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Oct. 9, Wednesday: Photo for Mom & Getting Down To Business.

There is only one photo in this blog post for Wednesday, Oct. 9, and I took the photo several days ago and have just now found the perfect post to put it in – all by itself, so it won’t get lost in the hurley burley of my other adventures. And this photo is specifically for my mother, who has always loved carousels. Hi mom & dad, love you and miss you!   Wednesday I began to turn my attention to the business of decisions and logistics and finding information for the Workshop in Nice that I will lead from October 20 to 27. This is a work trip, after all, not really a vacation – fooled you didn’t I, with all that fun I’ve been having?! On Wednesday morning I woke up about 6:15 – can’t seem to sleep any later, must be the training from gardening every morning last month – and I had my coffee and breakfast in my apartment. By 9 a.m. I was in Nicetoile at the Starbucks and I finished and published Monday’s post and began work on Tuesday’s post. I left at 11 a.m. and went a brief distance down the street (Ave. Jean Medecin) to the Monoprix grocery store. I have been craving vegetables – who can believe it? I am surrounded by croissants and baguettes and quiches and fruit tartes and all sorts of boulangerie items, plus pasta and pizza like crazy, but I am getting my fill of all that and want some fruits and vegetables. Luckily, Monoprix is an amazing grocery store. I found green beans and peas in microwaveable bags, fresh carrots and tomatoes, and apples (also picked up a few nonfood necessities). Then I went back to my apartment and feasted! Maybe this doesn’t sound so good to many of you, but I absolutely LOVE veggies and that seems to be the hardest thing to get enough of when I travel – other than salads. By 1:00 I hit the streets again, this time stopping first at the Tourist Information Center not far from my apartment. It is time to figure out how to get the workshop group to all the places I want to take them, including the most important, the villa where we are staying. The villa is outside the city some distance and we need to take a bus to get there, and will be going back and forth daily the week of the workshop. I also want to take them to the Matisse Museum and the Chagall Museum and that needs to be done by bus. Those are the things I tackled with the helpful and patient woman at the TI. Later I must also get info on the bus to Vence and St. Paul de Vence, but that is for another day. Related to the need to take the bus to the villa is the need for all the workshop participants to gather someplace on the first day, Sunday Oct. 20, and have a place to stash their bags while we wait to take the bus to the villa for check in at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is coming at separate times, so a central meeting place is a good idea. Carl and I check out of my tiny apartment on Oct. 19 and need a place to stay that night. Somehow I had to combine all this. So, first I determined that the bus to the villa begins at the stop near the train station, then I made a list of some hotels near the station, then I walked from one to the other, asking if they could accommodate us. I won’t detail my experience at each one, but I believe I have found an answer that will work. Today I do a test run to the villa, then I’ll email all the workshop folks, then I will finalize the plans. At around 4 p.m., after checking out all the hotels and making a tentative reservation at one, I went back to Nicetoile, was thrilled to get my corner table with the plug in even though the crowd there was enormous – like nothing I’ve ever seen. The line was out the door and down the hall for the couple of hours that I was there! It’s like being in NYC here, always crowded, hustling and bustling, noisy, and busy. With my cappuccino and my scone, I sat down and finished and published Tuesday’s blog post. At about 6:30 I walked back to my apartment and had supper: bread with melted Camembert, sliced tomato, nuts & raisins, and, of course, chocolate (how else could I manage all this walking and stair climbing?!). From about 7 to 8 I worked on the plans for the workshop, from 8 to 9 I did an art session, by 10 I was in bed reading and off to sleep by 11. Sorry there aren’t more photos this time. Today – Thursday – is a business day, too. But, who knows? I might take some. Stay tuned.
Mom, wherever I am in the world, whenever I see a carousel I always think of you. This one is in Jardin Albert 1er (Albert the 1st Garden), which is right across the street from the beaches and the Promenade Des Anglais. Sadly, the park is closed for construction, so I haven't been able to go in. But the carousel plays on! As it should!! Life is good. Love to you and Dad. Miss you both.

Mom, wherever I am in the world, whenever I see a carousel I always think of you. This one is in Jardin Albert 1er (Albert the 1st Garden), which is right across the street from the beaches and the Promenade Des Anglais. Sadly, the park is closed for construction, so I haven’t been able to go in. But the carousel plays on! As it should!! Life is good. Love to you and Dad. Miss you both.

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Debi Pendell Artist by debipendell.com