Tuesday's Tip... a day late!

Happy Wednesday! I feel like life is flying by, and I better grab and hold on to it! Whew! I'm sure you feel that way too. Some sweet friends are leaving on a trip to Europe, and it brought back memories of my first trip to Europe many years ago. During college, I studied French in Tours, France for a summer. I LOVED it! It was such an exciting time as I was really immersed in the language and met so many interesting people. I lived in the home of a beautiful woman named Nicole Demontiex. I can't believe her name just came to me! She was a divorced woman with a beautiful home that had plenty of room. During the summer, she housed students and during the year, she sailed around the world. She fed us breakfast and dinner each day, and I learned so much from the other students in her home.
Mercedes was from Spain and was the first person to kiss me on both cheeks and to kiss me every time I saw her! Yasou was from Japan and we corresponded for a while after France. Yasou was very smart and had a great time enjoying French wine! Nicholas was from Austria and Otto was from Sweden while Josephine hailed from England. There was another American at our home who refused to speak any English to us! It drove my friend, Rod, and I crazy because Richard made us call him the French pronunciation of "Ri-chard". Hilarious. I am amazed at the details that are coming to me now, but I know that many have been forgotten.
Nonetheless, that is where my Tuesday's Tip comes in to play! Of course I took pictures of EVERYTHING and made a cute photo album upon my return to the U.S.. However, the best thing I did was keep a journal. It wasn't just a journal filled with words. When I packed for my oversees trip, I packed a journal, plenty of pens, and a GLUE STICK. I not only wrote about life in Europe, but I glued postcards and notes and tickets and other things in my journal as I wrote. It is fascinating to go back and read it and to see the beautiful places I visited because they are RIGHT THERE glued in the book! So, as you travel, pack a glue stick with your journal and be sure to glue in postcards and other small mementos! You'll be glad you did!