If you’ve been reading this little ole blog of mine for a while, you know that we own and operate a B&B in southern Oregon – and you know that when we’re not hosting guests, we’re out traveling the world.  We’re learning to streamline and we’re constantly looking for the perfect backpacks.

I’m not exactly sure when I became obsessed fascinated with the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but I’ve had a relationship (in my head) with her for as long as I can remember.

Chicago is the starting point of any road tripper’s Route 66 adventure.  I think half of the fun of an epic road trip is the getting ready part.  Doing the research, the packing, the buying of audio books (which by the way don’t buy because you won’t have time to listen to them), mapping out the journey, etc.  It’s a fun and informative way to gear up for the journey

Bed and Breakfast.  Hands down the question we get asked the most often is,  “When you travel do you stay at B&B’s?”  We always smile and answer, “No,” which of course leads to the second most often asked question, “Why not?”  Well, because it’s kind of like being at work.  And that’s the truth.

Is there such a thing as smoke free travel?  Before I try to find an answer to my own question, let me say right up front this post is not meant to offend anyone who happens to smoke, it’s just my perspective; how it impacts my life and our travels.

Chateau Fontainebleau.  The forecast for January 25 was a brutal 26 degrees, by far the coldest day of our stay.  We gave thought to whether it was a good idea to stay in Paris for the day, roaming, or get on the RER and head out to Fontainebleau.

Paris.  Is all it’s cracked up to be or is it just another city?  If you’re a fan of Sex and The City you know how much Carrie romanticized life in Paris.  She turned down flying off to Paris with Mr. Big but did, after much deliberation, accept the offer to go with Alexandre Patrovsky and Paris was in fact all she dreamed it would be, until it wasn’t.

Versailles. How do you describe that which is beyond description?  That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for the past 10 days.  We visited the Palace of Versailles on January 17 (2013) and I’m still trying to wrap my head around what we saw.  The Palace of Versailles is the epitome of opulence and a lesson in what can go wrong at the same time, while it has stood for centuries as a showcase of French history, art and culture.

Sacre Coeur.  Yesterday, our day did not start off very well but somehow it transformed itself into one of our best days here in Paris.  We are walkers and thus far we have managed to walk to every place we have visited.  Yesterday though, we wanted to visit Sacre Coeur and it’s way too far to walk so it was our first experience with the Paris Metro system.

Parisian life. We’ve been in Paris for nine days now. I think we’re finally getting the lay of the land and figuring out how best to fit in.  Yesterday, we took our first day trip out of the city and managed to get on the right train without getting lost.  We only had to ask for help twice.  I would like to “lift the lid” off of the city and see the whole underground world known as the metro/RER system.