Rogue Walks...with Intention

Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to take a trip unlike any I've ever taken before. This trip took absolutely no planning on my part other than to be available.  Everything was taken care of... the flight, the rooms, the transportation, the schedule, most of the meals,  and last but not least....the cost.  A free (sorta) trip to London and Paris.

Hello, London Tower Bridge

Bon nuit Eiffel Tower

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch/trip, so there was a catch.  I would be going on this trip with my daughter and nine high school students from her school... as a chaperone.  Going on any trip with my daughter is a treat and adding the students made it nine times more fun.  It was only one week from the time I found out I was cleared as a chaperone (yes, I passed the security check) until the departure date.  Not my usual months of planning and anticipation.  I took that one week to get into the proper frame of mind.  The frame of mind that says there will be no lingering in sidewalk cafes sipping tea in the morning or wine in the evening, watching the world go by on this trip.  There would be no spontaneous diversions when something interesting caught my eye.  There would be no trying to blend in anonymously.  I was going to have "tourist" emblazoned on me as we moved through all of the sights "en mass".  This was a trip for the students.  It was their first trip to Europe and I was so excited that I spent a whole week romanticizing all of the possible scenarios for my week of chaperoning.  It was all going to be great, I just knew it!

Our informative and humorous (British humor...the best!)guide in London 
who instead of saying to walk quickly
told us to"walk with intention" as he led our group.

Sometimes I get lucky and life actually mimics my imagination.  I need to imagine bigger!  I imagined the students would be fun. I imagined they would be interesting and curious.  I imagined they would experience moments of awe.  I imagined we would share inside jokes ("walk with intention" with a British accent) and stories.  I imagined everyone would get along famously.  I imagined seeing my daughter shine in her teacher role.  I never imagined it would all turn out as I imagined... but it did.

Seeing my daughter as Ms. Mahoney ...priceless!

I arrived many (at least 7) hours before the rest of the group and sat in Heathrow airport conjuring up even more perfect situations.  I never would have conjured up the situation where the group is diverted to Iceland on their way to England.  The group could now add one more country to their list of countries visited on this trip.  How many of you can say you have been to Iceland?  After their unscheduled trip to Iceland, they arrived and I finally met the nine new people in my reality.

Since they arrived many hours later than scheduled, we had to catch up to the rest of our tour group.  We managed, with the help of one very tired woman whose job it was to meet us and hook us up with the rest of the group.  So far, I was not buying into the "group tour" bit, but the students seem pretty great.  The day progressed as expected.  Put a group of tired travelers, two frustrated tour guides, crappy weather and 40 strangers together and what do you get?  A recipe for disaster?  It could have been, but it wasn't.  Adrenaline and Harry Potter to the rescue!  Give kids who love Harry Potter anything Harry Potter and you are a hero!  After planes, trains, buses and buying all the Harry Potter garb they could afford, the first day finally turned into night and we all wearily found our rooms and slept!

Our fearless leader....finding out where to meet our bus!

After almost two days of being herded around London, my daughter and I took our group after dinner and went rogue.  Most of the rest of the larger group consisted of middle school students and many parents/teachers/grandparents.  We were with nine students who were all juniors and seniors in high school.  We needed to get out and see the world.  It is much easier to move through a city as 11 people instead of 40 people...trust me on this.  Our tour guide realized that we were quite capable of navigating through the city and gave us permission to wander and directions back to our remote hotel.  We were giddy with freedom!

One view from our rogue walk.

Sadly, it was closed for repair.  Still
worth the walk along the river!

Our students really liked our post dinner walks.  I think the very best one came on our first night in Paris.  When our guide found out my daughter had lived in Paris, she was more than comfortable setting us free after the daily schedule was completed.  Paris is stunning in the evening!   The Seine and the views of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville were well worth the extra steps we put in that day.  We closed the evening by letting the students shop until they dropped in the souvenir shops and topped it all of with an ice cream chaser.  They LOVED buying souvenirs!

Their feet may be tired but they can still shop!

Views like this kept us going!

Every night after dinner our students would ask if we were going on another adventure and our guide would get us up to speed on the plans for the next morning and release us.  We had spoiled them...in a good way.  Their curiosity had been peaked.  There were a couple of night "the chaperones" were whooped but if the students asked, we indulged.  One night led to crepes for dessert.  One night led to dancing on the sidewalk to an awesome street musician who greatly appreciated their enthusiasm.  One afternoon walk led to Luxembourg Gardens and the Sorbonne where I am sure several of them now want to study for at least a semester.  Our job was done!

Dreaming of their semester abroad?

Everything the tour planned was great and well worth seeing and doing.  It was especially nice to have tickets purchased ahead of time and go to the front of many lines with our large group.  "Sorry" to people we passed up in line!   Our free time and walks together made the trip special in my eyes.  This was the time the students would ask questions and talk to us and to each other.  They were able to express their interests and maybe see or do something they wanted that was not included in the broader tour.  This was the reason I was there!

On the last night, which was the Eiffel tower extravaganza and river tour, my daughter and I bought some postcards and made little awards for our students.  We did not see much of the sights on the night cruise while we filled out our awards but the students were enchanted by the city of lights.  So to close this long post I give you the awards...no names...they know who they are!

-Most likely to have an awesome play list for whatever country he visits.
-Most likely to conquer her fears and hesitations in the name of adventure.
-Most likely to navigate through any city she visits.
-Most likely to actually get a good night sleep and dream about K-Pop.
-Most likely to attempt to learn the language wherever she travels.
-Most likely to be where he needs to be, when he needs to be there!
-Most likely to speak to Chinese tourists... in Mandarin.
-Most likely to come home with new clothing from every place he visits.
-Most likely to be the only one to board the train through Platform 9 3/4.

We will always have Paris!
Ms. Mahoney and Momma M.

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home

I kind of feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz  after she woke up from that crazy dream only to find that she was happy just being home in Kansas.   I'm not sure if after my summer away I have more courage, brains or heart...but I do have over 500 pictures and some great memories.  When it is all said and done though, it sure is nice to be home for a while!  Even though the the thermometer says 102 degrees and it still has not rained for months and I had to BUY lettuce at the grocery store instead of  pick it out of the garden.... on the bright side, I have twice weekly garbage pick up, a garbage disposal (curb your enthusiasm!), air conditioning, my car, my regular Tuesday golf game, my book club, and a life.   A life that has been somewhat neglected over the last few months....at least when Dorothy woke up she had only missed a day or two!

When I last left you I was lamenting the beauties of the shore and trying to hold on to that last bit of summer.  It was not the perfect summer but it had some very special times and was my first to "stay on".  I could definitely get used to "staying on".  Last year, re-entry was postponed with a trip to New York.  This year I managed to postpone real life another week by accompanying TJ on a business trip to the UK and Europe. 

London Bridge is not falling down!  It was quite lovely.

I sure hope there is enough paella for me to have some too!  Covent Garden...food court?

This is the train station in Antwerp where I walked from end to end pulling my bag and looking for my platform, or at least the platform I thought I was supposed to catch my train at, with no luck.  I started to feel like Harry Potter and expected to be sucked into the  train to Hogwarts at any minute!  I did eventually ask someone for directions and it turns out the train to Brussels is labeled.... Paris!?  Duh!

Hogwarts....I mean Brussels.  Where I walked approximately 20 miles and got to see a lot of beautiful buildings and gardens. 

When TJ was finally finished with his work obligations we were lucky enough to go to France and stay at his sister's house.  I know...can you believe she has a house in France?!  It is in an ancient town near Dijon.  If I thought being without TV at the shore was an adjustment, going to a remote French village with no TV, no clock, no phone and no internet was another thing altogether.  This would be a perfect place for a quiet retreat.  It took a bit to shift gears from London to remote ancient village in France!  It was beautiful!  We really enjoyed the surroundings and being transported to a different time. 

A long way from the farmhouse....in time and space.

A place where you drive down the road and see things like this!

In addition to ancient castles, we also came across a horse parade.  I guess these guys needed a drink at the cafe before the parade!

One way to make sure you do not miss the shore so much when you eventually get home is to go to a foreign country, live out of a suitcase for a week, have some gray gloomy weather, catch a miserable cold, spend a lot of time alone walking through large cities and find out that your French is only minorly passable as a means of communication.  It puts everything in perspective!

 Summer at the shore is over, everyone has gone back to their real lives, it is time to go "home".   A place somewhere in between the laid back, fresh shore air place where everyone knows your name to the crowded, busy, urban city where you are anonymous to the quiet, remote, ancient village....."home" is somewhere that has a little part of each.