Almost On Our Way

Hotel Negre Coste, Aix-en-Provence

Well, I am finally almost ready to wing across the Atlantic on the way to our wine and food tour of Provence and the Rhone. The big challenge , as always, is to finish all of the chores so that the house, the dogs, and my classes can run seamlessly while I am gone. The "to do" list is long and keeps growing, but  I
have faith- somehow it all always gets done even if I have to pull an all-nighter the night before departure.

I'm bound and determined to pack lightly this trip; both to nurse my recently broken wrist, and to leave lots of room for shopping. I've always packed far too many clothes, reference books, and gadgets (hair dryers and such) on the off chance that it might be needed. Not this time, I swear!
Now let's see how well I keep that promise.

This trip I am traveling sans computer and will try to keep posting from my iPad. While most hotels have wifi, bandwidth is limited and in high demand in the evenings when many of the guests are checking email, posting on Facebook and other on-line activities. Uploading a picture or posting a blog can be time consuming and very frustrating, so this trip, I am renting a mobile hotspot from a company called  The French Connection , which will give me wifi access for up to 5 devices. It will give me phone and text service over wifi, let me keep up with email and this blog, post on Facebook, share my "internet bubble" with others on the tour, and avoid roaming charges. There are several US firms that rent mobile hotspots, but French Connection is based in France, delivers your mobile hot spot to your hotel, and you return it in a postage paid envelope at any post box before you leave France. I like the idea that they are local and can deal with any problems from the same side of the ocean.  The price is competitive, and you save the shipping charges of close to $30. I'll let you know how well it works!