TWO FARMERS IN PARIS, CITY OF LIGHT, 2012

I'd like to invite you along on a memory trip of our vacation with Rick Steves' Best of Paris in 7 Days Tour 2012.
Bonjour!

Mike & Chris Fordyce
Mike and I are farmers, and though we have always talked about traveling to Europe, and love watching Rick Steves on PBS, we had no idea we would be in Paris, on a Rick Steves' tour in 2012. This is how it happened.
Norpac Foods Inc. is a cooperative that we are members of and grow for. In the fall of 2011, at the annual meeting, Mike was named Top Overall Grower of the Year. The award came as a complete surprise to us as did the gift that is part of the award: A lump sum of money that MUST be used for a vacation. I don't think either one of us really believed it at first, but it didn't take long before I was in full vacation planning mode. Hawaii? Cruise ship? The whole family for a week at the beach? Then Mike suggested looking online to see if Rick Steves had any tours that fit our criteria.
It had to be someplace we could visit in the late fall, after harvest was over. It had to fit our gift budget. And I wanted it to be somewhere no one else in the family had been. I clicked on the Rick Steves website and started looking. I still remember sitting in front of the computer with my mouth hanging open, looking at the trips that fit. Rome, Istanbul, or Paris! Mike, who is pretty sharp for an old farmer, told me to choose. The rest, as they say, is history!
Norpac Foods Inc. is a cooperative that we are members of and grow for. In the fall of 2011, at the annual meeting, Mike was named Top Overall Grower of the Year. The award came as a complete surprise to us as did the gift that is part of the award: A lump sum of money that MUST be used for a vacation. I don't think either one of us really believed it at first, but it didn't take long before I was in full vacation planning mode. Hawaii? Cruise ship? The whole family for a week at the beach? Then Mike suggested looking online to see if Rick Steves had any tours that fit our criteria.
It had to be someplace we could visit in the late fall, after harvest was over. It had to fit our gift budget. And I wanted it to be somewhere no one else in the family had been. I clicked on the Rick Steves website and started looking. I still remember sitting in front of the computer with my mouth hanging open, looking at the trips that fit. Rome, Istanbul, or Paris! Mike, who is pretty sharp for an old farmer, told me to choose. The rest, as they say, is history!
Getting Around our Site:
To read more about our Paris adventure, choose a tab at the top of the page. Clicking on the tab will take you to the Itinerary page for that day. Hovering over the tab will allow you to access either the Magic Moments page or Farmer's Perspective page associated with that day. You may also simply click on the buttons at the bottom of each page which will advance you to the next page or take you back to the previous page.
Clicking on any photo will enlarge it (except collages).
Clicking on any photo will enlarge it (except collages).
- ITINERARY: This section contains a brief description of that day's sights and activities, including photos. Please note that clicking on one of the smaller photos will open the album. You'll need to do this to read all the captions!
- MAGIC MOMENTS: This section contains special moments that Mike and I experienced that day and have brought home with us as favorite memories. They are the true souvenirs from our trip.
- A FARMER'S PERSPECTIVE: Every day we caught ourselves saying at some point, "You don't see THAT at home."