Come with us...
Laurie and I plan to spend four to five months in France in 2013, with side trips to, oh, Spain, Italy, Germany and, well, anywhere that interests us. We invite you to share our journey.
We started thinking about doing this several years ago. Initially, we hoped to be able to stay a year, but logistics got in the way: finding something to do with our house here was the big one. And finances played a role, too. Committing to a year, and then finding that it was way more expensive than we planned would have been a problem. So we decided to shoot for four or five months in 2013. If health and finances hold out, we’ll try to spend three or four or five months a year in France or Spain or somewhere else as long as we can do it. For now though, we’re hoping to leave in mid-May and return at the end of September or October in 2013.
We are good friends with two couples who live about 35 minutes south of Paris. Les Germain - Mary and Gilles - live in Chartrettes; we’ve visited them every trip for years, stayed with them in Chartrettes and traveled in France and Spain with them. We met les Rufin - Hervé and Jamie - through Mary and Gilles. They live in Samois-sur-Seine, just a few minutes away from Chartrettes. We always see them a couple times when we’re in Chartrettes and have come to know them and their family well. Both are on the lookout for a place for us to stay near them, as we love the area, and can jump on a train and be in Paris in 40 minutes. We think that area - near Fontainebleau - will be perfect,and it will be so great to be close to Mary and Gilles and Jamie and Hervé. We are looking forward to many good times (wine will be involved).
That’s the plan. Now to make it work!