Travel & Tea, Let Me Be

I made a whole list of things to accomplish in my thirtieth year, and I would say I'm off to a good start! I already have a mini epic trip under my belt as I recently drove to Palestine (Pal-es-teen), Texas, to meet up with my travel pal and long time friend, Elyse. There, we showed the world how brave we can be by spending the night in a HAUNTED 19th century county jail. It's in Texas, so you know many humans were hanged on the lawn at some point in its history. I think that the actual building was rebuilt in the 1900s, but I can't swear to it as our paranormal "guides" were not too well versed in the history of the location, but I'm pretty sure I read that at some point before we went.
ANYwho, we had a blast just hanging out together, exploring the old downtown with had an almost old west feel, not to mention great coffee, beer, and food. There we discussed our next major travel plans, and that is my true excitement and reason for this tale.

But, to ease your curiosity, we did try out communication with the "spirits" at the jail via dowsing rods. Are you familiar? They look like this:

(Sold by MajasPlace on Etsy)

The handles are hollow and detached, allowing the rods to swivel freely. We asked the spirits we were talking to to cross the rods over each other for "yes", and move them apart for "no". When I took my turn, whatever I was talking to was pretty strong and moved the rods fairly swiftly. Yes they did move, and I'm confident I did not move them. (However, I won't go so far as to say that I couldn't be convinced their movement was a matter of science vs. ghosts.) At one point I asked "it" where it was located in the room and asked for both rods to be pointed in that direction. I'll be derned if they didn't swing to my right and over my shoulder, with a force that I could feel, just as if there were someone standing in front of me swinging them around. It was MIGHTILY unsettling. I was pretty much done with the dowsing rods after that.

Around midnight, Elyse and I had explored enough and went to bed down in our prison cell, before everyone else, and slept like babies until around 8:30 the next morning. I slept so well, y'all! Who would have thought.

We had breakfast at the local breakfast-gettin' place before we had to part from each other. Austin (where she lives) to Little Rock (where I live) is not my favorite distance, but at least it's another reason to travel.

This was just the trip we needed to get our travel and creative juices flowing. So over coffee the evening before our ghost excursion, we discussed all the various places we would like to explore. She is literally game to go anywhere, but with preferences over others. I mentioned France, as I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Little did I know that as we were sitting in that cafe discussing possibilities, over my left shoulder she could see a 7 foot Eiffel Tower replica the whole time. Ha!
Although we did not come to a decision right then, she later texted me to seal the deal on France, and so our travel planning has begun!

I have always been the opposite of a Francophile, not at all appreciating the French language, with some disdain for the way France has been romanticized, and not caring too much about the history of the region. In other words, purely American about it. However, my house is covered (and has been for 10 years) in framed posters of French advertisements, most of them by Leonetto Cappiello, that I somehow fell in love with many years ago, and have not lost love for since.
I thought about all the movies I love that are set in France, and about how much I love wine, cheese, pastries, art, and a high quality of life- and realized that these are all things the French are known for cherishing as well.
As someone who studied Spanish, I was never a fan of French, but now I suddenly find myself intrigued by the language and anxious to learn more. And you may recall, learning conversational German was something on my bucket list for this year, but I think I will be putting that on the back burner and learning conversational French instead. It may prove to be more useful.

What's more, I realize that there is a lot to France besides Paris, and that is what I would love to explore. So I have taken to sitting on my patio or in my comfy chair, drinking tea, and reading to discover more of the French history and varied geography that I have avoided exploring for so long. We will be going in the spring or autumn of 2019 (still trying to decide) and I love having a trip-of-a-lifetime to look forward to! I've heard/read that planning to travel produces just as many endorphins as taking the trip itself, and I would say that's true! I'm on cloud nine and can't wait to learn all the things!

If you have been to France and have good stories or recommendations for us, by all means let us know! We don't want to miss anything worth seeing/doing.