Wednesday, June 16, 2010

It's Been A Long Time..


I shouldn't have left you...(you may know the rest!). OK friends, it really has been too long, I know.  I am going to make every effort to keep better updates on how things are going, where we are going, and where my thoughts are.  So, since I last shared with you, I have been to New York, North Carolina, Las Vegas, Cannes, Nice and Monaco!  Yes, it has been exhausting but great experiences along the way.

I won't give too many details on the trip to States, b/c it frankly was not a tourist trip, but I will share this with you - there were times when I was back in the US when I longed to here in Cambridge - I really never thought I could miss this place the way I did.  My trips to NY and Las Vegas were work-related, stressful, exhausting and really pushed me to the limit physically and mentally.  My time in NC with my family was awesome - but very emotional.

As I am entering my "grown up" years, I am also entering that phase of life where things begin to change - its hard to see parents age and their health not be what it once was, its hard to walk away from someone in the hospital and know you can't see them again for months.  It's not easy to get a phone call that your someone you love is being rushed to the ER. But you know what?  It means the world to be close enough to rush to someone's side, hold someone's hand, cry with them, hug them, laugh with them - it means everything.  I had to go through some things with my family that I really would have rather not experienced, but the fact that I was there to go through it with them and not here in England...it meant so much.

Life will happen whether you live next door to your loved ones or one the other side of the world.  I cannot control the happiness and health of anyone I love, no matter where I live.  But what I can do is make the moments we have together in person, on the phone, on iChat, whatever it may be, worthwhile.  I can make them smile, inspire them, be open and honest with them and allow them to do the same...

Now...that was the USA adventure....from there we move to the French Riviera, a bit less stressful and exhausting :)

For Memorial Day weekend, we planned a trip to Nice, Cannes and Monaco in the south of France.  We were supposed to leave on Saturday morning....here's a travel tip for you:

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR DEPARTURE AIRPORT 
BEFORE LEAVING YOUR HOME

Yeah, so....I thought we were flying out of one London airport, and we were actually supposed to fly out of a different one, in the complete opposite direction!  We didn't figure this out until we had parked in long term parking, taken the shuttle to the airport and attempted to check-in at the WRONG airport!  Yes, it was awful!  I wanted to cry and needless to say it was a silent ride from the wrong airport back to our home at 7am that day :)  However, we didn't let it stop our trip.  We found a one way ticket that left first thing Sunday morning and we spent all of Sunday and Monday touring the area.

Our home base was the Intercontinental Carlton in Cannes (pronounced "can").  Many will suggest you stay in Nice (pronounced "niece") because there is more to do, but if you want the perfect place to do nothing - then Cannes is the place for you!  From Cannes we took the train to Monte Carlo/Monaco and also into Nice - very easy to get around in this area and definitely worth a return trip for us since we missed a day :)  ** I will post a detailed trip report as my next post for those interested!

Friday morning we leave for Prague, Czech Republic - I think it's going to rain every day we are there - but that is nothing for us these days!  When you live in England, rain does not stop your plans for the day!  All in all, its been an exciting few months since I last shared with you - definitely some highs and lows, but that's life I suppose.  

I am blessed to have some pretty crazy stories to tell these days and thankful that you care to read them from time to time :)

(By the way, I know this really should have been two posts, but I needed to get this update to you in whatever way it came to me!)