We just had our last French lesson with Geena.  Today was a practical lesson and we reviewed conversations AND she taught David some swear words!!!  She has prepared us as much as possible in the short amount of time we have been studying with her.  It was sad to say au revoir to Geena because we have become friends!  

Geena generously invited us to text her or email her if we need any help while we are in France.  She may live to regret that!!!  By the way, Geena is not only gorgeous, she has the most beautiful singing voice!!!  You all should go to You Tube and listen to her sing.  Her full name is Geena Ghandour.  

Now David and I are reviewing our lists of things to do and we are going to the Verizon store to be sure our phones are France-ready.  After that we will meet with our house sitter to go over things like how to work the alarm and the hot tub.  Then I think we will head to the gym for a workout.  Lots and lots of things to do before the trip and we are enjoying every minute of executing the plan "Pretending to be French!"  

David and I are ten days away from leaving home for TWO MONTHS(!).  We have rented a wonderful house in the Loire Valley of France, in a village named Saint Aignan.  You can see our temporary home at www.loireindulgence.com.  It is owned by a couple who live in Melbourne, Australia, and Rachael and I have become email friends.  You can only imagine how excited David and I are to start our adventure pretending to be French.

There are many, many details to take care of before leaving your home for two months.  We have arranged for a house sitter and we have set up our household bills to be paid automatically on line (fingers crossed).  I had to prepare 62 days of vitamins and medication to take with us which was quite the undertaking!!!   We have been "staging" things to take on our dining room table.

David and I both have long lists of things to do that we are checking off daily.  For instance, today we went to the bank and ordered euros and we also went shopping to buy David a new belt and comfortable walking shoes.  

Also in preparation, we have been taking French lessons from a fabulous teacher named Geena.  She is upbeat and patient and keeps us very excited to learn the language. French is a beautiful, difficult language and Geena keeps a smile on her face even while we butcher her beloved language.  But she has taught us the important things we might need to say in France like . . . "where is the bathroom," "how much does this cost," "help," "I don't understand," etc.  And, most important, how to order a glass or bottle of wine!!!  I think we are well-prepared.