My apologies for being so silent for the past month, even now that we are at home after our three-and-a-half-week trip to the UK and Paris. My good intentions of blogging frequently did not happen and I often asked myself: why not? In a nutshell, I was overwhelmed by so many wondrous experiences that at the end of each day, I was physically and mentally too tired to sort the photos and search for the right words.

Naturally, leaving it all for when we got back home is not feeling any easier. I can never sleep in airplanes so our flights on Thursday from Paris to Montreal, and particularly Montreal to Vancouver were tests in endurance. We’re so happy to be home again, the best place on earth for both of us, and what wonderful weather here too! Sleep deprivation and jetlag meant naps interspersed with catching up with the family, home and garden jobs (the grass was a foot tall, the washing machine ran all day!), bills, emails, some blogs (still more to read), even a joyful walk to our favourite forested seaside park. Husband has gone back to work today and hopefully I will become more focused as well before I forget too many details of our journey.

From over 1500 photos to sort through, here is one that I feel captures a lovely moment in Paris, the city of cafés at every corner. This café just around the corner from our apartment in the Le Marais district was a serendipitous find as it is noted for having the best buckwheat crêpes in the city. In the background you can barely see the Stravinsky Fountain with Niki de Saint Phalle’s whimsical sculptures and the Pompidou Centre (more on these in another post). As we waited for our meal, we enjoyed the sight and sounds of children playing around the fountain and the warmth of the late afternoon sun as it came out of the clouds.

Oh, I’ve had no time to blog! Instead I’ve been:
– printing itinerary, packing lists, maps, addresses
– transferring some of my files to husband’s MacBook so that I can keep ‘connected’
– shopping for gifts, special requests, used paperbacks from the library
– packing and repacking, including stuff requested by the family from home
– airing a musty old suitcase for that extra stuff, to be abandoned afterwards
– caring for plants and moving them out of now-too-hot solarium, with watering directions for daughter at home
– weeding just a little (my, there will be a jungle when we get back) and sniffing the flowers
– enjoying the tulips just starting to bloom (love my new parrot tulips ), the magnolias, camellias, forget me nots, spring at its very best now… how I will miss my favourite time of year here!
– waiting for that much-needed haircut tomorrow, then one last load of laundry and the last minute packing
– feeling stressed, but will relax and enjoy once we’re up in the air and heading over northern Canada, eastbound to London… though not the feeling of being a sardine packed in a tin can!

As some of you may know, our middle daughter, our English son-in-law and their two little girls are living in London. They have room for us to stay so we’re grabbing this wonderful opportunity, a first time for me to set foot in England! I’m looking forward to seeing our family and some major art, architecture, history in London and some other parts of the country. I’m excited to be meeting several friends including some blog friends for the first time! It’s all fodder for blogging and photography, we’ll see, it will probably just bore most of you seasoned travelers. Anyway, be good while I’m away!