Autumn somewhere else perhaps?

Where would you really like to be right now?

If it was still possible to travel anywhere, would you return to a place

 you know, or throw caution to the wind and venture into the unknown?

At this time of year I love being in France but this of course is not

 going to happen.  But I can dream. . . . . . and hopefully next year will

 be better and Autumn travels will be underway - it's my favorite time of

 year to visit EUROPE.

Working with this old laptop I'm only able to open old photos - so, for a while,

anything I might post here will be about former adventures and travel.

In October 2015 - hard to imagine that's already 5 years ago - we had a

a great trip to France. It involved two segments of river boat sailing - with

always exciting Paris days first, then the Normandy Beaches, followed by 

 a long, very scenic sail along the Saone and Rhone rivers from Paris to

 Arles, Provence.

From there we took a train to my brother's village home in the Languedoc 

near Carcassonne in Southwest France and, following the usual sunny

 and golden harvest time in and around the vineyards, another train

 journey took us south to Barcelona, Spain.

Here's a link to my 2015 visit to my brother's village where I'm sure

 little has changed in five years.

https://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/10/living-french-village-life.html

Being a huge lover of Vincent Van Gogh, I was thrilled, at long last, 

to spend a day in Auvers-sur-Oise - a few photos above.

Link to a post made back then.

https://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/10/vincent-in-auvers-sur-oise.html

An Autumn day in Southwestern France - along the road and through the

 vineyards to the wonderful town of Mirapoix - complete with amazing

 13th century buildings.

Yes, Autumn memories of France are special.

I was just notified by Apple that my Mac is on its way home 

already and should be at my door by 8 PM TODAY!  

Wow, what great service.

Vincent in Auvers-sur-Oise. . . . . . . . .

Well I made it. Yesterday - another place I've dreamed of visiting for a long time -

Auvers-sur-Oise, a beautiful little French village, not far from Paris,

where Vincent painted so many beautiful canvasses in the last 70 days 

of his life.

I'll be sharing more of the story later - and lots of photos taken in the village

on yet another glorious sunny day.

Today we are back in Paris - this morning we did an escorted walking tour

 titled 'Heart of Paris'. The sun was shining yet again - we have been so 

fortunate with the weather - an entire week without a drop of rain, no dreary

skies, and very comfortable temperatures in the mid to high 60's.

Tomorrow we're off to Dijon by train and will join our second ship in the evening.

Must just say how absolutely amazing this cruise company has been - everything 

has been perfect so far and we hope it will continue as we reach Provence.

All I'm really concerned about is the weather at home - thank goodness my 

wonderful neighbors have secured my outdoor furniture etc. just in case 

the encroaching hurricane decides to pay North Carolina a visit.

 Fingers are crossed. Stay safe if you are on the east coast.