Countdown to France: 1 click

One more click, then I'm off to south France.* Little by little, the time is coming closer.

I've been to the Vaucluse but never the Luberon; to the Cote d'Azur and the Alpes Provencales but not to Menton. I've never been to St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume. On this return trip to Provence I'll visit the Luberon and stay in Ansouis. While this village seems a logical choice because of its location and charm, I have a particular interest in it from having read Yvone Lenard's "The Magic of Provence," a book I love and recommend.

After the Luberon we'll move on to Menton, stopping at St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume for a stay in the Couvent Royal and a hike up to the grotto where Mary Magdalene supposedly spent her final years. Our hotel in Menton is just across the street from the Mediterranean; we're promised a room with a sea view. I hope for a day trip into Italy while we're there. Return to Paris for a couple of days to visit family, and then back to LA. Returning home gets more difficult each year. One click still seems so long, but I have a feeling that when I reach that difficult moment to have to leave France I'll be asking where did the time go? Little by little.

- PJ

*See 8/1 and 7/11 posts.