Let’s Talk About Breakfast

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Anyone who knows me, understands my love of food and eating. I’ve never been shy about trying new dishes, in fact I welcome the opportunity to taste something I’ve never had before. That has led me to taste such diverse things as rattlesnake in Death Valley, alligator in Florida and star meat (field rat) in Thailand. Of course a variety of bugs and crawly things have been nibbled or sipped on including scorpion wine, fried tarantula legs and grasshoppers, boiled silkworms, and the one I just could not get down – the vile tasting Mopani worm in Zimbabwe.

Many nutritionists suggest that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Some go so far to say something along the lines of “Eat like a King for breakfast, a Prince at lunch and a Pauper at dinner”. Well, let me tell you, I’m struggling to find that middle ground so far on board. I swear, buffets are my weakness. I see all this yummy food in front of me and I am overtly challenged to try a bit this and a taste of that. Before I know it, my plate is full 🤭

Perhaps I should put my GRATITUDE MOMENT here instead of at the end of my post…

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that I removed (don’t want to say “lost” and go looking for it 😁), a dozen pounds before departing on this cruise. HaHa, my challenge is not putting it all back on before we return to Los Angeles…

Anyway, back to eating: Yesterday we chose to do a sit down breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room. We ordered from the menu, with a few modifications. I, in fact, ordered Eggs Benedict which was not even on the menu, along with some fresh fruit and herbal tea. Tim had an omelette and pastry if I remember correctly. The food was delicious, but it took way too long. We did however enjoy visiting with some new faces including a woman from Berlin who was dressed to the nines.

Not wanting to wait that long to eat this morning we opted to go to the buffet on deck 15.

One on the modification since our last cruise is a hand-washing station right at the entrance with a friendly staff member encouraging everyone to wash their hands before entering. I love the concept and Tim and I happily complied. We did unfortunately see many just walk on by. Since people are all touching the serving utensils, that can sadly be a way germs and bugs get spread on board.

I decided to share a few pictures snapped at one of the three buffet sections. They do offer a tremendous variety ranging from fruits, smoothies, pastries, grill items, cereals, egg dishes, and so much more. I especially appreciate that it is quick and easy to get what you want before sitting down to eat.

Here’s a sampling from just some of the buffet stations:

FRESH FRUIT

The oranges are very sweet!

PASTRY AND BREAD

MEATS AND GRILLED ITEMS

MISCELLANEOUS, CHEESES, PARFAITS AND SMOOTHIES

So, what did I end up selecting this morning? I definitely ate like a king – a cup of herbal tea, small green smoothie, corn beef hash, poached egg on top, crisp bacon, and mixed fruit with some cottage cheese.

Tim has decided to try his luck in the casino this morning while I write this post. I have a couple books calling my name, as well as two I’ve already started. My reading material is all over the place. I think if someone were to try to profile me based on the books on my nightstand or my Kindle, they would have a field day 🤣😂🤣

What I’m currently reading:

“Seth Speaks” – channeled by Jane Roberts, explores the idea that we create our own reality through thoughts, beliefs, and intentions. It offers a deep dive into the nature of the soul, reincarnation, and multidimensional existence, encouraging readers to awaken to their spiritual power and inner knowledge.

Rereading The Old Testament – It has been years since I read the Bible and I thought it would be interesting to do so using AI as a learning aid. I’m currently half way through Exodus.

I also brought two books with me that were written by my sister-in-law, Marie Malone, that she signed for me when we went to Illinois a couple months ago. I read her first book, “The Inheritance” in May 2023. Her next two books are “Facing Fears” and “Unexpected Blessing”.

And, on my iPad Kindle I downloaded a book recommendation from my sister before we left called, “The Thursday Murder Club”. I believe there are five books in this series and I think this will be great fun to read.

How about you? What are you reading? Any books that are WOWING you?

Somehow it just does not feel complete without my Gratitude Moment here at the end. So, to indulge my whims:

GRATITUDE MOMENT (Part2) – Today I am grateful for our cabin steward who has called us by name from our very first meeting. Jeffrey is from the Philippines, as are most of the housekeepers and dining room servers. He works such long hours to ensure that our cabins are kept clean, tidy and refreshened before bedtime.

We most sincerely appreciate it when you “like”, “share”, “comment”, “subscribe”, and/or invite your friends to follow along.

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Where Have We Been Hiding??

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Tim and Joanne Joseph
Tim and Joanne

Hello friends,

I bet you thought Tim and I fell off the face of the earth 😁. Nope, we have simply been living our best life together, but have not done much traveling recently.

Outside of a trip to Colorado where I was blessed to attend the birth of my grandnephew – (what a beautiful gift that was), and a week spent in Illinois visiting Tim’s family, we have stayed pretty close to home in 2025.

Well, as much as I love where we are living now in Southern California, I did get a yearning to break out our suitcases and escape the holiday craziness. So, drum roll please, yesterday we loaded three overpacked bags in the back of the car, and in less than two hours we were eating lunch on board the Emerald Princess.

This morning we are snuggled up inside a comfortable balcony cabin and on our way to Hawaii!!! It will take us five “at sea” days to get there. Then one day each on the major four islands. That will be followed by another five cruising days going east, one day in Ensenada then back to Los Angeles. Grand total we will be gone sixteen days.

So, for anyone wondering what a holiday escape cruise looks like, I’ll post a few pictures along the way to give you a little insight.

Bon Voyage!
Leaving San Pedro Harbor at sunset

We have chosen a set time (5 o’clock) for our dinner so that we can share a table with the same group throughout the cruise. We prefer eating early so that we are not rushed and will have plenty of time to attend the first show (7:30).

Last night, we had a window table for eight. One couple is still “almost newlyweds” who married three years ago, and two lady friends who are widows. We had another gentleman (also a widower) who prefers a table by himself, so he will not be joining us going forward. I’m curious to see who they will seat with us this evening.

My dinner choice. Beautifully presented, but slightly overcooked
Dessert was a splurge, but delicious 😋

Our evening entertainment was wonderful. Rechell Sears sang her heart out with a collection of classic rock, R&B, and Pop hits.

Rechell Sears performing on Emerald Princess

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am especially grateful to have this time with my dear husband. Far too often we are caught up in our daily work, chores, and busy lives to just take a “time out” and simply “be together”. I’m so appreciative that we are both still healthy and able to life our lives to the fullest. Feeling blessed indeed. 🙏

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Chambord and Chartres: Discovering French Renaissance and Gothic Art

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 24th, 2024

Tim is still not feeling terrific, but well enough to continue on. We are both thankful that this is a relatively easy day.

CHAMBORD

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, constructed between 1519-1547, it originally served as a hunting lodge for King Francis I. It is the largest chateau in the Loire Valley and is a combination of French medieval and classical Renaissance architecture.

Brenda and Steve in front of Chambord

It has been suggested that Leonardo Da Vinci may have influenced the design.

Bridge across the moat

Originally intended to be a hunting lodge, King Francis I only spent seven weeks in total here.

Since its purpose was for short stays, with no village nearby, there was no immediate source of food. That meant everything had to be brought with the group, which averaged 2000 people, each time they visited. Also the large rooms with high ceilings were difficult to heat

…the château was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip, a major logistical exercise. It is for this reason that much furniture from the era was built to be disassembled to facilitate transportation. ~ Wikipedia

The King died of a heart attack in 1547, after which the chateau was abandoned for almost a century.

One of the more interesting aspects of the chateau was the center roofline. When Francis I commissioned the construction of Chambord, he wanted it to look like the skyline of Constantinople, known as Istanbul today.

The roofscape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town: it shows 11 kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers. ~ Wikipedia


Built on marshland, they are currently battling some instability in the foundation and are injecting concrete to try to stabilize the structure.


CHARTRES

Chartres is located only 56 miles (90km) SW of Paris. Much of the town was damaged during WWII, however, the church was mostly spared and the original stained glass windows are intact.

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

Also a UNESCO World Heritage site, whose construction started in 1145.

The blue glass in the windows is a unique shade that no one has been able to replicate to this day. Combining the stained glass, the massive statuary and the painted decorations, Chartres represents some of the best examples of Gothic art preserved from that era.

After visiting numerous churches and cathedrals, I am often looking for something different or unique. A couple of things stood out for me.

There is what is called a labyrinth inside, which is a pattern in the floor. In essence, it is a pilgrimage path. “The purpose is to meditate with Christ on death and eternal life.”

Quite a few people were slowly walking along the pathway, and anyone from our group was welcome to join if they wished to.

The other feature that was of interest was the massively carved “story board”. The carvings were used to tell the story of Jesus Christ through visual images. What was unique, was that the material that was used was chalk instead of stone or marble.

LUNCH IN CHARTRES

Lunch was on our own and we (along with several others from our group), chose a small sidewalk cafe that served crepes. Of note were the bottles that beer was served in that was commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

GATE 1 FAREWELL DINNER

Ana had given each of us a list of choices for our farewell dinner at L’Escarmouche and I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of it. We had a wide range from which to choose a starter, main, and dessert. Some choices that I remember include:

Starter: Escargot, French onion soup, frog legs, smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail

Frog legs

Main: Lamb, Cod, Steak, Chicken, Risotto

Risotto

Dessert: Lava cake, apple tart, peach tart, pear tart

And there were several other choices in each category that I’m forgetting.

There was also what seemed to be unlimited wine, a fruit infused champagne and live music which we all enjoyed.

We were sorry to see this portion of our trip come to an end, but looking forward to our last three days on our own in Paris!

Our group in front of the Pantheon, Paris
Tim, Brenda, Steve and I with our brilliant Tour Manager, Ana

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for another wonderful, successful Gate 1 trip “in the books”. We had a great group, a fabulous tour Manager, a good variety of stops including Monet’s gardens, art, history, reflection at Normandy, nature, chateaus, cathedrals, famous monuments, an abbey on an island and so much more.

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Grateful Moments and Beautiful Photos from Chateau de Chenonceau | Travel Reflection May 2024

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 23, 2024

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia and Ra-Smit

As I mentioned in my last post, Tim had a bug today and we decided to let him stay in the room, rest and hopefully feel much better within 24 hours when we pack up and head back to Paris.

I too chose to stay behind, get some much needed sleep, and try to decipher the “new to me” different blog formatting options on the iPad.

The rest of the group, including our dear friends and traveling companions, Steve and Brenda, left for the day for scheduled stops for a visit of Chateau de Chenonceau, lunch and a guided tour of Chateau Royal d’Amboise in Amboise, and finally a wine tasting in Vouvray.

Read more: Grateful Moments and Beautiful Photos from Chateau de Chenonceau | Travel Reflection May 2024

Brenda was kind enough to send me these pictures from Chateau de Chenonceau:

If I get any more pictures from her that include the other stops of the day, I will add them. But, either way, I love that we got to have a “taste” of what we missed.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I’m grateful that Tim took a day off from touring so that he could at least start getting better. We also did not want to expose others on the trip to his germs, whatever they may be. We have already noticed several others on the bus who are sneezing and coughing. A group tour bus, just like an airplane, is often just a mobile Petri dish. I also got caught up on my sleep and feel normal. The extended bags under my eyes have packed up and gone. And a huge thank you to Brenda for sharing her beautiful pictures from today.

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Mont-Saint-Michel: A UNESCO World Heritage Site and Pilgrimage Destination

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 22, 2024

Mont-Saint-Michel is a small island located approximately a half mile off the NW coast of France in the Normandy region. At just 17 acres, it is home to a Benedictine Abbey with a current population that varies from 29-50 inhabitants. Last year they celebrated the 1000 year anniversary and are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Known as a popular pilgrimage site, every year the faithful make the trip to petition favor with Saint Michael. Some choose to walk the entire distance, including the last half mile which, depending upon the tides, may or may not be underwater. When it is low tide, the island can be reached on foot, however, there are pockets of quicksand which must be avoided.

Read more: Mont-Saint-Michel: A UNESCO World Heritage Site and Pilgrimage Destination

The much preferred (and safer route), involves driving or taking a bus to a parking area 1.5 miles from the island and then taking a shuttle tram which takes about 12 minutes, or walk 40-50 minutes along a path.

Since we were with our tour group, we arrived by bus, then walked a short distance to catch the shuttle. Normally there is only an average of a ten minute wait in line to get on the frequent shuttle, but instead our fabulous guide, Ana, told us to all take a deep breath as she informed us that the line was not moving due to a safety/security drill being performed in preparation for the Olympic torch arriving. We patiently waited an hour or so, visited with other tour members, then eventually it opened again and we were on our way.

There is still a short walk from there along a raised bridge to reach the Abbey. But what stunning views as you approach!

The lower part of the island contains a variety of shops, including bakeries, cafes, a post office, as well as places to buy souvenirs. Ana recommended we try the mussels for lunch if time allowed.


There is no charge to wander this lower section, however tickets are required if you want to visit the Abbey itself. And I highly recommend that you do. There are a lot of steps involved, but you can take tour time and move at your own pace. To make the circle loop, (up, through the abbey sections and back down) takes most about an hour. We however spent two hours in the Abbey, enjoyed the views and of course took many pictures.

The chapel and cloisters area were both interesting. Our timing was perfect in that we got to listen to several nuns singing during a service. The sound of their beautiful voices was amplified in the space and made for a special moment.

Chapel:

Cloisters area:

There are so many wonderful places to take pictures that I was having a field day. Below is just a sample of more random shots we took throughout our visit. Thank you Brenda for sharing yours here as well:


By the time we completed our loop, we had less than an hour before we needed to meet back with our group. A quick lunch of crepes, or sandwiches was our best option.

Once back on the bus, we had a relaxing four hour bus ride to reach our next overnight in the town of Tours (which means towers in French).

We are staying at the Hilton for two nights.

We had an included group dinner this evening at a local restaurant, a 10 minute walk from the hotel. It is a set menu. The appetizer does not look very exciting, but was actually delicious. It was two poached eggs in a tasty sauce. The entree was pork, a cream sauce and potatoes. Dessert and wine were included.

Right outside the restaurant is this stunning building. Formerly the Hotel de Ville, it currently is Tours Town Hall.

Town Hall, Tours France

After several nights with limited sleep, I gave myself a break and went to sleep without doing my blog post. I have been struggling on this trip to get them done and so unhappy with the results. My normal routine when we travel is to bring along my laptop. It is heavier, so this time I chose to only bring my iPad. The formatting and input is just different enough that it is taking me longer and the results less than ideal. So, my apologies that my posts are different, not as detailed as normal, and frankly odd. I took the following day to work on learning the new format, as well as allowing Tim to recover from an upper respiratory bug of some kind.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that we got to check another item off of my “wish list”. Mont-Saint-Michel has been a place I have wanted to see for years, and I was not disappointed. I hope that my pictures will give you some sense of the raw beauty of the area, the size and age. As a 1000 year old fortress, one can easily imagine ancient battle scenes.

Thank you to friends, old and new, who take the time to comment, share and subscribe. We love the community we have built over the years and welcome you to join us.

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Exploring Normandy: D-Day Landmarks and Culinary Delights

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 21, 2024 ~ Caen, France

What a long day we had. Our breakfast this morning was a bit of a let down after the beautiful feasts we had enjoyed in Paris. This is not as much of a commentary that the food here at our hotel was not good. More so, just reliving how great it was the day before.

On the bus at 8:00 for what our tour manager, Ana, had labeled the longest day of our tour. Driving directly to the furthest point, we had our first stop. Looks like we are going to get wet. The sky is threatening and we are thankful to have brought rain jackets and an umbrella.

Read more: Exploring Normandy: D-Day Landmarks and Culinary Delights

We have had long days and not nearly enough sleep, so I’m not going to write as much about each stop as I would really like to truly do justice to our day. However, if you click on any of the IN CAPITAL LETTERS items below, more specific information on each place will pop up.

UTAH BEACH

Utah Beach
Memorial at Utah Beach
Le Roosevelt Cafe
Signatures & messages cover the walls inside the cafe
Mile Zero marker of liberation

Moving on to SAINTE MÈRE ÉGLISE where we toured the fabulous Airborne Museum, had lunch and then checked out the church.

Airborne Museum

Private John Steele of the 82nd Division was hit by shrapnel shortly after he began his descent. He could not use his leg and landed on the church tower around 4.00 am. Beneath him, the battle was raging. John Steele spent two and a half hours hanging from the church steeple. After trying to cut free with a knife, he dropped his gun and decided to play dead to avoid becoming a target of the Germans. He was finally cut free by a soldier named Rudolf May. His wounds were treated and he was taken prisoner by the Germans. John Steele managed to escape three days later. He rejoined the Allies and was transferred to a hospital in England. ~ Office of Tourism

Sainte Mere Eglise
Where Paratrooper John Steele landed on the steeple

POINT DU HOC

OMAHA BEACH

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY (Colleville-sur-Mer)

Preparations are being made for the 80th anniversary of D-Day which will be held here in a few days. Unfortunately, that prevented us from having access to several areas. It was also raining heavily upon our arrival so only a few waited around outside for the flag ceremony. We did however all leave a small bundle of roses along the wall at any place we chose to honor the missing soldiers.

We arrived back at the hotel just after 6:00 with time for a brief refresh before going to dinner. The four of us had decided that we wanted a nice dinner, close to the hotel, that was delicious food, but was not outrageously expensive. Once again Ana came through by recommending Carlotta’s which was within sight of our hotel.

After a brief stop once again at an ATM, and putting some very wet jackets in a dryer at the local laundry, we walked past the harbor to dinner.

Le CARLOTTA’S

The food was so good that I decided it needed a CAPITALIZED section of its own 😁.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that although it was a wet day, it was also a good day. I was once again humbled by the tremendous number of young men who sacrificed their lives that eventful day. Thanks to them, the fate of Europe and perhaps the entire world, was turned around.

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Exploring Claude Monet’s Home and Garden in Giverny, France

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 20th, 2024 – Traveled from Paris to Caen

This was an early morning since bags had to be packed, tagged and outside of our room by 6:45. After another delicious breakfast, it was time to get on the bus towards our first stop of the day.

CLAUDE MONET HOME AND GARDEN – Giverny, France

Most everyone is familiar with Monet as an artist, but many do not realize that his other passion was gardening. Well known for painting Water Lilies, the Japanese garden and pond were where much of his inspiration could be found. Especially keen on having light fall at just the right angle as well as the shadows and reflections, the pond was large enough to allow him to capture both morning and late afternoon light.

Read more: Exploring Claude Monet’s Home and Garden in Giverny, France

His home was also open to the public and we enjoyed winding from room to room. Several of us had the same thought – if given the choice we would much rather live here over the palace of Versailles.

BAYEUX TAPESTRY

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. ~ Wikipedia

BAYEUX CATHEDRAL (aka Cathedral of our Lady of Bayeux)

The original Cathedral was consecrated in 1077 and was probably where the Bayeux Tapestries were kept hidden and safe for centuries. It was rebuilt in the 12th century in the Gothic style

I was most intrigued by the crypt section located underneath the cathedral.


Overnight: Hotel Mercure Caen Centre Park de Plaisance

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for seeing Monet’s garden in all of its glory. It is being so well maintained and even if you are not a master gardener, one could not help but appreciate the massive amount of care that is required to keep it looking beautiful. Bayeux surprised and delighted me.

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Paris Like We Have Never Seen Her Before

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 19th, 2024 – Paris and Versailles, France

Luxor Obelisk with Olympic seats going up in the background.

Tim and I are fortunate to have visited Paris several times over the years, dating back to my first visit in the early 1980’s. There have been minor changes between visits due to renovations or disasters (Notre Dame Fire) or policy changes (more bike lanes, fewer car lanes plus the lock bridge being removed), but nothing even remotely as significant as what we witnessed this time.

Wanting to impress the world, as well as ensure safety, a great number of streets and even entire areas have been closed or roped off to allow renovations, beautification or huge stadium style bleachers to be installed.

Read more: Paris Like We Have Never Seen Her Before

This has certainly made it much more challenging for our local tour guide as well as our bus driver to navigate through Paris to get us as close as possible to be able to get a glimpse or hopefully snap a somewhat decent photo of one famous landmark after another.

But I’m getting ahead of myself just a little…

My body has not caught up with local time normalities, and after getting a solid five hours sleep, I was wide awake at 2:00 this morning, and by 3:00, gave up any hope of getting back to sleep. The bright side is that it gave me a chance to write and post yesterday’s blog write up.

After a fabulous buffet style breakfast this morning (included in our package), we loaded onto the bus. Ana, greeted us warmly and introduced us to our bus driver, David, who will be with us all week. Also joining us for the day was our local guide, Jocelyne who turned out to be informative and impressively funny.

I think it might be easiest to simply show pictures some of the major places that we drove past. You will catch glimpses of barricades, bleachers, and blockades in many of the shots.

Notre Dame Cathedral – almost done with the restorations
Guimet Museum and statue of George Washington
Palais de Justice (courthouse)
Arc de Triomphe
Dome des Invalides
Eiffel Tower

The afternoon was spent at Versailles Palace and gardens. The last time we visited, the Hall of Mirrors was getting a face lift which had prevented fully appreciating how beautiful it is. This visit we could properly view it, but much of the garden was being replanted so that everything will be at its peak for the Olympics.

Here is a variety of shots taken inside the palace:

The ceilings were quite magnificent and usually the first thing I noticed when entering each room.

And the Hall of Mirrors:

The last part of our visit we were on our own to explore throughout the gardens. This was where the numerous “still to be planted” areas were most evident.

There was still a great deal of beauty to see however.

Back to our hotel for a short nap before going out to dinner. Tonight we found a small cafe, again within a short walk of our hotel.

French onion soup

In search for another electrical adapter, we explored the shopping area within the train station and were impressed by the helpful guide for those with impaired vision.

The three strips on each side are slightly raised so that the path can be navigated using a cane.

I had hoped to knock this out quickly, but it is now 12:30 and my alarm is set for 5:30. Going to be another short night…

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Tonight I am grateful that I got short nap in before dinner 😄. And of course loving being back in Paris. It will be really fun watching the Olympics this summer and spotting many sights that we got to see while preparations were in full swing.

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Paris is Preparing for the Olympics

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

May 18th, 2024 – Paris France

Brenda, Steve, Tim, Joanne

It has been a few years since Tim and I have been to Paris, and the first visit by our travel companions, Steve and Brenda. I’m especially excited to see everything fresh through their eyes.

On Friday morning, after a quick stop at the vets office, we loaded up our car and zipped over to pick them up. Our two year old Cavapoo, Maya, had needed some minor surgery a couple days earlier to remove a torn dewclaw, and we wanted to make sure she was healing properly before leaving her in the capable care of our friends/extended family. Thankfully all was good and we could leave, knowing she was OK and in good hands.

Read more: Paris is Preparing for the Olympics

Tim had selected an off-site parking lot with Spectrum which would be a bit less expensive than the four of us taking Uber from Orange County, and much less than parking right at the airport for twelve days. Everything went smoothly, traffic was light, comfortable shuttle from the parking structure to the airport, walked right up to empty checkin kiosk, printed our boarding passed, dropped off our luggage and then breezed through security. We had allowed plenty of time and ended up relaxing and visiting over a casual lunch at “Homeboys” which was located right next to our gate.


In case you are not familiar with Homeboys:

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. For over 30 years, we have stood as a beacon of hope in Los Angeles to provide training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of our community.

The organization was started in 1988 by Father Greg Boyle who was recently awarded the Presidential Metal of Freedom. Their work has been invaluable in helping restore and rebuild lives. Certainly well worth supporting their efforts.

Perhaps a bit cheesy, but “Hey, we are on our way to PARIS” 😀

Once we boarded, we hit our first small snag with an hour departure delay, but most of that was made up due to favorable tail winds.

Brenda and I watched an interesting movie, “The Taste of Things” while on the flight. We both love to cook, and to create good meals for our families. Honestly, this movie could have been one incredible gourmet cooking class. The videography was superb and I was drawn in by the sights, sounds, descriptions and presentation of each dish they prepared. The story line itself is simple, yet has both tender as well as heart wrenching moments. If you love good food, I can wholeheartedly recommend giving this a watch. Warning though: afterwards you are going to be craving a delicious meal and airline food probably won’t be all that satisfying 😁

When we landed at Charles DeGaul Airport, after clearing passport formalities, and claiming our luggage, we easily located a representative from Gate 1 who introduced us to our private driver, and off we went.

Paris is preparing for the Summer Olympics which is scheduled to open here on July 26th. We drove past two of the major stadiums that will house soccer and swimming events.

We are staying at the Pullman Paris Montparnasse Hotel for our first two nights. The hotel is clean, comfortable and will certainly serve our purpose with a much appreciated bed. The location is a bit further from the center of town than I would prefer.

After a brief rest and getting refreshed, we met up with our tour manager, Ana, as well as the other members of our tour group. There are 39 of us in total, about half are first time Gate 1 travelers. Ana had us each introduce ourselves, and then she covered some basic information such as where breakfast is served, meeting time and place for tomorrow, passed out name tags and sound systems with an earpiece, bus seat rotation, emergency contact information, dinner options, etc.

The four of us decided to walk around the neighborhood near the hotel, find an ATM and grab something easy for dinner. We ran across Pinocchio’s and settled on their plat du jour of fish and chips plus an Italian salad with grilled vegetables.

Tired, but excited to be here!

Time for all of us to get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is a big day with our first local city tour to view some of the highlights of Paris, plus an optional afternoon at Versailles.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for how smoothly everything went in getting here. We are off to a wonderful start and I can’t wait to share more about what we see, do and experience while in France. Thank you for joining us ❤️

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Posted in Europe, France | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

About to Leave on Our Next Adventure

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

I have not even opened my WordPress App in quite some time, so I’m trying to sweep out the cobwebs and remember my way around. Hmmm, where is everything??

Booked on another Gate 1 trip, we will begin our adventure in Paris. The highlights listed on their website include:

  • Drive along Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and continuing to the iconic Eiffel Tower
  • Tour Claude Monet’s home in Giverny
  • View the immense Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman conquest of England
  • Commemorate the D-Day invasion with a visit to the Normandy American Cemetery
  • Cross the causeway to the magnificent Mont St. Michel, built on an isolated island
  • Visit the fairy-tale Chateau de Chenonceau, stretching across the river Cher
  • Stop in Amboise and tour the Royal Chateau of Amboise
  • View the Cathedral in Chartres, the finest architectural example of High Gothic style

Here is the map of our itinerary:

We have booked three additional nights in Paris at the end of the trip.

Looking forward to having you join us ♥️

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that we are once again about to get on an airplane and travel half way (well almost) around the world. We will be joined by two dear friends to explore, laugh, eat fabulous food, and celebrate just how fortunate we are.

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Posted in Europe, France, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 27 Comments