France had never evoked my wanderlust spirit nor beckoned me to visit her. In fact, it seems I'd purposely circumvented this popular western European country. Roaming, instead, through several of its bordering neighbors, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium with thorough, unabated zeal. In hindsight, having just returned from a 'purpose-driven' vacation in France, I now ask myself: was it avoidance or really circling in to the bull's-eye target?
A trip to France must have been pre-destined, happening slowly over time, like a locomotive steadily gaining velocity. It had begun with a general purpose thought to take a writing workshop with our neighbor, an outdoor and wine writer, author, Nick O'Connell, who teaches various Seattle and on-line classes through "The Writer's Workshop". Nick's overseas workshops appeals to writers and potential writers, arranging visits to France or Italy, once a year, on an alternating country schedule. 2012 was to southeastern France, specifically, destination: Vaison-la-Romaine. Nick seems to engage my sense of adventure. My mind's vision of Nick places him on his pannier-laden bicycle, headgear intact, forging upright these quad bursting hills of our Queen Anne neighborhood, a heart-thumping activity even for the strongest cyclist. Nick seemed the perfect "man for the job."
So, the seed was planted: mental ruminations culminating in a brainstorm to connect my photography passion with an early life dabbling in writing to a intersecting, convergence point. I decided 2012 France was going to be "it"! The zenith merge of pen with visual illustration.
The workshop schedule was a series of morning "class" instruction followed by honoring the traditional two-hour lunch break, then afternoon activities. Surprisingly, even Steve thought the trip would be fun and signed up for the writing class too. We both enjoyed our writing mates immensely (Nick's wife, Lisa Sowder; two New Yorkers; a Puerto Rican former newspaper writer; a North Carolina real estate agent; and Chris Olsen, Nick's right hand, go-to man not signed up in the class but participating in the trip's success/organization). As one of them pointed out sometime during our week's adventure & a takeoff from Hash House Harriers theme: we were "a wine group with a writing problem."
