A Surprise Trip to France | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Kathy Manos Penn is a native of the “Big Apple,” who settled in the “Peach City” – Atlanta. A former English teacher now happily retired from a corporate career in communications, she writes a weekly column for the Dunwoody Crier. Read her blogs and purchase her book, “The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday” on her website theinkpenn.com.

    Tis the season for vacations, but my husband and I had decided we wouldn't take a summer trip this year, opting instead for a Christmas trip to somewhere snowy and a September trip to Colorado. I've been working on both those trips, and I've also vowed to make it to England in 2018, a trip I've always dreamed of.

    One of my yoga friends had asked me several times which Viking river cruise we were taking this year because she'd been inspired to take the Danube cruise after reading about our 2017 trip. So inspired, in fact, that she and her husband worked with Travelfaire to stay in the same Prague hotel we did and take some of the same tours. I kept assuring her that we had no plans to take a cruise this year-until my husband took me by surprise one day.

    I walked in the door, and he called me to the porch where he was perusing his Chromebook. His words? "I think we need to take a river cruise this summer." This approach was a new experience for me. In the not too distant past, a spur of the moment two-week trip would have been out of the question. I was still working, and I carefully planned out my four weeks of vacation each year to be sure I could squeeze in everything I wanted to do.

    But now? I'm retired. We have no time constraints and no summer plans. The only thing I needed to know was that he was still committed to an England trip next year. I already knew which river cruise I'd choose as we'd previously considered taking a bike and barge trip in Provence, but some health issues had made us realize that cycling 30-40 miles daily for a week was no longer in the cards. With that in mind, we instantly opted for Viking's Lyon & Provence cruise and contacted our travel agent to book it.

    Meanwhile, I emailed Lynn, a high school friend who lives in the South of France. We'd corresponded about a visit when my husband and I were looking at the cycling trip, and it had only been a month or so since I'd written her that we wouldn't make it. She encouraged me to choose a different season as she says it's very hot in France in the summer months. I had to laugh because she grew up in the Atlanta heat and humidity as I did but lived in coastal California before moving to France. I think she's forgotten what hot is. Yes, the temps will be in the 80's and 90's, but the humidity is supposedly much lower. And to see Provence's lavender fields in bloom, summer is the time to go.

    We'll travel to Mirmande and spend three nights in a quaint local hotel and get to visit with Lynn and her husband. When I googled Mirmande, I discovered it's billed as one of France's most beautiful villages. After our two cycling trips in France, we'd entertained thoughts of renting a cottage in a small village and spending a week or two, so I can't wait to experience this slice of life.

    Since my readers know me only too well, I'm sure you are anticipating several more columns about this trip, and I won't disappoint you. Next up will be which books to read ahead of time and which to take along. Stay tuned.

    Look for Kathy's new book "Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch" due out in late August and find her collection of columns, "The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday," on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com.