Wordless Wednesday 50

Holiday in Waikiki

My "USA" daughter got to take her short February break in Hawaii.

My "France" daughter got to take the regional bus down to Montpellier to spend a weekend with friends. All right, Palavas in February is nice enough, but it's not Waikiki!

I had no days off and neither did mon mari.

Jealous? Are we jealous?

Wordless Wednesday 49

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau, who would do well to read my previous post!)

Happy Valentine's Day...

...to all of my readers, or course, but especially to a certain "reader" who mainly likes to look at the pictures -- when they're his own!

We actually started celebrating on Friday the 13th because our favorite local restaurant, or at least the one we felt most like going to, is open only one evening a week.

Clearly, we are not superstitious!

Wordless Wednesday 48

Guessing Game: My Top Five Getaways

Getaway Number 1

My daughter is on two-week winter break already, and she's only been back at school for five weeks since Christmas. It's a pity I don't have any time off, because I'm feeling cabin-feverish.

If the weather cooperates next weekend, though, we hope to pull a little getaway. I'm looking for a new place, and have a nice idea thanks to Loulou.

In the meantime, here are some photos of my top five getaways. My ranking combined two criteria: how much I like a place, and how often I manage to get there.

Getaway Number 2

So this is not exactly a list of "my favorite places to go" or "the most beautiful sites I've ever visited." They're just places I get to on a somewhat regular basis, for various reasons, and that always perk me up and give me the feeling I've had a nice break from the everyday routine.

Getaway Number 3

Most of these locales are not that far-flung. My/our stays there range from day trips to weekends to short holidays. One is a city I go to for work, and I always come back rejuvenated and more aware of the world outside Aveyron.

Getaway Number 4

Convenience is a major factor in these getaway destinations. I always chuckle when friends back in the States tell me "oh, living in France, you must just go to Italy all the time!" or "I looked on the map and I see you're just a hop, skip and a jump from Provence!"

Getaway Number 5

They are always shocked when I tell them that I have never been to Italy, and that while Provence is within reach, it's a little out of my driving comfort zone considering the limited time I have available to travel around France.

Do you recognize any of my getaways?

Wordless Wednesday 47

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

February, or it's been a long winter

This is the view from my home office window this morning, the first day of February.

I made no attempt to take a good picture, nor crop it, or even take it again. And no effort will be made to write a perky post today either.

That's just how February makes me feel. The best thing I can say about this month is that it's blissfully short.