I was thinking this morning, while still playing French cafe music as I got dressed for work, that grief is like an onion. It has lots of layers, makes you cry a lot, and it really stinks. The first layer is the obvious, you miss your person. The next two layers are not so obvious. Us grievers also miss the future plans we had with our person. Those plans die too. And the third layer, you grieve for them and all the things they're missing out on. It's a lot to carry and process while trying to move forward into a new chapter.
When you say you're starting a new chapter, people tend to think that you're leaving the past behind you. But the thing about new chapters is that you must bring the old chapters with you too. It's like reading a book. If you closed a chapter and tried to forget it, the new chapters would have no meaning. You'd be in the middle of the book not knowing what's going on. So I packed up my grief, and all my previous chapters, and started a new one, with a trip to France...
After Mike died, I knew I wanted to continue having travel adventures like we had and I knew I wanted to get back to Europe in 2024. I thought about a solo trip, but that didn't feel right. I had always wanted to go on one of Kathy's planned trips. A few years ago, I was introduced to Kathy Camp on social media by a mutual acquaintance. I've participated in some of her Wisdom Circles and drooled over her trip photos, trips for women only, limited to six and totally dreamy. When she posted about the trip to France, I knew it was perfect for me.
I loved this trip so much. Everything Kathy arranged, from our amazing and diverse accommodations to our activities, (I think French cooking class was my favorite), to the wonderful restaurants she chose for us, everything was fabulous. I'd do it all again in a minute! Also, at this stage of my life I find I crave connection with women my age, and I want to make new friends. I also don't like rigid tours, so this way of travel seemed perfect for me. It felt like just a bunch of girlfriends on a trip with Kathy as our fearless leader. As an added bonus, my sister came too. I even stopped in NY to meet her so we could fly to Paris together.
Paris / Montmartre / Eiffel Tower
This was my second time in Paris. Something about Paris makes me start dreaming of going back the minute I get home. We had an amazing time in beautiful Montmartre. We stayed in an incredible artist’s loft, visited Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, dodged raindrops at the wall of love, climbed a million steps, and I ate my weight in baguettes. Montmartre is on a large hill in Paris in the 18th arrondissement. It has a small community vibe. The cafe on the corner across from the apartment was my favorite. Montmartre has lots of steps, 300 each time, yes, I counted. 300 up, 300 down, and 300 back up when we went the wrong way... I huffed and I puffed and I lost six lbs in spite of all the bread and cheese I ate!
On my first trip to Paris, I did not get to see the Eiffel Tower at night when it's lit up so I was very excited that we were taking a boat ride on the Seine and planned it just right. The boat ride was leaving at 7 and we hurried to make it from across town, (I was bringing up the rear as usual), but we made it! Not only did we see it lit up, but when they first light it, it sparkles like diamonds for about 10 minutes. I don't think there was a person on that boat that wasn't smiling from ear to ear. If you want to see the sparkly moments, I have a video on my instagram. I guarantee you all the feels. 💖
Dijon
We took the train from Paris to the Burgundy region, Bourgogne in French, and to the town of Dijon. Where the mustard comes from! I love mustard. Although the station was crowded and the trains were delayed due to the rain, I found the train station very exciting. It had an old world vibe with people hustling everywhere.
Dijon is the capital city of the Burgundy region in eastern France known for its traditional mustard and its vineyards. When we arrived (about two hours from Paris) it felt like we traveled back in time. I loved this town so much. It had a medieval feel but in a warm comforting way. Dijon felt like a soft hug.
We toured the town, learned the history, shopped, and of course rubbed the good luck owl embedded in the gorgeous church. I’m a little owl obsessed now. We strolled the food market, the flea market, slept in castle rooms in a spectacular ancient building and had a proper 5 course French lunch at a Michelin Star listed restaurant.
Beaune
We left Dijon by car and drove through the countryside on our way to Annecy. We stopped half way to spend the day in beautiful Beaune. Beaune is at the center of the Burgundy winemaking region surrounded by the Côte d'Or vineyards and renowned for its annual wine auction held at the Hotel-Dieu the Hospices de Beaune, a museum, at which we had a lovely tour. From the stunning architecture and fascinating history of The Hospices founded in 1443, to an amazing lunch and my first beef bourguignon. I mean, when they wheel over the entire cheese cart you know it’s a serious culinary event!
Annecy
After lunch we hopped back in the car and bid au revoir to beautiful Beaune and headed to Annecy. I thought we had already seen so much amazing beauty, but then we arrived in Annecy. OMG!
I'm going out of order and starting with the cooking class because it was just so amazing and so much fun. We drove to the Chef's neighborhood about 20 minutes from the city center and old town where we were staying. It was a lovely neighborhood and we walked with the chef to her local farmers market where we picked up the ingredients for the gourmet meal we would make in her lovely kitchen. Then we feasted at her beautiful dining table set with Limoges. Our meal was so good and more incredible that it seemed effortless to make, all working together while nibbling on cheese. This was definitely all my French cooking class dreams come true.
Beautiful Annecy stole my heart! This first picture is a spot I looked at so many times online. It's the old jail on the canal and I couldn’t wait to stand there and take my own picture from that exact spot. Annecy is a resort town known as the Venice of the French Alps. And you can actually see the Swiss Alps in the background. Kathy found us an amazing flat in old town on a cobblestone street with frescos on the walls and ceilings, and views of the lake, it was spectacular. We also visited and walked across Les Gorges du Fier, a wooden bridge suspended 25 meters over the gorge which opened to the public in 1869. We walked it, very high up, in the rain. Totally out of my ‘I don’t like heights’ comfort zone! But I did it! Mike was cheering me on.
Lyon
And last but not least, we drove to beautiful Lyon! Kathy arranged a private tour guide for us. He was a certified historian and adorably passionate about everything he showed us. He even had secret codes to secret places 
. We took the funicular up to Fourviere Hill to see the view and the Roman ruins. My jaw dropped when we walked into the Basilica, it’s absolutely stunning. At the end of the tour our guide left us at a "non-tourist" restaurant that was below street level in a “cave”, where the locals eat. Another delicious lunch. Then we said our goodbyes at the train station 
. I was sad to see it end.
Back to Paris
My sister and I headed back to Paris by train for another two nights. We squeezed in as much as we could, walked another million steps, and I ate many, many croissants.
If you're interested in a guide of what to see and do I have details and links from my first trip to Paris here.
P.S. - Packing - since we were going to be traveling by train and then all in an SUV, we agreed to only bring a carry-on suitcase and tote. Standard airline size, not very big. In fact, when one of my friends told her husband I was going on this trip with just a carry-on bag she said he said no way and couldn't stop laughing! 😂 I'll be sharing my packing secrets in my next post. 😉
