Oui, c’est vrai. It doesn’t seem real, but the tickets are booked so I guess that means it’s a happening thing.

In July, I will be returning to France. Hip hip hip hourra!

The purpose of my trip is three-fold.

Firstly, it’s the next step in finding a place of our own in France. Perhaps step is not the right word. It’s probably more like a toe wriggle in the right direction. During our time there in 2023 we had explored many cities on the eastern side, but as our French property dream began to take shape we knew we wanted to return again to visit the central and western areas. Living on the other side of the world means that this exploration can’t take place over a few weekend jaunts. (Oh, how I envy the Brits in this regard!) For us Kiwis, a period of several weeks is much more realistic for travel of this kind, but as Clive has a fairly new job, leave of that extent is simply not an option for him for awhile yet.

“But why don’t you go by yourself?” he calmly suggested. “Sign up with that Workaway website – maybe find a place in a small village. Find out what living in a small French village is really like.”

Now I am the first one to acknowledge what a wonderfully kind and unselfish suggestion that was. Most people would jump at the chance to travel for several weeks while their loving spouse continued working back at home to fund their adventures. But my immediate reaction was one of tummy-flips – and not from excitment. I love travelling with Clive, but the solo-travelling thing? Well if you’ve read my previous posts you’ll know where that sits on my scary scale. It’s pretty high up there. Navigational issues and all that jazz.

I considered the whole idea for many months. Then one day, on my way to work, I suddenly thought, “What if I could put my fear in a box? What if fear was no longer a factor for me? Would I then want to do this whole solo-travel adventure thing? ” And suprisingly, my answer (to myself) was “Absolutely!”

And then, I came home and said to Clive “Honey, if somehow the tables were turned and it was me giving you this opportunity, would you take it?” To which he replied “Heck yeah, in a heartbeat!”

So that was that. All of a sudden, I was ready to face my fear.

Which is the second fold of my threefold-purpose story. Feel free to take a tea break if you need one.

The second purpose for this trip is the opportunity it provides for me to look my fear of solo-travel (of getting lost, of being completely disorientated, of making decisions by myself) directly in the face and say boldy “I will no longer be a slave to you. So there.”.

It seems strange to be able to fit such a big fear into such a small paragraph. But I guess that’s indicative of what our fears so often are – so big in our minds, yet in reality, once faced, pulled apart and methodically dealt with – they are just a bunch of lies, undeserving of the space we’ve allowed them.

And the third fold? Well, the third fold is all about stepping off the busy bus. Life is pretty full on for most people and time to slow down is hard to come by these days. I know I have certainly done my fair share of complaining about it all. But now I have been graciously given the opportunity to step away from my normal life for a time; to visit new places and meet new people; to learn new things and to spend time watching and writing – and just being. I’ve decided to take that opportunity.

I’ll keep you posted.