and now, back to Janet

According to AccuWeather, it's raining in Montpellier, France right now and showers are also in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.
I leave in just a few hours.

So I just added my raincoat to my carryon. Now I'm concerned that my bag won't fit in the overhead and I'll be struggling to remove the raincoat while in the aircraft's aisle with boarding passengers backed up behind me. I suppose I could just wear it, but when I arrive at Charles deGaulle Airport at 8:30 a.m. Monday (2:30 am Cleve time) I'll be bleary eyed and brain addled and could easily leave it behind. And I wouldn't want to do that because, honestly, that raincoat is one of my most treasured possessions. I wear it on a regular basis probably nine months of every year. Why not an umbrella? you may ask. Ever try to juggle an umbrella, a camera bag, video and notebook at the same time? It just doesn't work on a writing trip.

On another note, I've been trying to give away the travel related items sent to me by many different entrepreneurs. All you have to do is view the video Gadgets for Travel (a few blogs ago) and tell me in the comment section which one you want. Let me know how to reach you so I can get your address, or I'll bring it with me to the office so you can pick it up.

And I hope you really enjoy the new Travel Section in today's News-Herald. It was a real labor of love and most of the photos are from the archives of my husband, Ted Podolak.

I'll be blogging from France, so come back here soon. Bon Voyage.