Happy October. I hope everyone is safe and sound after the most recent hurricane came through the US.

I've been home from vacation for nearly a week and am happy to report that jet lag just wasn't an issue this time - amazing.

My first day of travel was long. I left the Washington DC area around 7pm, arrived in Iceland around 4am their time, and then arrive in Paris by 11:30 am. I caught a train to Avignon and then a local train to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue where I walked the last mile to our hotel. It was wonderful to arrive to a lively group of 6 women who were already into a couple bottles of wine, and a warm meal.

Our first day was just to get adjusted, and I did some shopping to fill in some gaps from my packing list.

The next day we were shuttled to Fontaine de Vaucluse to start our 8 mile hike up and over the mountain to Gordes. We stopped in a village along the way for lunch. It was a challenging hike, but I managed pretty well. Arriving in Gordes was breathtaking - a city on a hill. The sunlight was spectacular. My friend and I signed up later than the rest for the trip, so we were housed in a different hotel, but if you ask me, we got the better deal. Ours was a hotel with little stone cottages (converted farm buildings) that had porches, with views of the valley. Picture a stone cottage with antique glass doors, wrought iron and flowering vines above the door. The inside was lovely and very romantic. I joked with my friend that I might fall in love with her it was so romantic there. Our breakfast was served on the porch the next morning.

We went to the town market (held weekly) that morning and by midday something was aggravating my allergies. I got through lunch, but was a sneezing sniffling mess, so we didn't hike that day (my friend and I). The next day, we were shuttled to our next location and hiked towards Bonnieux. We stopped in Lacoste and walked through the town, hiking up to see the Marquis de Sade's chateau. Just gorgeous.

We walked to Bonnieux where we stayed for two nights, and that's when my allergies turned into a head and chest cold. I walked down to the pharmacy and got some cough syrups that helped a lot. I laid in bed all day the first full day in Bonnieux. The next day we visited the market, but it was our last day and we were shuttled to Avignon to catch the train back to Paris.

The entire group spent one final night near airport in Paris before most returned home. Our one friend was off to a work conference in Slovenia, and my other friend and I took the train from Paris to Nantes the next morning. From Nantes, my friend rented a car (she's still there until the end of the month), and drove us to her cottage in Angles. We had dinner with her friends/neighbors that night. It was a little rough since I know very very little French, but I made due with Google Translate. LOL

The next day was relaxing - we did laundry and visited the bakery in the village for our daily pastries and baguette!

The next day, my friend drove me to the next town over to rent a bike for the week. I also bought a cycling jersey. For the rest of the week, it was so relaxing. Lazy mornings with a walk into town for a pain aux chocolat or a pain aux raisin. Reading books. Taking naps. Eating fresh baguettes with butter. Drinking wine. Me going off of on bike rides through the countryside. More wine. Good food. Visiting nearby towns for the weekly market or going to the seaside to get oysters and mussels. It was heavenly.

After a week, my friend dropped me back in Nantes to take the train to Paris. I got my metro pass and went to my airbnb near the Bastille. It was a great part of Paris to stay in. I had easy access to everything I wanted. The next day I spent the entire day in the Louvre and got to see the Mona Lisa. My last day in Paris was spent at L'Orangerie and walking in the Tuileries garden. I had hoped to get out to see the catacombs and maybe some time at D'Orsay, but it was too much with only two full days. But, I did take myself out for a nice dinner and did some shopping.

I got home last Tuesday and pretty much jumped back into the swing of things. I was back on my bike by Saturday morning and went away with friends for a bike event over the weekend.

Finally, the vacation was the perfect interruption I needed for some of my bad habits related to my ex. It was a reset and now that I'm back, the idea to check his cyling app or dating profile might pop into my head, but my instant response is "meh." It's becoming boring now that we're past 8 months. I'm moving into complete acceptance that he did not want what I wanted, and that's okay. Just because he didn't choose me/us doesn't mean it's a poor reflection on me.

And I'm very much enjoying my life just as it is. Coming home to my cute house, my cozy bed and my adorable cats...........oh, and my bikes and friends and family...........was heavenly. I'm thankful for the love in my life. I really don't feel like my life is lacking anything.

And there is a new guy that's interested in me. Might have mentioned him before. He's my age, active, cyclist, but he's still married. As nice as he seems, I'm not ready to complicate my life with a relationship, but I did tell him that IF I were dating, I wouldn't date him because I've promised myself I will never again date unavailable men. If they are married or pining for someone else, or demonstrate emotional unavailability, I will ruthlessly disqualify them from my dating pool.

That being said, at the very least, unless prince charming himself shows up and wins me over, I have a goal of being single at least one full year before I reassess my interest in or readiness for dating.

Right now, my interest is almost nil.

Once again, Happy October!! This weekend I'm doing SAG support for a cycling fundraiser. Next week, I'm off on a 4-day bikepacking trip. The following weekend is a one-night backpacking trip. Then I wrap up October with another cycling event and start November with my last cycling event for the year. Things start to slow down a bit in November and I'm planning a very relaxed-stay-at-home-and-eat-soup kinda winter. LOL