Preparations for La Grosse Tournee

Last month I opened a savings account at a local credit union and started to stock-pile the $2000 I will need for the trip (if I get the grant of course.) It would take me at least 3 years to save enough to make the journey without the grant. I also filed my taxes and am looking forward to adding my tax refund to my savings account. I also checked my passport and realized that it would expire much sooner than I remembered. SOOOO, two weeks ago I applied to renew my passport. It should be coming in very soon.

I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get a full physical. I'm still training, some days more than others. I still have a long way to go and am grateful that I still have two and half months before my proposed departure date.

I have also started to inventory my biking and walking wardrobe to determine what still needs to be purchased. I am also creating my own travel book with my schedule, travel route, maps, a list of sites, prices, hours of operation, train schedules, etc. I am also creating a special journal to record distance cycled, distance walked, travel times, calories burned, cities visited, sites seen, and my observations and thoughts, of course. If I do get the grant, I'm even going to have cycle shirts made with the "La Grosse Tournee de France" design on this page.

I have also just found a French meet-up group that meets once a week to have dinner and to practice speaking French. They also meet to see French films and go to French lectures. I will go to 2 lectures and 2 movies this week. (You gotta love spring break.)

I am also using this week to catch up on household chores and responsibilities so that when I go back to school, I won't have to worry about it. In addition, I am taking time this week to cook several healthful dishes that I am then packing into individual meals and freezing them. When I am teaching and training, I don't always have the time or energy to cook at the end of the day. This way, I will have healthful lunches and dinners that I can pull out of the freezer, instead of resorting to fast food. When I go back to school everything will be in place, which will make sticking to a workout schedule much easier.

WELL, I've still got a lot to accomplish this week. Chat again soon. Toodles!

GAB