In the past three or so weeks, I've posted four times.
Definition of "irony" -- I posted more while I was "away" on vacation then while I'm home.
Yes, I've been off having a little bit of fun. Just so you know, my Mom is doing really well and she basically forced me to go. I've had this trip planned for awhile now and she was adamant about my not canceling. Truth be told, I think she was looking forward to a little peace and quiet... can you believe it actually gets a bit quiet around here when moi is not at home? And she was looking forward to my brother (aka "the Golden child") being here for a week while I was off traipsing around the countryside.
Not Kansas.
Which brings me to my numbers...
20 -- the number of days I was actually gone. I left in the wee hours on Saturday morning, June 25th and I walked in the door just after 10:00 pm on Thursday, July 14th.
5 -- the total number of flights I took to get where I was going and come home. Six, if you count the unexpected diversion of having to land in Boston after a flight attendant broke her foot when the beverage cart fell over onto her during some unexpected turbulence.
3 -- the number of chateaus and hotels I stayed at while on my trip.
Yes, a chateau ~ the Chateau Dumas in Auty, France.
I was there for one of the Chateau Getaways presented by Kaari Meng of French General. I've wanted to go since the first getaway but could never get my timing right. I always had something else scheduled right before, during or right after so last year I decided to plan ahead. I will confess to essentially stalking the website ~ and sending e-mails ~ asking when the information and sign-ups would be posted. When the date for the first trip was posted, I was ready.
Standing -- from left to right: Molly Meng ~ hilariously funny sister of Kaari, Lizzie ~ the lovely, gracious owner and proprietor of Chateau Dumas, Kick Meng ~ the very sweet and funny Mom to Kaari and Molly, and Wendy Addison ~ the fabulously talented artist who showed us how to letterpress, make vintage wreaths with wax-dipped silk flowers, and memory books.
Sitting -- Marcia Ceppos ~ the owner of Tinsel Trading Co. in New York City, Monica Addison ~ Wendy's daughter and an amazing artist who showed us how to make cyanotypes, and Kaari Meng ~ the French General herself.
And tossed onto the ground below -- Kathy Mogull or "Mogul" ~ a good friend of Kaari and Molly's who helps herd everybody along and keep everybody happy.
I'll tell you more about the Chateau next time but for now let me just say it was great fun in a beautiful location with lots of really nice women ~ some of whom have become wonderful new friends.
Oh my, the places we went and the things we did...
We traveled to Cahors and saw this lovely old bridge ~ walked across it too and saw the little "devil" on the side of one of the towers. We visited brocantes ~ antique/secondhand shops, wandered through the town and enjoyed the fresh market in the town square.
We visited a lavender farm owned by an amazing woman, Bernadette. After showing us her beautiful lavender fields, she showed us how she made soap, harvested the lavender and then served us a beautiful tea with an apple dessert. As you can probably imagine, the smell here is intoxicating.
We dyed with woad with Denise Lambert and her assistant, Annette. If you ever have a chance to go to one of the Woad Workshops that Kaari does with Denise, don't hesitate! I loved every minute of this... and not just because we were outside enjoying a truly beautiful sunny day in the South of France. I even got woaded!
Woaded... with a "w". Don't worry, it washed off pretty quickly.
This was one of my cyanotypes.
Just in case you're wondering... yes, I will have to tell you about the food. It was incredible. Charlotte is the official chef at the Chateau and she made sure that we had lots of fresh, seasonal, delicious food.
This was dinner one night. Oy vey! I might have to do a whole post on just the food... I have enough pictures.
1539 -- the number of pictures I took while on my trip.
I think I took half of them here.
Here being Paris, not specifically from the Tour Eiffel.
Paris from the Tour Eiffel.
Paris from Notre Dame. Boy... those are sure a lot of steps. No wonder "someone" got a hunched back.
2 -- the number of times I rode the funicular in Montmartre.
Aside from being a lot of fun, the furnicular also meant getting to skip the 12,304 steps to get to the Basilica de Sacre-Coeur.
2 -- the number of train trips I took.
This was taken at Gare du Nord in Paris while waiting to take my train to London. Yes, the Chunnel. I loved it. Actually, I love train travel in Europe. On a non-political note -- we in the US are nuts for not investing more in high-speed rail lines. Everywhere I went, the train stations were busy, bustling and easy to use. (And no, while I had been warned and I was careful, I didn't have any problems with pickpockets.)
My itinerary was to fly from Phoenix to New York, then connect from New York to London. I then flew from London to Toulouse, France, which is about an hour or so from the Chateau. I left on Saturday morning and arrived at the Chateau on Sunday evening. The following Sunday, I took the train from Toulouse ~ a story for another day ~ to Paris. The train trip was about 5 1/2 hours long with one stop in Bordeaux. I arrived mid-afternoon on Sunday and was in Paris until the following Saturday when I took the Chunnel to London. I was in London for four days, flying home on Thursday morning.
No, I didn't stay here. But I visited the Tower of London. The Beefeaters who lead the tours are funny, informative and kind of cute. And yes, I saw the crown jewels... that's a whole lot of gold, isn't it? A wine cistern? You could bathe or baptize a baby in that thing! A really, really big baby!
Liz wasn't home on Sunday so I visited the horses in the Mews. She was "in residence" on Wednesday when I went back for the changing of the guards though... but I had things to do and couldn't stay for tea. How did I know she wasn't there? Two things. First, do you see the two little guard houses on the left side of the picture? There are another pair on the other side of the Palace, hidden by the black building in the foreground. There is only one sentry there -- two, if you count the sentry on the other side. There are only two sentries when the Queen isn't there but there are four when she is at the Palace. The flag is also different. The Union Jack flies when the Queen is elsewhere and the Queen's standard flies when she's at the Palace.
3 -- the number of boat trips/cruises I took while in Paris and London.
2 -- the number of tour buses I took while in Paris and London.
8 or more -- the number of Metro and Underground trips I took while in Paris and London.
5 or 6 -- the number of taxi rides I took in Paris and London. These were a lot less expensive that you might think and I really loved the taxi rides in Paris. I admite it... I love the way they drive!
12,947 -- the number of steps I climbed in Paris. Okay, it might not be exactly that many but there were times when it felt that way.
9,342 -- the number of miles I walked while touring, shopping and wandering through the South of France, Paris and London. Again, that might be a slight exaggeration.
And finally...
387 -- the number of e-mails I had to go through when I got home. Not an exaggeration.
57 -- as in 57 pounds... the weight of my large suitcase at Heathrow on Thursday. Also not an exaggeration.
1 -- the number of really happy dogs when I got home.
1 -- the number of really happy Moms when I got home.
1 -- the number of people really happy to be home.
While I loved every minute of my trip, there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, however lumpy, bumpy, and rumpled it might be. Or getting to spend a whole Sunday on the couch in your pajamas, reading mail, going through your "souvenirs" and chatting with friends and family. And throwing the ball for the aforementioned really happy dog.
It was the perfect way to end a long trip as I seem to have brought home a bit of a cold.
But it's all good, right?
More pictures and stories to come... you're going to wish I had stayed home.
Of course, now that I'm home... I'm sure I'll get back to my regular non-blogging schedule.
You were talking about this last fall - I'm so glad you got to go on this trip. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime. Welcome home!
Posted by: Lisa D. | July 18, 2011 at 11:30 AM
What a wonderful trip :-) I'm glad you were able to go and enjoy yourself! Love all of the numbers.
Posted by: Michele | July 18, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Wow what a wonderful trip!!! So glad you went, and thanks for sharing the great pictures.
Posted by: Jocelyn | July 18, 2011 at 12:11 PM
Oh my goodness I'm feeling so jealous...not nice of me but there you have it. It sounds like a trip everyone needs to take but since we all can't please write more. blessings, marlene
Posted by: Marlene | July 18, 2011 at 12:37 PM
10... the shades of green I am with envy!
Southern France? Lavender? A Chateau? you lucky girl!
Posted by: Wendy P | July 18, 2011 at 02:01 PM
1 - I would say number of people that missed you, but I know it's more!!! Sounds like a wonderful time, so happy for you.
Posted by: Linda P | July 18, 2011 at 03:15 PM
Looks like a great trip...those sunflowers are beautiful!
Posted by: Kate | July 18, 2011 at 04:11 PM
Oh my gosh Carrie! I had no idea you were going on such a wonderful vacation. The pictures are beautiful and like Kate, I love the sunflowers and I also love the lavender fields. *sigh* So much beauty all around. I hope you share more pictures with us, including some of the food, LOL. Welcome Home!!! Hugs...
Posted by: Nancy | July 18, 2011 at 05:37 PM
It sounds like a dream of a vacation -- so happy you had this opportunity!
Posted by: nancy, near philadelphia | July 18, 2011 at 07:05 PM
Wow, It sounds like you had a great time, and a well earned vacation. The pictures are wonderful and makes a girl dream. But, if you wanted to walk so many miles, you could have spent the time with me walking on my mail route:) Glad your Mom and Rosie are well too.
Karen M
Posted by: Karen | July 18, 2011 at 08:52 PM
We did the Paris/London trip in '96 - I think it's time to go back! Isn't the chunnel the BESTest? ZOOM!! Glad you're back in the US - safe and sound - and that you had a well-deserved, wonderful trip!
Posted by: Elaine Morgan | July 18, 2011 at 09:19 PM
Wow...Carrie...what an amazing trip you must have had. I always longingly read Kaari's blog and think it would be super fun to attend one of her get-aways one day! I look forward to hearing more about your travels. And welcome home!
Posted by: sherri | July 18, 2011 at 09:44 PM
Good for you Carrie - you deserve it! Can't wait to see how your travels have inspired you. Glad everyone is doing well on the homefront.
Posted by: Ramona Chester | July 18, 2011 at 10:17 PM
It looks like a fantastic, once in a lifetime trip!!!
Welcome home!
Posted by: LoriD | July 19, 2011 at 06:54 AM
We stayed in Toulouse for a week once (husband had a conference there) and I loved that area of France. Your trip sounds idyllic--so glad you had time to get away.
I actually quilting today on the quilt I made from the fabric purchased while on that trip. Tres jolie!
And yes, I'd love to see a food post. Again, no politics, but when you see (and taste!) food from France you realize that we in the US have a long way to go (same as for the train thing).
Welcome home!
Posted by: Elizabeth E. | July 19, 2011 at 08:54 AM
In the past three or so weeks, I've posted four times. Definition of irony -- I posted more while I was away on vacation then while I'm home. Yes, I've been off having a little bit of fun. Just so...
Posted by: cymbalta online | July 19, 2011 at 01:16 PM
Wow! Sounds like an interesting trip. Glad you could go, and experience so much, you really did your homework. I love France, and London, simply nostalgic places. Traveling abroad sure gives a person a different perspective of life. It's good to get out of the "blogging"/"quilting" box once in a while.
Posted by: Linda | July 19, 2011 at 01:25 PM
Well..... I am just so jealous! I guess it's a good thing my favorite color is green- ha ha. It looks wonderful! Glad you had a good time and got back safely.
Posted by: Jacquelynne | July 19, 2011 at 06:01 PM
Oh My Carrie..you sound sew mellow, happy, invigorated, at peace...love your share, your photos, your life, your smiles...happy to have you back...x
Posted by: madame samm | July 20, 2011 at 05:56 AM
love your blog.
Posted by: Carmen Wyant | September 13, 2011 at 01:04 AM