Dedication

This will be a story about a 3 month trip to Paris and some excursions to other parts of France.  We've spent plenty of time in Paris so this should be a relaxed trip.  Nothing we HAVE to see or do.  Just easy walks down beautiful streets with our dog, Emmy.  Great meals.  Interesting food shops.  Struggling to speak French (OK, we're not looking forward to that one).  We've even got tickets to the Jimmy Buffett concert.  And plans to spend Thanksgiving in the south of France with sort-of-family.  Maxine will help make Thanksgiving dinner for 20 French people as she did four years ago.

We promise many pictures.  Descriptions of great meals.  Stories of Emmy and how she interacts with the French.  The change of seasons from late summer through late fall/early winter.  We'll go back to old places we've been going to for 30 years and talk about how slowly France changes.  We'll report on practical aspects like good chocolates, cheap meals and getting around on buses and the metro.  We promise even more pictures!

But this trip, and thus this blog, seems to need a dedication.  So... to a dog and a person.  First, the person, Lori Peikoff.  In 2006, we dreamed of taking our dog to Paris.  Really though, the dream was of an extended trip to France.  And we figured that if we were going for 2-3 months, in good conscience, we couldn't leave our dog at home in a kennel.  But, we had a difficult dog, Cassie.  She barked at everyone.  Timid the rest of the time.  Not in the least bit friendly.  We were seriously concerned we'd be chased out of France, or at least chastised in a language we barely understood.  We even entertained the idea leaving her in our apartment's bathroom for the 2 months we were there.  But, as our story goes, "then we met Lori".

Lori Peikoff was a dog trainer who became a friend.  She was younger than us by a couple years.  Not only did she train us and Cassie so that Cassie could go to restaurants (guardedly), Lori also shared the insights that were her special trainer skill.  Lori seemed to be able to think as dogs thought!  With the success in Paris, after we returned Lori became our friend.  We kept in touch.  Lunches.  Dinners.  Visits to each other's houses.  In 2014 we all had lunch just before a second extended Paris trip.  Lori told us she had lung cancer.  It shocked us.  Honestly, she looked good and she was confident she could beat it.  But, she was dead before we got home.

Cassie is dead too.  A brain tumor.  We put life on hold to take care of Cassie for her last 6 months.  Cancelled a trip to Paris that Cassie would have taken with us.  Sold Jimmy Buffett tickets we'd bought to see in Paris.  Cassie's seizures meant that we never strayed far from our house.  Until the point where Cassie was head butting walls -- which was the sign that her head hurt and it was game over...

So, as you read this, please know that we're dedicating this blog to Lori, who taught us about dogs.  And to Cassie, who taught us to love a tough dog.  We miss them both.

One other thing -- the title of the blog.  It's a nod to Peter Mayle, who died this year.  He wrote a series of books, including "Encore Provence", that have inspired our dreams about France for many years.