Just a quick note before we head out for a day of adventure. We’ve been in Lyon since late Wednesday afternoon and the weather has been wonderful and sunny. Today we are expecting rain on and off for the next several days.

Here is our hotel:

While Rick worked yesterday I had a walk around the old part of town. This was my lunch:

It was delicious!

Sorry for the short post but we are trying to get out the door before it starts to rain! Much more later, I promise!

I’ll be back after May 5th! I hope to blog a few times on the road, but not sure what our internet access will be.

See you then!

Help!

I am having a going-on-vacation crisis. It’s been more years than I like to admit since I’ve been back to Europe since living there. The whole volcano-ash plume-travel crisis lulled me into denial that I was really going to go. I shopped. I bought new clothes. However, the clothes I bought are for warmer weather than what is predicted in either Ireland or France. Some of the things are really stylish and I can’t wait to wear them. Bummer.

Okay, I’ll back up a bit. We are scheduled to leave on Sunday for a business/pleasure vacation. First we fly to Dublin, Ireland for two days then on to Lyon, France for five days. Day one in Ireland consists of lots of jet lag and our “free” day. We arrive at the ungodly hour of 6:55 a.m. Can’t check into the hotel to freshen up until afternoon. So, the clothes I choose to fly in are the clothes I will stay in for the better part of the day. Plans include a tour of the Guinness brewery and who knows what else. Day two has Rick working all day and me on my own. I am thinking a bus tour of Dublin is in order. Or then again maybe I’ll just roam the streets with my camera.

When we lived in Europe and I would go with Rick on business trips to strange cities I always took advantage of the tours offered by the hotel, or if comfortable I would find my own way around by mass transit. This got me into trouble more than once. In London I decided to go to this place to do brass rubbings and stupidly put my purse on the floor next to me. I was so involved with rubbing out the Black Prince that I didn’t realize my purse was gone until hours later. I think that time I had fortunately left my passport at the hotel but everything else was gone. I still have the rubbing of the Black Prince but not the things in my purse at the time. The rubbing is amazing and I did a woman too but never got around to framing them. They are huge things!

But, I am digressing once again and getting totally off track, wallowing in old memories.

Looking in my closet I see tired old clothes. Thinking of taking them on vacation with me is not inspiring. I really need a pair of new shoes too but yesterday’s trip into town didn’t yield anything. I now have two days left to bring some semblance of order to my packing strategy. I am in a panic. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s the truth. { Sigh }  I always do this before leaving on a vacation. When we go to the cabin it’s not as hard because all I need then are jeans, sturdy shoes for hiking and basically the things I always wear around the house. No crisis there.

But we’ll be going out to nice dinners, seeing the sights and I need to step it up a notch.

We’ll be staying in the heart of Vieux (old) Lyon in a very small and quaint hotel while in France. Lots of walking and lots of interesting things to photograph. We also plan to visit the beautiful old village of Crémieu where we used to live and look up our old house. It will also be nice to meet up with old friends for dinner at their house and catch up on each others’ lives. There is more than likely a trip into the Beaujolais wine region since it’s so close and the countryside is just gorgeous. Old stomping grounds indeed. We loved living there. It will be interesting to see if we feel “at home” or completely like foreigners.

That’s another source of panic. Will my limited French language skills return once there? Maybe; maybe not. I’m pretty rusty after so many years. You know what they say— if you don’t use it, you lose it. C’est dommage! See? Already I have put my mind to work on remembering phrases!

So, I am having a good strong talk with myself today. Stop worrying, Lynne! Take a critical look at all your clothes and pack something. Anything. Just go and have a great time for goodness sake!

The village of Crémieu as seen from our old house.

Once again, this Earth that we all live on has decided to show us just who’s boss. That pesky volcano whose name few people can pronounce correctly (Eyjafjallajökull) is wreaking havoc with the world. Flights cancelled. People stranded on vacation in countries not their own. Meetings, funerals, weddings; all missed. No way to get across the big pond unless you happen to book a cruise. Life disrupted. And there isn’t one darn thing we can do about it except wait it out. Air travel is something we all take for granted. Just hop on a plane and go. To no longer be able to do this is unthinkable, even for a few days.

The forces of nature are awesome, aren’t they? Humankind is puny in comparison. Nature will do what it will do and we have no way to stop it. Or change it. Or harness it.

We are supposed to be leaving a week from Sunday on a business trip + vacation to Ireland and France. Will the volcano allow it? Only time will tell.

Can you find the bee in each photo?  Some are obvious of course, but a few are not.

The bees were hanging out in this clump of cherry trees on the grounds of Skylands Botanical Garden yesterday.

They were all buzzing around my head and would not leave me alone until I promised to feature them on my blog. Bees must be appeased, you know.

P.S. I certainly hope you are not tired of springy photos just yet. I have more ...