Just 3 More Weeks!

In 3 weeks time I will be sitting in a corner cafe in the city of lights sipping a cafe au lait and eating pane au chocolat! At least that's the plan! Strike that cafe au lait, maybe I need to make it a pastis, or a kir royale or some terrific French wine!

What a week it has been. I'm not even on vacation yet and it seems my workload is exploding! Not that it has ever really exploded before while I was on vacation, mostly in part due to my running around the 2 or 3 weeks before I leave making sure all my "stuff" is taken care of.

I guess you could say that I am right on target this year too! I really am trying to remain calm. Heck if something comes up while I am on vacation one of 2 things will happen (like always). Either someone will figure out how to handle it, or someone will not figure out how to handle it and leave it for me to take care of when I get back! :)

I'm really looking forward to this long weekend...it's another Atlanta weekend for me. I know, not my usual style. Going out of town a few weeks before a "big" vacation. But I really like going to Atlanta, even if nothing is planned. I just like being in a city.

But there are plans! Dinner tomorrow night with Regi and Darlene in Decatur at a Thai restaurant. As Regi has mentioned in the last couple visits, Decatur is a really cute little town with a nice town square, and it's right on the MARTA line. So we will meet them at the Decatur MARTA stop and stroll around the square checking out the shops and then have dinner and most importantly "adult beverages"!

Sunday is shaping up to be "tourist" day in Atlanta. Maybe the CNN Center tour and World of Coca Cola then dinner at a restaurant I found on OpenTable that gives 1,000 points for a Sunday night reservation! It's called Wisteria and it's in the Inman Park section of Atlanta the reviews I've read so far have all been outstanding...should be fun!

Monday is the designated Trader Joe's day and then the drive home. Then it's time to switch gears into packing mode for the France trip....Yay!

Why does August feel Never-Ending???

It seems to me that the month of August is never going to end! Probably because my trip is only a month away and the excitement is building!

When I got home tonight there it was in the mail...the list of all the hotels we will be staying at in France along with the list of the other tour members and the tour guide. I'm happy to say the tour guide listed is one that I have heard terrific review about. I couldn't have gotten better news today!

Now the fun of checking out the hotels we will be staying at! Fortunately they all have websites so I will be spending the next few days taking a look at where we will be staying!

30 Day Countdown and Trying Not to Have a Meltdown....

Just 30 days until jetting off to the city of light and true to form, just before going on vacation work is getting chaotic! I know things will be fine, but getting everything coordinated is always a challenge!

But I am really looking forward to spending 21 days in France!!! All the planning and research is done and now it's just packing and the last-minute "to do's" that will need to get done. All that can be done a couple weeks before the trip so that's why with the 3 day Labor Day weekend coming up it's a great reason to go to Atlanta!

This upcoming trip to Atlanta we have decided to play "tourist" and give the CNN Center tour and World of Coke a try...it should be lots of fun!

The Dollar is getting STONGER!

After months of wondering how much more the dollar would sink against the Euro there is a glimmer of hope this week.

I don't check the currency values regularly, it was getting too depressing seeing the British Pound at $2 to 1 and the Euro reaching $1.60 to 1. So I stopped looking several months ago. This week I saw a post on the Fodors website saying the Euro is starting to decline, so I read the post with great interest since in 5 weeks time I will be in France. I was thrilled to see the Euro rate down to $1.49!

Months ago I said I would be happy if the value was around $1.50...I got my wish, now lets hope in the next 5 weeks it will either stay there or go down! That may be wishful thinking, but I will keep the positive outlook. It really doesn't matter either way, I am going no matter what the value is! :)

Theater Mania and another trip to Atlanta

The November NYC trip is starting to shape up with theater plans! This past week discount tickets to Billy Elliott and Gypsy were available and we snatched them up fast!

Billy Elliott is a new musical based on the movie. Elton John wrote the music and the show has been running in London for the last 4 years. It opens on Broadway in October with the "official" opening happening the second week in November. Lucky us we got tickets for the second weekend in November, just before the "Big" opening. The show is getting lots of good buzz and I'm psyched to see it! I loved the movie, so I have high hopes for the musical.

And...we were able to get discount tickets to Gypsy with Patti Lupone! I'm having flashbacks to seeing her in Evita in the 80's!

Gotta love the discount theater ticket websites...playbill.com and theatermania.com!

Now that I have the major planning structure done I can coast with the rest of the NYC trip planning until I get back from France in mid-October.

And I am fitting in another long weekend trip to Atlanta at the end of August...have to get in one more trip to Trader Joe's! This time we may even venture out and do the CNN studio tour and check out the World of Coke...see Atlanta as a tourist! :)