Saying Goodbye

It seemed appropriate for my last blip of Olargues, in this centenary year of the "War to End All Wars," to be the World War I monument. Not much progress has been made on that worthy goal, but the young men from this village who were lost in World War I are remembered lovingly in this memorial.

This morning we took care of some errands, and this afternoon, in addition to making a start at packing and tidying the flat for the next visitors, we had tea with our friends C and J, who were the stars of Phil's 1500th blip yesterday. "Goodbye" is postponed until tomorrow morning, as they are headed in the same direction as us tomorrow, and will give us a lift after we drop our car off in Beziers to the train station there.

I've already gotten teary several times today, walking through this village we know well, yet which still surprises us with a glimpse around a new corner or sudden dramatic light on the surrounding hills, so goodness knows what I'll be like tomorrow morning when we leave here and then have to say farewell to C and J.

On the other hand, we head for home with renewed appreciation of what we have there, and looking forward to resuming our usual routines. We'll be on trains most of tomorrow, arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport about 6 p.m., where we'll stay in a hotel overnight. Our flight from Paris to Seattle, via Reykjavik, leaves mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and we'll arrive in Seattle in late afternoon the same day, thanks to the nine hour time difference. In early evening, we'll board a shuttle bus for the 2.5 hour journey to Bellingham.

It's 9:15 p.m. now, and time to get serious about that packing and cleaning! Thank you for all the stars, hearts, and comments on my travels -- they've meant a lot to me. I may not blip or comment over the next few days, but I'll catch up with you over the weekend.