Wow, good morning from lesMontels near Roujan France. We arrived yesterday, enjoyed gracious hospitality as we were met at airport by Anne Brooks, good friend and travel buddy from Toronto. She came knowing we would need assistance with the luggage. Ha ha. Four us had more luggage than the rental car would hold.
The rental car place had computers down so slowed the process and everything on paper. The patient man, who speaks better Franch than English was most apologetic for the length of time we were in queue. He has followed up today with email … Very kind. I am grateful for so much.
The drive was fun, catching up on stories with my mom. Mr Steve, as Anne refers to him, rode with Anne leading us down the twisty roads and frequent round a bouts. Fabulous. I have somehow traveled through a day and find myself in tomorrow land.  
My eldest daughters birthday today, she turned 31. I remember the day we met as one of the pivotal days of my entire life. I am forever changed by becoming a mother. I do wish I knew then what I know now about what matters and not …..  
So as we arrived, driving in to the sunset on the French countryside region of Languedoc-Rousillion. Farming, vineyards, fine wine. The rolling hills not far from the gentle breezes of the Mediterranean Sea. As we drive up the gravel road to the villa I am in awe of the view, the vista landscapes, the orange sunset, the stone building with lilac trim where we will spend the month. Wow! My breath catches in my throat. And in that moment and ever since, I have forgotten what I was going to write about my journey to this magical place.
In losing the day, I have gained tomorrow. I have arrived, before and without going through all those hours of flight …. Don’t you just love space and time travel by plane?  
The stone villa is situated on a hill overlooking a lush valley of vineyards and greenery, as far as I can see. Green trees, bushes, aloe plants, cactus, palm trees too! A gentle breeze is all we can hear today. Last night we heard the cicada bugs rubbing legs in joy and creating music. Today, breeze, birds and sunshine.  
I look out from the villa, sun room, kitchen area, living seating area, and bedrooms all off sunroom. The design of this place is for living and enjoyment. Wow!  
Last night we had wine, local, red and very powerful and potent for these jet lagged travelers. It was lush, smooth, bold, deep inch red colour and local vintners bottled the scent of this place in the wine. Trois Terasses is the name from Mas Gabriel (farm) locally. Fabulous. And off to sleep we went for almost twelve hours.
Today is a new day and I am ready to head out. In to Pezanas today on the menu, a beautiful village with shops and cobblestone streets. Today is Tuesday and all will be open by 230 pm. Stuff is open during the morning but closes around noon for a while. We missed that by sleeping in … Lol

Bonjours, 
Pamela, of France!  

Long Flight YVR to AMS: Looptail
Squishy seats on KLM …. I decide to listen to an Audible book that I have thought might be inspiring. I was right.
“Looptail” is the title, author Bruce Poon Tip, creator of GAdventures. A Canadian adventure travel company that offers life changing trips around the world. Wow!  
Starting from the wisdom and inspiration that comes from certain spiritual focus on equality, true balance of finance. Redistribution of wealth through travel opportunities. This promises to be a great story.
I am already a huge fan of the company, now to learn the story of the heart behind its inception. As a travel agent it is my duty to research and find fantastic travel opportunities for those who come to me for assistance. The Women’s Travel Club relies on my ethical moral compass to guide our future as we change the lives of women globally.
Update: recently I listened to a podcast that told of this companies recent projects. Included, was the big news story that they were partnering with National Geographic. Another Wow!
Books he read: Great Ocean, about spiritual beliefs of Tibet Dalai Lama.  
His words and phrases:  
Responsible. Sustainable. If you want the comforts of home, then stay home. A huge problem is my opportunity. What I do is a calling, a movement. Our purpose in life is achieving happiness. Our work is integral to the way we live our lives. What matters to us is more similar than different. Passion and purpose. Motivation is to inspire modern businesses in global social movement.  
Be something or be nothing! I am only as good as the people around me. Story telling works in engaging customers to a higher purpose. It’s how I get up that matters. Reimagine group travel….Between mainstream tourism (large bus tours or cruises) and backpacking. Variety, activity and cultural exchange. Changing travel through fearless innovation. Doing what I was made to do, following inspiration. Paying it forward. I am being guided. 
Doing whatever it takes, taking part time jobs to make it work. Giving it my all. Speak wherever I can to whoever will listen. Follow through with promises. Create relationships. Coach. Teamwork. Leadership. Good things will happen when I do good things. Excellence is expected. I can’t teach loyalty passion and commitment. Relationships between travellers as much as where visiting. 
Freedom lies in being bold. There is a compassionate side of business. Meaningful connections. Create a sustainable solution through tourism. 

And the next journey has begun. Arrival at the airport in Victoria Bc in plenty of time for check in and luggage drop off. The sun is shining bright and it is warm today.
Issues : the weather, my luggage and what I am wearing.
It always seems to take so long to decide and select from the clothes and shoes always at the ready auditioning for the next trip. Wanting to be creative and fun, as well as practical and yet stylish. Wanting comfort and matching. The selection made in a last days and I am done. Whatever comes with me, that is it. :). 
Luggage; another item is on its last legs, it’s final trip. Last trip I retired my sticker covered famous carry on grey hard side suitcase. Today I am using my blue carry on size hard sided item for checking. I also decide on the red carry on item. It has a broken handle it seems, since leaving home so it won’t expand all the way. And so it is resting comfortably in a cart now. It won’t likely return with me … I will have to purchase something new.
I have decided also to wear the bulkiest sweater I own, cuddly and warm, neutral beige. This will get some use as I hang out in the villa in south of France. Snugly and warm …. Cozy yet stylin. Done! And matching hat … Once belonging to my mom … Like me, she buys hats and seldom wears them. So this one will be reunited with her. On my last trip my favourite hat was left accidentally in Rome at a sidewalk cafe near pizazza de popolo. Never to be seen or worn again by me.  
Well, off we go. KLM flight direct Vancouver to Amsterdam and then on to Montpellier. Can hardly wait.  
Needing sleep … Safe travels wherever you are!  
Ciao
Pamela 

Great morning my dear blog, 
It has been a while since I have paid you any attention …. time to change that.
It is the first day of September 2015. One month from now I will be packing, last days before my next big travel adventure.  
October 4 I fly out of Victoria on route to Roujan, France. I will be staying in a villa in the south of France …. (I LOVE saying that!). What a vision that conjures for me as I let the words roll off my tongue, and each key stroke as I let my fingers do the talking through this magic ipad.
The vision, is one of vineyards, sunshine, sparkling white off dry and flavourful Prosecco, and time, plenty of time. This sounds like the ingredients for not only a fabulous holiday, but a wine of the region! I intend to indulge in both.  
I will drive small country roads and soak in the atmosphere that is indeed French countryside. I will let the culture, the language, the very air enter my person and sit for a month in my skin. 
 I will be a visitor in this land, however, I will try to let go of my tourist travel persona. Instead I will be an observer of space and time, art and routine.  
I will visit small town markets, I will investigate and smell the fruits and vegetables of the day, the season and the area. I will eat slowly of the fresh ingredients in a daily salad tossed only in flavours that can be found and enjoyed in this place.
I envision walking along country roads, sitting silently and breathing in the banks of the rivers alive with local fishes and plants who enjoy this place as their home. I will find rhythm and write my story of this journey. I expect most of the words and meaning will be shared on this blog site.
As I begin my packing today …. small items that want to audition for the final destination travel in my very small carryon hard sided champagne colored Italian made suitcase that I purchased in a town in Europe on my last trip, this past June 2015.  
I do hope you join me. Come with me to France!!  
In whatever way you can enjoy …. by reading books of the country, by studying the language, by watching French Kiss and other fabulous romantic comedy movies from the area, or buy a ticket and I will enjoy dining with you as we weave travel stories together.

A heroines house 
Invited in, I feel like a celebrity. I have never really imagined being friends with one of the top very few women mentors in my life. It evolved.  
Years ago, young , naive and not very awake, I met a woman that would change my life. She was and is strikingly beautiful in every sense of how that can be perceived. She stands in her power as I have never known another human.  
The sound of her voice and the tone of her message, the call to action of hope and peace and love is heard all over the planet.  
I heard it probably 25 plus years ago. I found the courage and resources to invite her to speak in our town, to our women and to further enrich my life. I did not know then what I know now …. How can we ever?
She came and she spoke and she changed the world. She planted seeds of such wisdom and power – a life changing message heard by adults and teens hungry for the tonic.
I, like countless others, have grown to a mighty oak nurtured by suns rays and wonderful love for decades …. I wave gently now in the breeze of knowing and providing shade and comfort. All I needed to do was grow. The universe and nature did the rest. I paid attention.
And here I sit tonight. In her warm inviting Vancouver home, as a house guest. I am delighted to hear her every word, even still, from distant knowing that only truth and love are spoken here.  
She has a home of unique character and one of the most fantastic bathrooms I have ever seen. A door out to a patio with a view of this beautiful city and the lights twinkling and stars peppered in the darkness overhead. A clear beautiful evening with a cool breeze.
The bathroom has a tub of marvellous proportions, tiled flooring, a sink with an off set drain to one side. Home made folksy art work hangs on the mustard colored painted and slightly textured walls, placed between the many door ways and bathing fixtures. Magic.  
Twin skylights reflecting city streetlights and car headlights; movement in the nights darkness. A wooden door with glass panes adorned with silk curtain panels tied at the bottom to a rod securely fastened; old glass doorknobs. A full size mirror showing light and beauty to the on-looker. The under sink cupboard of lovely aged wood, matching ceramic painted knobs of uniform size.
As I brush my teeth in preparation to sleep under this roof in this guest room in this Vancouver home, the home of my mentor, I step out on the wooden deck. I take a deep breath and marvel at my life. The journey that brought me here. I am smiling and happiness is the only emotion I feel.
 I have found myself befriended by a woman that has changed the world and inspired me to do no less.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Love being on the beach
You know that place where your soul is at rest? That place that has the perfect recipe of sound, taste, smell, touch, and sight where you feel a deep sense of ‘home’?  
For me, that special of all special places is the beach. Last night I enjoyed a lovely walk barefoot ankle deep in soft cool sand, the sweet sound of rhythmic waves on shore, sea birds preparing for night activity, the yellow circle moon rising to its rightful place pulling on gravity, the scent of salt water mixed subtly with hazy smoke from the seasons forest fires, surrounded by the presence of my loving youngest daughter: Pamela’s idea of heaven.  
I find other special places, more numerous as I grow in years and experiences. My heart still seeks the sensory banquet that reminds me of some long ago, pre verbal and content place on this globe, that of the space where the sea water meets the shore.

Is it morning or night? I think it is 832 pm Rome local time and perhaps 1132 am same day, 19 June 2015. I have gone back in time.  
After a long flight starting in Rome, via Paris and now heading in to Vancouver, it is difficult to say what day it is and certainly what time it is or should be! We have gone back in time, so in theory perhaps I can find some extra hours of sleep when I get home …. 
The shuttle picked us up at 330 ish this morning outside of our boutique and quite satisfactory, Yes Hotel near Termini Station in Rome. 8 of us travelled to Fiumincino airport to catch our 645 am flight and begin the end of our fabulous Mediterranean vacation cruise and stay.
The total group size started at 12. One fell sick prior to the trip and cancelled only a few days prior to the departure from Canada. One of the gals fell while taking a photo in one of our first few stops on the cruise and was flown home early for surgery to repair her broken elbow. The remaining ten enjoyed sunshine, travel experiences, sight seeing and eating way too much for general health.  
The cruise was fantastic, the excursions, tours and days of walking exploration of ports for 15 nights was really great. Following the cruise, we explored Rome together for another three nights stay. We hopped on and off busses, took taxis, attended a walking tour and guided tours of some of the sights. We shopped, walked and laughed. We snapped photos and iPad pics.  
We bonded more as a group, we made new friends and enriched each other’s lives by sharing our stories and witnessing each other’s adventures on this journey.  
I return home a richer person in terms of time with friends, family and the world.

Highlights of our trip, Women’s Travel Club. As we gathered on our last night in the hotel in Rome in one of the small boutique hotel rooms, to share and consume any left over beverages and or foods we had purchased, and to chat about our trip, I managed to begin a list of our collective shared experiences and trip highlights.
Bling bracelets, Pam had them from previous trips, almost all the gals have them now.

Jewish ghetto on the food tour in Rome, the stories, our guide, gluten free food.

Freedom of speech statue of the man who would not relinquish despite torture.

Pantheon magnificence, brought tears to the eye to imagine the dream it once was.

Colosseum magnitude. Several took tours, everyone took photos. The ancient sight.

Prosecco limoncello and wine from the local wine tastings along the trip and shared.

Skyline sailing into Malta, a sight none of us will forget and many will want to return to.

Master card usage, currency exchange, getting extra Euros on the ship. Money well spent.

Baha’i gardens in Haifa. We stood in awe at the sight, the view and how vast and peaceful.

Swimming in the Dead Sea in their t shirts, two of the gals got to experience this in Israel. They also visited the ancient Masada unesco world heritage sight.  

Jerusalem centre of various religious expressions co existing- visiting the Wailing Wall.

Being moved to tears.  

Last day in Rome shopping frenzy in Jewish ghetto quarter of Rome. Clothes, bling. Laughter.  

Gerry and the cute guys, inviting pictures and photo of poster of guy with garbage can lids in jumping pose.

Diving in the sea off pirates cove ship, Cleopatra beach. Alanya Turkey, a fave spot.

Swam in sea four times

Salt water pool water

Service on cruise ship

Corey dance party at horizons, dancing divas close it down twice!  

Floating in sea, listening to the chanting of the Muslims, feet floating bouyant. 

Greece Turkey Italy Cyprus Malta Israel …. Countries we have visited this trip. 

Gythion was the first swim.  

Jim’s patience with the women and shopping, he waits quietly, he opens wine bottles.  

He really was such a good sport every day with travel with several unknown women.

Exploring Rome on bus and walking through alleys.

Taking pictures of doors, people, flower boxes, balconies, steeples and the sky.

High Tea

Red Ginger and other specialty dining restaurants on Oceania Riviera

Vatican City and Sistine chapel. Spanish steps, piazza navona, piazza del popolo.

Wine tour and lava river, time in Taormina was our first excursion

Erice town top of mountain in Sicily. The view.  

Ancient sites of Aspendos and Side in Turkey. We will go back there.  

Watching and listening to Janet and her bargaining powers. Power shopping.  

Chania Crete, swimming, walking, shopping, having wine, walking together as a group of ten.  

Turkish carpet, three for ten euro!  

Laughing with the gals, big laughs!  

How the group managed different personalities, ten in the group from 12 started.

Some deep conversations and good friends relationships developed and strengthened.

Helping each other. Janet helping Jean after the fall. Caring for each other.  

Bulgari bath supplies from the luxurious Oceania Riviera ship.  

Dress up in our finest to dine together, glitz and bling, laughter and food.  

All of us met together at the Emmanuel II bridge last day in Rome, from three groups.

Tiramisu and many desserts, 

Searching for and finding and a blue scarf for Margrit.  

Mdina castle above Valetta on island of Malta.

Oceania robes and slippers, luxurious concierge veranda staterooms, salt water pool and heated tiled beds in spa.  

Balcony rooms linked for visiting between two rooms

Travelling with my mother is always a highlight!  

Missing the disasters in Egypt, demonstrations, bomb threats on ship, fire in Trapani Sicily, Rome airport fire before we get there.  

Sherry able to get help before the trip. Jean home for her surgery 

Spectacular sunshine, nice breezes, fantastic weather the whole trip

All the J and G letters, names sound the same. Jamella and mamma J….

Ship board credits, trying to spend 

Alanya Turkey, amphitheatre, pirate ship boat ride, beach area beautiful, walking the boardwalk, a swim in the sea, Turkish carpet and new friend for Gerry and Pam.  

Lighthouses in port cities and as we cruised in and out of the port areas. Chania.

June 16. We have left the ship and settled in to the YES hotel for three nights. We walk to colosseum to check it out. Then five of us walk to meet our walking tour.
Food tour, started with Allessio …. Alex. Born and raised Rome. Been to Victoria whe. He lived for a time in Seattle.
Our meeting place was Piazza Mattei 16, Pane Vino e San Daniele 
Sformato: di Verdure. Sformato of vegetables …. Spinach asparagus artichokes and potatoes covered in mozzarella cheese, gluten free bread, from region. Italy near Venice, furthest north east region of Italy. Red and white wine, both. Yummmm. Cheese with just a taste of honey on fresh bakery bread, broken like regular people eat it !  
Love this piazza Mattei. Mattei square. Beautiful fountain of the turtle. 15 century. “Make haste, but do it slowly.” Is message. Think slowly, when you have the plan, execute plan.  
1581 built. Jewish ghetto area walk.
1871 king of italy frees Jewish ghetto. Knocks down walls. 1903 built Jewish synagogue. Only square dome in Rome. Good till Mussolini in power. Discrimination. To be Jewish was to be Forbidden. Nazi took over Rome. 16 October 1943 stormed place and 2091 taken. 12 survived. 8000 Jews in this area. Poor people collected and gave gold. 6000 sheltered or did whatever they had to survive. Such a story of history!  
Pavements 1700-1800 year old cobblestones. Parts of structures hundreds years bc. Wow. Built on. Then fish market due to close to river. 
Second stop pizza spaghetteria voglia di pizza on via Della pieta. 2 different type of pizza. 

Can’t build anything higher than St. Peter’s. So no skyscrapers in Rome 
Pandali gluten free bakery … Pies, meringues, cookies, sweets, savoury, macaroons, …

Suppli is deep fried rice ball with cheese and tomato. 
Main meal, restaurant gluten free on left side of pantheon. Pantha Rei is name – Greek for everything flows. Everything in life changes … Impermanence.  
Italians are not great philosophers … They take care of the wives of the great thinkers? Lol. 
Red wine for us all. Merlot from latzio region in italy.  
Our guide was the Irish bartender in movie Gangs of New York! He picks up human ear …All of this movie was made in Rome. All his friends were extras in that movie! It was cheaper to make that movie in Rome. In 1999.

Also he had appearance … Stand in for two weeks for the actor …. in English Patient, 

He was also in talented mr ripley, the exorcist the beginning. Now filming zoo lander here. And in Florence the third Dan Brown book movie being filmed there. He is no longer in films.  
Pasta with basil pesto then pasta with cheese pecorino Romano hard cheese, with pepper and olive oil and little mint. Fabulous! Another bottle red wine, merlot. Oh my! 
Pasta with olive oil, chilli pepper dried, capers, olives, tuna, garlic, 
We go to a chocolaterie or something like that ….. Two each. The Sorrento lemon in dark chocolate is Devine.
Next stop for cappuccino or ? Limoncello for me, coffee for others at la Ciambella. 
Alex is translating a Book, “run until you are 100”. I want to read it. Accelerate, then glide.  
Then Gelaterie for the most scrumptious gelato EVER! Two flavours each,
We walk to taxi stand and find one that will take five of us back to YES Hotel on via Magenta, 15. 
So tired and completely satisfied. Great friends who came with me on the tour, wow. I am so grateful. 
Pamellllla of Roma! Ti amo!