subject: _:nodee02de4ca8bf3f8c28cc7b7ef11befe
obj: "For most of her life, my mom lived in Santa Barbara, arriving there when she was 4 years old. When she married, she travelled with my dad to the occasional work-related conventions that he attended.\u00A0After his premature death in 1969 at the age of 54, she was determined to journey to Europe and\u00A0see my brother who was doing his junior year aboard in Italy.\nIt was a school sponsored trip and\u00A0I recently told a friend that I think we must have visited seven countries in what felt like two days.\u00A0It was fast, furious and I don\u2019t remember much about it except that when we got to Paris, it snowed.\nWait, April in Paris. Snow? Aren\u2019t there supposed to be \u201Cchestnuts in blossom\u201D.\nDuring our brief and chilly time in the City of Light, we piled off of our tour bus to quickly see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre where we gazed at the Mona Lisa, \u201Cstroll\u201D on the\u00A0Champs-\u00C9lys\u00E9es\u2026all the expected photo-op locations.\u00A0I figured that at some point I would return to see the real France.\nWell, 40 years later, it\u2019s finally going to happen!\nKate Hill\nMy dear friend, Kate Hill, has invited me to come to her charming culinary retreat in Gascony where we will celebrate Pig, Pie & Eye,  a weekend of food, fun and friends, new and old. And we\u2019d like to invite you!\nWe will taste, smell, touch, eat, laugh and learn\u00A0as we experience the French\u00A0joie de vivre.\u00A0Plus photographer,\u00A0Tim Clinch\u2019s expert eye, will lead us through the Gascon countryside.\n\u2026et moi!\nThe kickoff will be 11/11/11, and we\u2019ll continue through the weekend. Of course, if you want to stay longer, we can make that happen, too!\nRates are 250 euros a day including all breakfasts, lunches, daily classes, excursions and touring.\u00A0Not included are transportation\u00A0and accommodations at Kate\u2019s favorite nearby chateau.\u00A0For more information contact Kate Hill or me directly.\nCan I tell you just how excited I am?\nP.S. Here\u2019s a sweet video of Kate and I in Seattle baking together for the first time, created by our friend luuvu: \u00A0Sisters of the Pie.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"@en-us