V is for VACATION

...and boy do I need a vacation! This past year has flown by due to many things that I won't get into here. And because Lorne has to pursue health issues, we won't be able to take a vacation anywhere. So I will just reVel in some of my past memorable vacations and spend this summer living vicariously through them.

My first trip to England and France was awesome! I had sworn that I would get to France before I turned 50 and I made it! After spending a week in England, my friend Cathy and I took the ferry across to Calais - a very quick trip - and when we arrived I felt like kissing the ground! Many memories come flooding back to me - wine tasting, dining al fresco in Lyon, Monaco and its great casino, climbing the Pyrenees to cross the border into Spain, dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean in Biarritz, visiting chateaux in the Loire River Valley, visiting Monet's home in Giverny, Normandy and the World War II museum, and of course Paris and all it has to offer. Just for fun, instead of posting a typical "touristy" photo of the Eifel Tower, see if you can find me in the above photo taken just outside the casino in Monte Carlo.

I took my older daughter on a tour of England and Scotland one year. We also touched into Wales where we had Welsh ice cream and petted sheep along a hillside on our way back into England. Poor Jamie got sick in Glasgow and I had to leave her at the hotel somewhere between Aberdeen and Edinburgh while the rest of us took a day trip to the Isle of Skye. I remember buying a scarf in the "Leslie" tartan and a lovely wool throw blanket in one of my family's tartan. We had a great time in London, too, hopping on and off the double-decker bus. Below left is me at St. Andrew's, Scotland on the beach where "Chariots of Fire" was filmed. On the right is Jamie at Warwick Castle in England watching this jester play the two flutes through his nose!

Then there was Italy in 2006, which you can read about in my archives on this blog. That was a trip of a lifetime, spending a month there and getting to see out-of-the-way places where most tourists don't get to go. We ate, we drank vino, we ate, we touristed, we ate, we drank...did I say we drank lots of vino? There were spectacular views of the Mediterranean from Lerici in the north-west, from the Amalfi Coast south of Rome, and from Taormino in Sicily. The photo shows one of my favourite things to do while in Italy!

The last place I want to mention here is the Grand Canyon. My friend Suzanne, who lives just outside of Phoenix, took me there in February of 2006. We drove through Sedona and stayed overnight in Flagstaff. The canyon was the most stunning vista I have ever seen! You just cannot imagine it unless you've seen it with your own eyes. I only wish I were young and agile enough to travel by mule all the way down to the Colorado River!

So, as I "stay-cation" this summer, I will get out all my photo albums and relive my past travels and dream about where I'll go next year. Happy Vacation to all of you who have plans.