After the photos and the blog writing are all sorted out, I may put together a soundtrack to our trip around the world. There are a lot of great songs that are attached to a lot of great places in my mind. My taste in music has expanded a lot since the days of singing along to Dad's eight-track version of Freddy Fender's "Waisted Days and Waisted Nights" in the back seat of our Chevrolet Chevelle. No seat belts, no air conditioning, windows up, both parents smok...

It's a warm sunny day here in the middle of the English Channel. We're about half way between Ouisterem, Normandy and Portsmouth, England. I've seen these waters a thousand times on black and white film with ominous invasion music playing in the background. We're heading in the opposite direction. Thankfully, there are no U-boats or bombers in sight. The first time I remember taking a real interest in the D-Day invasion was after watching "Stand By Me" for ...

It's summer in the South of France and for me that means seasonal allergies. Worse still, my supply of Claritin has run out. (This blog sounds like a commercial so far). The French stuff that I purchased delivers a knock out punch. Not only am I always sleepy, but also very punchy! Even more than normal! I owe apologies to numerous french waiters and hotel staff for meeting their innate rudeness or indifference with something far less than standard Canadian polit...

Eight and a half years ago, we made a reservation to stay at a little wine estate in the Languedoc region of France for a month after our second daughter was to be born. For years I'd dreamed about a place in the south of France surrounded by old stone walls, endless rows of vineyards and tall shade trees. A place where I could hop on a bike with a big basket on the front and peddle ten minutes along a dirt road to a nearby village for fresh, crunchy bread, aro...