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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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…

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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.

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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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Highlights and Recap of our Zurich to Nuremberg River Cruise on Uniworld

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

June 21st – July 2nd, 2023

Our route

Taking a trip with another couple that you have never traveled Internationally with before has the potential for being fabulous or a complete disaster. Fortunately for us, it fell into the wonderful category.

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