Previous travels

I have been asked if this is our first trip to France. It is not. My parents first took me and Susan, my sister, after my senior year in high school. While I know that I enjoyed that trip, my memories of our travels in France are less than sharp.

My second trip was with Vicki in 1986 - and 24 high school boys. I was teaching French at CBHS at that point and got hesitant permission from the Brothers to organize a trip. Vicki and I teamed up with Charlie Leonard, the head basketball coach - we were outnumbered -  and took the group to Paris and Normandy. While the overall trip was successful, I will be forever in debt to Vicki, who had to ride herd on some of our students, particularly one who was much more committed to finding an international relationship with young ladies through recreational smoking than our more traditional approach. And Charlie? Well, he saw more of the Parisian nightlife than any of us.

One of my early students, Brooke Saucier, who continued his studies in French in spite of his time in my classroom, studied in southern French for a semester. Vicki and I were fortunate to be able to visit him in Montpellier and see the Mediterranean coast with his personal guidance. I remain close to Brooke today and know that he is reading this and laughing. My conversational abilities in French leapt forward on that trip, thanks to many conversations with Brooke and his friends the Bangemanns, who opened their home to us. 

Another memorable trip to Paris was as one leg of a larger trip with our friends and neighbors, Rod and T. Leigh. We were celebrating Rod's and my fortieth birthdays and spent some wonderful time in Paris before moving on to England and Ireland.

Finally, our last trip was at Christmas in 2007. We were traveling with Vicki's parents and our two sons and it was a fantastic trip. We arrived in Paris on Christmas Day and stood in front of Notre Dame listening to the music (photo). Pretty amazing trip.

This trip will be the longest we have ever taken, and the first trip that we will not at least pass through Paris. I can think of no better place to celebrate our 30th anniversary.