Toronto is a Bad Idea

Visiting Toronto itself might be a good idea, but booking a flight in and out of Toronto when flying to Europe and living seven hours away, is not the wisest move.
Tuesday morning, on my day off, I drove with Grace and her boyfriend to Toronto.They were going to catch a plane and they saved about $500 each on the flight leaving from Toronto instead of here in Columbus. So that's a $1000 savings, probably worth it for them.
The drive to Toronto is nice enough, north through Ohio, along Lake Erie through northern Pennyslvania before a sharp left turn at Buffalo, New York. Then we crossed the border into Canada.
The Canadian border guard was a little sterner than I expected as he questioned Grace and Jack about their flights and how long they would be in Canada. Are there Americans trying to sneak into Canada? I mean, there might be now that Trump is threatening. And I can promise that they plan to keep us out, judging by this guard.
He made Grace answer since she sat in the front passenger seat, but she had already taken two anxiety pills since she's afraid of flying, so her answers might have been a bit slurred. He shushed Jack who sat in the back seat. After he assured himself that I planned to leave the country the same day (no, I'm going to sneak and spend the night at a Canadian strip mall), he let us pass.
That's when my driving nightmare increased. Maybe it was the directions that Jack's phone gave us. We traveled a myriad of roads where I had to exit and then exit again and then stay to the left at the V. The roads had names like QEW rather than I-90.
Plus, Canada is on the metric system, and the speedometer only told me how fast I traveled in miles, so I drove much more slowly than I might have in the U.S.
And all of it looked so much like the United States, an awful lot like Buffalo. Industrial and strip malls. I think I passed three outlet malls in my ninety minute foray into the country.
I didn't make it into Toronto proper, which I'm sure is a lovely city. Plus, I saw no moose or polar bears or even Mounties, things that make Canada enjoyable.
I dropped Grace and Jack at the airport. Luckily, no one yelled at me while I dropped them off, and then I got back on the highway to head south.
The gas gauge edged toward zero. It got to the bottom section where it turned red. Then half of that section disappeared. I stayed in the right lane, hoping each time that I'd see a tell-tale sign of a gas station or an exit sign that indicated I could find something other than diesel.
I finally pulled off an exit where there was road construction that sent me through a Walmart parking lot, past a Home Depot and into a Tim Horton's that had gas pumps.
I nearly cried when I finally got to the U.S. border. A laissez-faire border guard asked me how long I'd been in Canada and if I'd bought anything. I told him I stopped at Tim Horton's. He let me go.

You can't tell it, but the lake looked really pretty here as I pulled into America.
And I drove the rest of the way as the sun set over Ohio, getting home around 9 p.m.
Meanwhile, Grace and Jack got on a plane, and only a few hours after I arrived home, they landed in Dublin.

At least I don't have to pick them up from Toronto.

Dreaming of France -- Clear Skies at Mont St. Michel

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

As my daughter Grace prepares for another trip in Europe, this time to Ireland, England and Wales, I dug into some photos from a previous trip to France.
The skies were unbelievable clear when she and my husband ventured to Normandy.
She captured a shot of this hot air balloon.

Then she took this picture of Mont St. Michel, the abbey that is sometimes on an island when the tide comes in.

And here's a detail shot of Mont St. Michel with a plane flying overhead.

I hope your weather is as clear and beautiful as it is here and that you are having some beautiful dreams of France.
Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own passion for the country and its people and cultures. Also consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love.

Saturday Snapshot -- Sad Yet Happy

Join West Metro Mommy for this weekly meme of photos people have taken and share on their blogs.

One of the universities where I teach is getting rid of all of its hard copy books.
I know, it's hard to imagine.
It's going to make the spacious room a commons area for students to gather, and instead of books, it is putting emphasis on the online collection.
That meant that today, I got a chance to peruse the library collection and take any books that I wanted. Of course, being a university, the emphasis was on reference and textbooks, but I still found some classics and picked out books that I thought my husband, my son and my daughter might like.

My husband got a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories plus great American Mysteries.
My daughter is getting ready to fly overseas, so I grabbed a copy of Tender is the Night, a book I read on the beach in Corsica many years ago. I hope she'll read it and leave it where someone else can find it to read. I also found a book called A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare that should be fun while she travels around England.
For my son, I figured he needed a copy of Catch 22 all his own, plus some James Patterson novels and A Farewell to Arms.
I took Boomsday by Christopher Buckley for me and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which I haven't read, but figured would be fitting because of the Native American protests going on now.
A library without any books is sad. I'm glad I grabbed a few that will be read and passed on to others.

Readers' Workouts -- Fitbit Challenges

Joy at Joy's Book Blog has built up a community of people who love to read and work out. You know that I enjoy both of those things, so I'm joining in.

At the risk of sounding like an advertisement for Fitbit, I wanted to share that I'm enjoying the challenges that Fitbit has set up for those of us who wear it religiously enough to have tan lines from it. (Yes, I do, even though I don't really tan, just freckle.)
Just last week, I found out that Fitbit had added challenges that allow the reader to virtually hike trails in Yosemite.
The first trail was 15,000 steps to Vernal Falls. The second 24,000 steps to Valley Loop. And the third, the one I'm "walking" now, is the Pohono Trail, 42,000 steps.
As I walk steps, the Fitbit counts them and tells me where I would be along the path if I were walking in Yosemite.

My husband pointed out that the hike would be much more vigorous in Yosemite, which is true, but it's nice to reach some virtual landmarks and see gorgeous pictures of the scenery when I do.

The map shows  my progress, and if I click on journal, it shows me photos of landmarks.

I can pan to the left or right with my phone to see more scenery, as if I'm really standing on a precipice looking at the breathtaking mountains.

The first day I started, I thought that I had to complete each challenge in one day, but that isn't true. The challenges can be broken up into a couple of days and the Fitbit just keeps moving me down the trail.
Even at night.

I hope Fitbit comes out with more challenges, and they don't have to be rugged hikes. How about some Paris walks that let me know when I reach Notre Dame or The Eiffel Tower or even Montmartre?
The places I would love to walk, even if I'm still in Ohio.
Hope everyone else is having a day full of exercise and good energy.

Dreaming of France -- Outdoor Dining

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

The other night as I was walking along our small town's main street, I paused to admire all of the restaurants with outdoor tables. Some of the restaurants had no one sitting outside, even though the weather has turned lovely -- cooler temperatures, lower humidity. It made me think of the techniques used in Paris by hosts and waiters as they tried to lure diners. 

My husband and I always enjoy visiting Rue Mouffetarde in Paris, and the small streets leading toward Rue Mouffetarde are filled with restaurants anxious for customers. Like many Americans, we tend to head to dinner earlier than the French, so we paused to look at the menus posted on boards and written in chalk. 

This restaurant off Rue Mouffetarde has a menu du jour for 14 Euros! Probably three courses for 14 Euros.

But, since there were no diners seated at the table, the manager or host stood outside his door and offered us a free drink if we'd join him for dinner. So we did. And, his efforts were correct. The more people who sat down outside, the more people were enticed to the restaurant. Some remained empty while others filled up. 

The restaurants in my small town could learn a thing or do. And that's what I thought about as I sauntered down the street, no waiters or hosts trying to lure me to an outdoor table, the tablecloths gently rippling in the breeze. 

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own passion for the country and its people and cultures. Also consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love.

A Professor's Hair Diary -- Week 1

Here I am on the last day of the first week of the semester, having completed three days of classes with three different hairstyles.

My goal is to wear a different hairstyle every day I teach. I'm sharing on Instagram, where you'll find me @runningfan63 and on Twitter @paulitakincer. If you want to hear more about my crazy scheme, you can find the original post on my blog A Professor's Hair Diary. 

I figured that each Friday, I can summarize the hairstyles here on my blog.

I started on Monday simply wearing my hair down and curly. I always straighten my bangs because they drive me crazy. 

On Wednesday, I dragged Grace out of bed and had her give me an upside-down braid that ended in a curly ponytail. The braid was a French braid and might have stood out more if was a reverse French braid, with the hair going under instead of over. Funny thing, that's how my mother learned to braid, so whenever she braided my hair, at my request, she braided it under long before it became popular.

By the time I finished teaching around 2 p.m., my head was aching from the braid pulling on it. I took it down as soon as I got home.

Today, I rousted Grace from bed again and she created a twisted tuck bun. 

None of my students have mentioned my hairstyles, but a student in the elevator gushed about my hair. And several of my colleagues admired today's style, giving me a chance to invite them to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. They immediately began to doubt that I'll be able to find 45 different hairstyles throughout the semester. Time will tell.

Also, Grace downloaded an app to my phone that allowed me to show two pictures simultaneously. I'm definitely learning from this experience.
I'll update you again next week.

Readers' Workouts -- New Exercise Schedule

Joy at Joy's Book Blog has built up a community of people who love to read and work out. You know that I enjoy both of those things, so I'm joining in.

During the summer months, I stay active, but I have a harder time enforcing a walking/running schedule on myself.
I definitely have enjoyed the morning walks I shared with my friend Sheila most days throughout the summer.
Now that college has begun again, I teach at 8 a.m. three mornings a week. So I decided to make those three days non-exercising mornings. Instead, I spend time writing before work.
That means I need to get a lot accomplished on the other four mornings. I'm trying to run six miles Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. So far, I've managed that on both Sunday and Tuesday. I'm fairly proud of myself, because while trying to run five or six days a week in the summer, I've noticed that my distance really goes down.

Here's a recent picture I took on a run. Some kids toilet papered one
of their friend's houses. It looks like a jungle with white vines.

Here's a selfie I took on my first day of class. 

This morning, I got my 10,000 steps in before 7:30 a.m. Then I walked for an hour and a half with Sheila. Right now, at 12:30, I have more than 23,000 steps for the day!
So for four days a week, while the weather stays warm, I'll get plenty of exercise.
But I do feel guilty about the idea of not exercising those other three days. Yes, it's a slight obsession; my friend Sheila jokes about all of my exercising rules.  My plan is to take a gym bag with me to work. I can stop at the gym and lift weights, do some rowing or bike riding on my way home from work. If I come home before I go to the gym, the odds of working out go way down.

It's only the first week, but I hope to stick to the schedule through the fall semester.
Isn't it funny that when the schedule gets busier, I actually get more accomplished?
I'm teaching seven college courses at two different universities, so I guess that means I need to be more disciplined.
Hope your autumn exercise schedule is off to a good start.

Dreaming of France -- Feeling Safe in France

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

This is a guest post that I did for a blog called "The Book Tree" and I thought I'd share it here.

In my latest novel, Paris Runaway, when a 17-year-old bolts to Paris, all the mother can picture is danger. She’s seen the movie Taken! She knows her daughter could fall into the hands of sex-slave traders. But even more, she fears the radical terrorists who make Europe their home – the suburbs of Paris or the outer arrondisements of Brussels where immigrants live in poverty. She watched the news that November night when terrorists killed young people in restaurants and at concerts in Paris, when we all posted “Je suis Paris” on our Facebook pages. So the mother chases after her daughter, hoping to find her safe and take her back to Florida. What the mother finds is a different way of life that seduces her.

The same is true for me. When I am in France, I don’t feel in danger.

Sure, when I was young and traipsed through the streets of Paris alone, I received some male attention. I was 23 when I spent three months in France. Freed from my nanny duty, I would venture into downtown Paris by train and see the sights – the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, l’Orangerie where Monet’s water lily paintings cover the walls.

As I walked through Paris, my eyes round in amazement, men would call out to me, try to engage me in conversation. My plan of action was to ignore them – no eye contact, no smile, no recognition. And for the most part it worked – until it didn’t.

I’m not sure where I had been that day, when a persistent young man decided to get my attention. He called out to me in French. Then in English. He tried Spanish and a few other languages too. I continued to walk, head up, ignoring him.

He walked backward beside me for a while, trying to get my attention. Then he simply followed me, speaking the whole time, wheedling, trying to entice me. As the minutes passed, I began to grow worried at his refusal to leave me alone.

Ahead of me, inside a black, wrought-iron fence churchyard, I saw a door open in a stone building and the sound of organ music filtered out. Without glancing at the insistent man again, I slipped into the door and perched on a wooden kneeler, sitting through an entire mass to escape the dogged man who might, or might not, have been a danger to me.

Now, I’m a true grown up. Men might occasionally smile at me or nod their heads, but no one tenaciously tries to win my attention as I sight-see in Paris or Marseille or Aix en Provence.

When I tell friends and relatives that my husband and I plan to move to France, they cluck in worry. “It’s so dangerous there,” they’ll say.

Sometimes I simply point to the newspaper and the latest gun deaths in the United States, which is much higher than in France. Most of the time, I’ll shrug (I’m practicing my French shrugs) and say, “C’est la vie!” That’s life. We can’t be afraid to live the life we want; otherwise, we might get to the end and realize that we made it safely, but we forgot to enjoy the journey.

I hope you’ll take a journey in Paris Runaway and see what the main character, Sadie, chooses to do.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own passion for the country and its people and cultures. Also consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love.

A Professor's Hair Diary

A few weeks ago, I came up with the scheme of fixing my hair a different way for every day of the semester.

I teach Monday, Wednesday and Friday at one of my colleges beginning at 8 a.m. I plan to wear my hair down and curly -- natural -- the first day. Then after that I hope to wear a different hairstyle every day.
I'll capture the look on Instagram, which is now connected to my Twitter account, so if you want to follow along, my Instagram account is @runningfan63 and my Twitter account is @paulitakincer.
Grace has set up a Pinterest board with different ideas to try, and my hairstyles should get pretty elaborate quickly because Grace is leaving on Sept. 13. That means I'll only have her here to help me with my hair for a few weeks.
In addition to the challenge of trying to come up with a different hairstyle three times a week for 15 weeks, I wonder how long it will take the students to notice.
One of my teaching friends predicts they will never realize that my hair is different each time I come to class. I say they will.
My students have commented before if I start the semester wearing dresses every day and then switch to pants when it gets colder.
This morning, the day before classes begin, with seven total classes to teach, the whole idea is daunting, but hopefully the hairstyle meme will keep me enthused throughout the semester.

Evidence of Harry Potter in My Neighborhood

As I run in the mornings, up and down the streets of my neighborhood, I sometimes come across strange items. This morning, for instance, I found a quarter and put it in the tip jar at the Starbucks.
But sometimes, like a detective,  I begin to see a pattern. And I've decided the pattern is that Harry Potter and his wizarding friends live among us.
Today, I saw this shard of mirror on the sidewalk.

Everyone who has read Harry Potter remembers that his godfather Sirius gave him a two-way mirror so they could communicate. In the final book, Harry has only a shard of the mirror left, but he uses that shard to ask for help when he is held captive in the Malfoy's dungeon.
I didn't stop to use it, since running with a shard of mirror might be a bad idea.

Another sure sign of wizards in my neighborhood was this broom beside a tree.

From the discarded newspaper, it's obvious that a distracted wizard was reading the paper while riding his broom before he crashed.
I hope he was okay and eventually came back for the broom.

And another sign is this adorable cat trying to hide on top of my kitchen cabinets.

Actually, it's my cat, and he isn't wearing glasses like Professor McGonagall does when she transforms into a cat, but I figured I needed a third sign.
I'll be on the hopeful lookout for other clues that Harry Potter and his wizarding friends have come to Grandview Heights, Ohio.

Dreaming of France -- Dreaming On a Summer's Day

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

So much of my life is spent dreaming these days, anticipating when my husband and I will move to France. I enjoy beautiful days like this one here in Ohio, but I can't wait to stand underneath the clear blue skies in southern France.

We debate if we will buy an apartment in a small city with a peaceful plaza, like this one in Beaucaire. There's a 2-bedroom apartment on this square here that gets glorious sunshine.

Or maybe we'll get a house on a river, like this one in Aude, not far from Carcasonne, France.

Or will we choose a house outside of a village with room for a pool, like this one near Castelnaudary on the Canal du Midi?

So, as you can see, I'm spending a lot of time dreaming about France. 

How bout you? What are you dreaming of these days?

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own love affair. And consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love.

Dreaming of France -- Three Things to Know Before Traveling Abroad

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

This is a blog post I wrote as a guest post for my blog tour.

No doubt, the easiest way to travel to Europe is in a book.
In my novel, Paris Runaway, single mom Sadie chases after her 17-year-old daughter, who has run off to France. Sadie has never traveled out of the country before but feels compelled to follow Scarlett, who might be in danger.
Sadie has no time to think about the things that might make her travel abroad easier, but you do. Go ahead and grab your passport, but take a little time to smooth the way once you get off the plane.
Transportation: Figure out how you’ll get from the airport to your hotel without breaking the bank. In Paris, you can walk between the airport and the train station, just pulling your suitcase behind you. And when you arrive at the train station, you’ll see a huge electronic sign that announces departures for places like Budapest and Milan. It all feels so cosmopolitan. For about 10 Euros, you can buy a ticket to take you into the center of Paris.
Hotel: When you are travelling to a big city like Paris, or during a busy tourist season, like summer, arrange your hotel ahead of time. Sadie didn’t arrange a hotel. She pictures showing up in France, finding her daughter and returning home. But it doesn’t work out that way. After being awake for about 36 hours, she’s forced to beg for a hotel room.
Here’s an excerpt from Paris Runaway:

Then I wandered along the street until I spotted a little hotel just two windows wide in between the packed-tight Paris buildings. Exhaustion led me to stumble in, and I tried to remember some French words from my long ago high school French classes to ask about a room. “Une chambre?” I said, and the proprietor shook his head. I didn’t know if he couldn’t understand me or didn’t have any rooms available.
So I tried again, “S’il vous plaît,” I pleaded. I knew my brown eyes were ringed with circles that shone a pale blue amidst the crinkled lines that had formed over 50 years. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept.
I looked at the man behind the counter at the hotel again. “Please. Any room will do. I’m so tired. Maybe if I sleep, I’ll be able to figure it out.” I’d spoken in English.
I didn’t know if the man understood anything I said, but he pulled out a ring full of keys that clanked heavily. He turned down a hallway behind the counter and motioned for me to follow as he walked toward the interior of the hotel, away from the street. 

Sadie got lucky. Hotel rooms are difficult to come by in Paris during the summer. In the rest of France though, I’ve traveled from town to town without hotel reservations. Each town has a tourism office. Stop in the tourism office and ask if they can help you find a room. Tell them how many rooms you need and what you want to spend, and they’ll do their best to book a room for you. We always had luck with that, even as we rode our bicycles to French towns.

Language: Most places in Europe, people speak English, but they do appreciate it if you try to speak their language. Some of the basics you should learn are hello, goodbye, please and thank you. A recent Facebook sign shows French restaurateurs informing patrons that a cup of coffee is cheaper if they begin their order by saying hello, “bonjour” and please “s’il vous plaît.” It’s important to know that French shopkeepers expect everyone to say hello when they walk into a store.
Don’t follow Sadie’s lead and show up in France without some basics, like in this excerpt from Paris Runaway:

“I’m in Paris searching for my daughter who ran away.”  The words stuck in my throat and melted away in the empty hotel room.
I wished I’d had time to practice those lines in French.

I hope you’ll take a trip to Paris in my novel, Paris Runaway. Then afterward, maybe you’ll be inspired to try some actual travel too.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own love affair. And consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love.

Readers Workouts -- Long-Distance Running

Readers’ Workouts is the weekly event by Joy's Book Blog where book lovers share workout stories, goals, successes, and challenges
Fourteen years ago, I joined a marathon training group.
I was running six miles about three times a week, so I was ready to jump into a group and train to run the Columbus Marathon. That was a very active time for me with the kids ages 6, 8 and 10.
Then that September, I tore my ACL while rollerblading with my boys. I heard it snap, but didn't know what it was other than that I was in a lot of pain.
My husband was gone on a business trip, so what choice did I have but to get up and rollerblade home. The boys suggested that they could get the wagon and pull me up, but I know getting in and out of the wagon would be more difficult than relying on the one good leg to skate home. I had surgery and weeks of physical therapy.
I didn't run the marathon that year, but the following year, I joined the group again and made it through the 26.2-mile race.

Since then, I've met with running friends most weekends to run -- our long runs, we used to call them. We've seen each other through a lot -- marriage issues, cancer, rebellious teenagers, depression. Sometimes our runs are more like therapy sessions.
One friend, and the main motivator of our group, moved away. Our runs have gotten shorter and less often.
This weekend, after a 5-mile run, we decided to commit to long runs again.
I miss the feeling of the salt tightening on my face after I've run for miles and then I stand in the shower washing it all away and feeling my muscles relax in the hot water.
So our goal is to run 10 miles on the weekends again. We're starting with a marathon training schedule, even though we don't plan to run a marathon. In about 7 weeks, we should be running 10 miles and enjoying our time together on the running trail.
Is there an exercise you miss?

Tuesday Intros -- Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.

I took a photo of the book cover
because the cover on Amazon is
very different, but this one has a shiny
cover on it, which doesn't photograph well.

I picked up this book because I heard the author on the radio. I don't think she was even talking about her fiction, but I'm starting the novel Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin.

In the end it was Harry's fault.
Harry Goodman  had promised to help Professor Hughes around the house that Friday. He'd also promised the Friday before and the Friday before that, too.
But it was New England and baseball season and 2004. The Sox were moving toward a ninety-eight, sixty-four record that spring and five months later, that October, they'd sweep the Cardinals to win their first Series in eighty-six years. 

I'm curious about what was Harry's fault, but I'm put off by all the numbers in the baseball paragraph. Hope I like it.

Dreaming of France -- Heating Up

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Here we are in the heat of summer, and it reminded me of a hot time we had in France last year.
We usually visit France in the spring or fall, avoiding crowds, but in southern France, it can get plenty warm even in the spring.
The one hot day on our last visit, was the day we decided to hike up Mont Ste. Victoire near Aix en Provence.

From here, the top of the mountain seems so far away.

We had some trouble finding the beginning of the trail, but eventually we
saw a sign that assured us we were headed to the cross on top of the mountain.

The entry to the path goes over a dam.

Once up on the mountain, we could see the nuclear power plant in the distance. 

Although we hiked over very rocky ground for a couple of hours, we  never quite made it to the cross at the top. Some people were doing mountain running. They raced past us jumping from rock to rock. Amazing.

Getting closer.

As close as we got before we climbed back down the mountain. 

Next time, we'll take  more water and food, and we'll start earlier to make sure we reach the summit.
And after we finished our hike up Mont Sainte Victoire, we stopped for ice cream, of course.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France today. Please leave your name and blog address in Mr. Linky below, and leave a comment letting me know what  you think about my love affair with France, or your own love affair. And consider visiting the blogs of others who play along so we can all share the love. 

I'm also linking to All About France