Three days in Paris concluded our trip and we returned home weary travelers actually looking forward to a vacation from our vacation!We traveled 2,500 miles in all and saw much of the country from the cramped seat of our rental car. Don't ask me why or how, but our nice, relaxing excursion to the French countryside turned into two solid weeks of partying, drinking and driving.

Oui, we decided to see ALL of France - from the Sud Ouest, to Provence, the Cote d'Azure all the way to Paris. We met many interesting people, many of whom we invited to California through slurred expressions of promised friendships and future endeavors to be experienced together. It is amazing what one will offer after 8 solid hours of drinking, four hours of sleep and plenty of bonding with the locals!!

If our promises are kept, I soon expect a nice young man from Egypt (who owns an American cafe in Paris) to come knocking on our door in December - not to mention the mysterious young lady in Marseille with the black eye-liner and Betty Boop mouth. As always, it is the people of France which make it the beautiful place it is. Although often misunderstood, or even considered rude by we Westerners, there is a lot to be said about and learned from our neighbors in Europe. It is there that you fully realize how young our country is, how far we have come - AND how far we still have to go. So, what are we planning for next year? Less drinking, more sleeping, less driving and maybe we just might never come back! A 'bientot! Shannon