouble finding our apartment, b) missed our appointment with the landlord, c) had two very nice ladies in the tourist office help us by giving us a map and calling the landlord for us, then d) realized we were too tired to drive north to meet the friends we wanted to see that evening. We ate in the Place de l’Horage and then passed out.

Day three: We toured the Palais des Papes (the Roman Catholic church was based out of Avignon for a few hundred years) and the Pont St. Benezet (of French children’s song fame, sort of like their London Bridge). Then we hopped back in the car and immediately got lost. It took about 30 minutes for us to realize we weren’t going the right direction. We had a little side jaunt through Caprentras and had to turn back to Orange, which put us off our directions. We ended up stopping in a McDonald’s parking lot – first thing we saw after giving up – and asking for help. The woman I was talking to first began explaining what to do in French then asked, “Do you speak English?” She actually showed relief when I said yes, which is when Phil noticed she was speaking Spanish to her friend. With her directions, we were able to find our destination: Chez Espinasse, aka Domaine Rouge-Bleu. I’ve read Kristin’s blog, French Word-a-Day, since I was a lonely francophile in my early days here in Houston. She inspired me to begin taking classes again (Alliance Francaise) and even to begin this blog. I was overjoyed to get to meet her. It was even more special as I’d met her husband a few weeks earlier here in Houston at a wine tasting. After much too short a visit (there are some people you know you’ll like even before meeting), we headed back to Avignon.

Next installment to come! (And yes, that is the completed Auburn Camp Shirt! I wish I had it buttoned in that last photo so it wasn’t just flopping there. The buttonholes need reinforcing.)