With only 8 more days until the World Science Fiction convention and 21 more days until we head off to France, flying has suddenly gotten a tiny bit more complicated. Or I should say packing for a flight. Not to worry though. Just pack all possible leak sources--shampoo, shower gel, hair spray, etc...--in doubled up zip lock bags and place in well cushioned areas in your checked luggage. Ok, so it will be soft luggage because soft luggage is lighter and our trek has a weight restriction, but there should still be a way to pack everything safely. And, if something happens to leak, well it's not like it can't be replaced in France.
I do have another slight dilema though. I seem to be at that awkward weightloss position of between clothing sizes. The larger size is so loose that it is practically falling off--a belt can finally be worn with a purpose other than decoration--and the smaller size is just a bit too form fitting, and my form is not exactly at the appealing phase yet. So what to do? Well, at the moment, much as I really don't care for them, I guess I will have to invest in a belt. There's always the possibility that if I stick strictly to my diet and exercise program over the next 20 days that the "too tight" cloths will become comfortably loose, but I can't count on that. So, I get to be prepared to pack for whichever weight reality comes to be.
Meanwhile, trip plans are a bit more formulated. Ok, they have been for a while, I've just been too lazy to get in here an write an update. Two of us will be flying Air France and the other British Airways. I'm not looking forward to the new stricter security searches, but then the reason I usually avoid flying out of major airports whenever possible is because I always get flagged for the more thorough searches. We'll all be meeting up in Toulouse in the late afternoon to early evening, our flights arriving within an hour of each other if all goes well.
Two nights in Toulouse and then it's off to Carcassonne by train, and 3 more nights there. The last night with our trekking group. There's a possibility of a day trip or two from Carcassone to the surrounding area. It had even be suggested that we might want to stop somewhere on the way to Carcassone. But somehow I think toting our day packs and larger bag around while we site see might not be all that pleasurable. Exactly what we will see and when still has to be firmed up and possibly argued out, but whatever we do we will have fun.
Then it's off on the trek through the foothills of the Pyranees for several days with the trekking group, walking from Cathar historical site/ruin to ruin and taking photos along the way.
The trek ends in Montpellier, where we will spend approximately 4 days touring and taking day trips to the local area. And where one member of our group will leave us during the first day or two. Aside from Montpellier, suggested locales are Nimes, Narbonne, Port du Garde and surrounding area, and Avignon. This list will probably change. It already has a few times.
And then we fly home. And it will be time to decide, do we start training and planning for the Everest Base Camp Trek?? ;-) Or do we plan another trip to France, a walking tour of our own design. Where we travel from hotel to hotel each day, carrying nothing with us but a day pack filled with two changes of clothes (one for sleeping and one for eating--we're already wearing our hiking cloths) and what few other necessities we might need, as well as our lunch, a corkscrew, cheese knife and a bottle of wine?? Ok, so my companion(s) would have the bottle of wine and I would have something just as tastey, but non-alcoholic--even so, it sounds like an interesting trip. If you want to know where that idea came from, take a look at page 168 in the current issue of the US edition of GQ. It's a terrific article. And I think I mentioned it in an earlier post.
