March 17, 2024 Going to France

 My next big adventure is about to begin in 2 days. I’ve been preparing for this for over a year and I can’t believe it’s upon me.  What am I doing? Where am I going?

Alsace France is in red, on the German border.

When I said “goodbye” to my French cousins in Alsace in January 2023, I knew that I wanted to return to really get to know them and live a little of the kind of life they do….not as a tourist or visitor…but as someone who can be there long enough to see their real life and become closer as friends and family. After all, my generation of cousins is getting older and….well, you know what that means.

Some of my French cousins when I visited at Christmas 2022

I wanted to stay 5 months but a visitors visa is only 3 months so I’ll be gone for 87 days. My cousin, Celine, introduced me to her former neighbor who has an “empty” bedroom so I’ll rent from her. She lives in the city of Strasbourg near all the good tourist attractions so every day, I can wander through the squares and down the streets admiring the stunning architecture. 

Wander, you wonder?? Why will I be wandering? I have enrolled in Alliance Francaise, a French language school. During the month of April, classes will be from 9:00-1:00, Monday-Friday. Google says the school is about a 20 minute walk—“through the squares and down the streets.” Hopefully, my French will get good enough for me to understand some fast speakers and to broaden my range of subjects for conversation.

Alliance Francaise Website        Take a look. You might be inspired to join me.

Then what? In May, for about 2 weeks, I’ll go to Corsica (“Corse” in French.) Cousins Fabienne and Francis have a little house there and they go every spring and stay through the summer. I was there in the 1990s and have wanted to return ever since. When I return from Corsica, there will be 3-4 weeks left to wander and explore. I don’t know what I’ll do, although I have some ideas like a bicycle tour through the Route du Vin, or maybe a short trip to Beaune or Lyon. I’m open to other adventures too. Hopefully, I will come upon someone who would also like to explore with me.

Virtually Visit Corsica Here….

Bike Tour….

Finally, I hope to keep up with this blog so that I have a journal and you can live vicariously. So that’s it for now.

        🎶 Oh, my bags are packed and I’m ready to go…