"Killing Me Softly"

I have two - no, three days left. I think, but I could be wrong (I was wrong once before a few years ago). I've been so busy this last week that I think I accidently mailed my head off to someone and forgot to put postage on the package, AND my return address. There's a challenge for our the trusty USPS!

I'm so glad vacation is just around the corner. I can't wait!

We leave Friday around 7:00 p.m., non-stop to London. We'll arrive at Heathrow around noon or so and then immediately have to get to the middle of London to catch the Eurostar train that goes under the English Channel and into Paris. Once in Paris we have to train over to another station across the city in order to board a high-speed train down to the Avignon in the Provence region in the South. We'll be traveling 26 hours straight. Sleep in a bed will be sweet, I'm thinking!

One of my other nieces (no she didn't have a birthday) is getting married in August. She spent part of a year in France last year as an exchange student, and while there purchased her wedding gown. Mandy and I will be picking up her dress and bringing it home with us! I'm finding that this makes me feel very important here. I can just picture some action movie about us trying to keep the gown intact, away from thieves, unscrupulous hoteliers, and MY forgetfulness. I can tell you, if I came back without that dress, the "killing me softly" wouldn't be about my schedule, it would be more about my demise at the hands of my normally really sweet niece. Maybe we could name the flick "MI-4" or maybe "Shreek 2" or "Transporter."

In case you're wondering, here's our basic itinerary: our first several days will be around Avignon, Arles, Orange and other similar hilltowns before we head to the coast: Cassis. After Cassis is the Frejus/St. Tropez area and then further East to a small town just outside of Nice. Our last 4 days will be in Venice before we jet back to London and on home. We'll be gone for 15 days!

Europe, here we come!