Another bone-chilling, wintry day in Chicagoland. 8 degrees F, not that it helps to count once it’s below 40. Time to fantasize about spring, summer, fall…anything but Chicago winter which I fear will linger forever. My husband and I reference our weather apps constantly, reading out to each other: 59 degrees in Avignon, 48 in London, in an effort to one-up each other with more desirable cities to live. Forgive me Chicago. The other 6 months of the year we are grateful to live near a top international vacation destination with so many museums, world class dining, and festivals at our fingertips.
I spent an entire hour choosing today’s header photo (stuck in iPhoto reliving warm summer days). Vacation photos bring back wonderful memories of the destinations my husband and I have enjoyed over the past 10 years: many trips to France, Italy, Scotland, Canada, California, Hawaii and Texas, with a few hockey trips mixed in to exciting destinations like Dallas, Philly, and Minneapolis. We explored, took photos, sampled wine and food, cycled, shopped, devoured art, architecture, and all things historical…and I am ready to go again. I am truly blessed to have found a partner that loves travel as much as I do.
Newly retired (sounds old but I swear I’m not), I am now Queen of my Home Office and ready to begin a second act. I admit to an impressive to-do list of activities, previously put off in the name of work and responsibility: spend time on creating, writing, and blogging, learn French, become a better photographer, exercise more, garden, and definitely travel more – whereupon the garden will probably suffer…but I will take some photos for you when it is looking lush and bountiful.
This inaugural blog post addresses To Do List Item 1: Start a blog. With the holidays over, I have run out of excuses to delay, and have been participating in a fantastic 3-part blogging series at Chicago TribU led by Jimmy Greenfield, manager of ChicagoNow, which is the Tribune’s blog network.
Le Bon Vie (The Good Life) will focus on engaging and inspiring you the reader through travel posts and entertaining bucket list activities. We will discuss destinations US and worldwide, activities not to miss, where to stay, what to see, where to dine, and what to pack.
Through armchair/iPad excursions, I have been following the exploits of many lucky people re-inventing their lives by expanding their horizons through travel. As well I am hooked on House Hunters International and every half hour show makes me want to pick up and relocate to another city if just for a month, which leads me to…
To Do List Item 2: Become part of the life re-imagined community. One of the amazing couples I follow who are re-inventing their lives. are Lynne and Tim Martin. They are my heroes and inspiration. Lynne and Tim sold their home in California wine country in order to live in rented homes across the world. Lynne blogs their story at Home Free Adventures, and also has a new book coming out in April 2014: Home Sweet Anywhere. Check them and her book out. If you have even a drop of wanderlust in your veins, you will be inspired to dream if not to get out the map and plan.
As for my wanderlust…summer 2014 will find us exploring ancestral roots in Scotland and England, and just when I’m a little blue with the end of summer fun, we will getaway to Palm Springs. Sowing the seeds for a much busier travel schedule in 2015, I have already begun enticing my husband with dreams of a trip to the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, Germany and the opportunity to drive on the autobahn. Finding ourselves across the pond, perhaps we can extend the trip to include Austria, Netherlands, and maybe Norway, and Estonia. The opportunities are endless. Come along with me and we will see what we can see.
~The world is a book and those who do not travel, read only one page.
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