Notes from the Road | Provence, France

Well in case you were worried, we are having the best time here in Provence. What makes this trip so special? It isn't painting in the countryside (like that one time), or spontaneously driving to Italy for lunch (like we talked about last night at dinner), or spending long dinners around the patio with friends (though that is lovely).

Nope. What is making this trip so enjoyable is the fact that we are really relaxing. We are getting up when we naturally wake up, we spend the morning in our pajamas eating breakfast and taking our time to get ready, get something easy for lunch from a boulangerie and then wander around town until dinner time. Then it's back to the villa for cooking at home, watching a Christmas movie (or two!) and bath time.

Does that seem like a waste of a vacation? Sometimes I feel the pressure to do MORE. Soak it all in. Squeeze out every great thing of a place. But there is something to be said for coming home from a vacation with actual restoration... and our little family needs that at this point in life.

I'm sitting here watching Viola color in her pajamas at 11:30, drinking coffee, and watching Tyler putter around the house as Christmas carols play. We're going to go eat lunch out... somewhere. Sometime soon. We aren't running on a script here. We're just going with the flow... and after four months of living with every moment preplanned as we juggled the chaos of work/grad school/life/nursery/church/friends... well, that feels more luxurious than anything.

There really is something so relaxing about having your own "home" during a vacation. It shifts your experience so much, and I'm so thankful for the little home we have found though James Villas. Beyond giving you the best type of vacation (in my opinion!), renting a private residence is also really cost effective when traveling. We seemingly always spend the least while enjoying ourselves the most on these types of vacations.

I guess this leads me to my conclusion that if/when we hit it big, we need to buy a house in the countryside of Tuscany. But that is a subject for another day... Though, I'd love to hear where your dream "second home" would be below. (It's a subject I can never tire of dreaming about!)