Lifestyle...

Getting close now. Done with work. Have a few days till official start of our vacation on Monday. I keep telling Sarah, "It's not a vacation. It's a lifestyle". Has a certain ring to it. We fly out around 1pm. Housesitter arrives the day before with traveling companion to get "lined out" on all the idiosyncrasy of the house and the difference between garbage and compost. It's amazing how much we take for granted in how a home is run. Push the wrong button and the porch light doesn't come back on. Ever! When is recycle day? How do you water plants that are sitting on a shelf 15 ft high in the dining room? How do you get in touch with the vet and just how much IS ok to spend on the cat! I have pages...

Sarah has packed clothes 3 times. I have set aside a pair of boots! Tomorrow I'll clear the bed and make piles. Travel clothes, work clothes, casual clothes, beach wear, dress up out to dinner attire. Where's the "little black dress" when I need one? Work boots, tennis shoes, comfortable walking shoes, clogs for the airports, flipflops, black shoes for evening....how does one decide? Underwear is easy....4 pair...one for each week! 

Then, what do we carry all this crap in. We have enough luggage to open another Latham's. But what combo is best? The giant duffle with wheels, the size of a crime scene body bag and able to carry enough weight that FedEx won't even take it; or a couple of smaller rolling Eagle Creeks. And that's just to get all our shit to La Garde-Freinet. What about when we ditch the rental and grab a train. Lighter, simpler, smaller:  better. Almost need a mathematician to calculate the possibilities. Of course we could take a couple of carry-ons and a credit card!

We go with no agenda. I met last night with my neighbor, Chris, whose house we will be staying in. After telling me how to turn on the lights and water and where the best boulangerie is in town and which neighbors will help and which one's won't; he preceded to give me a tour of Provence. Driving with his finger over fine yellow lines on a series of old Michelin maps he described medieval walled towns, Roman ruins, nude beaches and geographical wonders. I found out about abbeys, monasteries, and churches. Olive groves, vineyards and fishing villages. Supermarkets, quaint cafes and 5-star restaurants. And I remember nothing!! All those French names sound the same to me. And as I told Sarah..."If we sit and do nothing; we'll be sitting, doing nothing in Provence!"