Interview with Customer Lori Vosejpka

Name: Lori Vosejpka
Age: 51
Hometown: St Paul Minnesota

Tell us a little about your recent cycling trip with ExperiencePlus!:

I thoroughly enjoyed the ExperiencePlus! Best of Provence cycling trip, which began in Orange on October 10, 2009 and finished in Arles on October 17, 2009.  Our group of 10, plus our two terrific guides, John and Jonathan, was the perfect size!  I appreciated that our guides' primary goal was to ensure that we had the best vacation we've ever had.  The goal was not necessarily to bike long distances in record time (though one could), but to really savor the sights --- and the wonderful local food and wine --- along the way. With the ExperiencePlus! signature arrows to guide us, we didn't need to concentrate on following a map or a list of written directions; we just followed the white chalk arrows marking our route each day.
 
What was your biggest cycling highlight?   

I actually have two cycling highlights from our trip, both of which involved hills.  I don't particularly like cycling hills --- after all, I'm used to the nice, flat terrain of Minnesota! On the first day of our trip, we biked to several lovely hilltop towns, the last of which was Gigondas. I was starting to feel very tired from biking in "Le Mistral," the strong wind that accompanied us throughout our trip, but reaching charming Gigondas after a vigorous climb was very satisfying!  As a reward, we stopped at a small coffee shop, where I enjoyed some of the best fruit sorbet I've ever had!  We also sang happy birthday (in English, of course) to the proprietress, who was sharing a birthday lunch with her family while also waiting on us.   

On our second day, we biked to the hilltop ruins of the Avignon Popes' summer Palace in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The tailwind was so strong, I found I was "biking" uphill, without pedaling!  It was wild!   

What made you decide to enroll?

We had a fairly small window of time in October when my traveling companion and I could get away from our respective jobs.  We searched for a biking trip in what we hoped would be a warm European location and found the ExperiencePlus! trip to Provence fit the bill!

What did you learn?

I enjoyed learning about Roman history in this part of France, and seeing examples of ancient Roman civilization, particularly the remains of the beautiful "Theatre Antique" in Orange and the very impressive Pont du Gard, over which we were fortunate enough to bike!

We also had a crash course in "Le Mistral." Though I'd read about these winds in Peter Mayle's books on Provence, reading about them and biking in them are two very different things!  That said, our group responded with good humor to the winds (sometimes up to 72 mph gusts!), and I think we all came to view the winds as an essential and unique part of our Provençal adventure.  At our last group dinner, we sang a song for our guides about the trip, to the tune "Blowin' in the Wind."

Though not actually a part of our bike trip, we also had an interesting experience during our last night in Marseille.  We selected a restaurant in the Vieux Port area and, on the suggestion of both our guides, John and Jonathan, ordered the local specialty, bouillabaisse.  The waiter brought bowls of broth (without a single morsel of fish), and sides of bread and grated cheese.  We looked at each other, wondering if we really had just spent $30 each for bowls of broth!  We finished our broth and waited, and shortly thereafter, the waiter brought larger bowls filled with broth and large pieces of fabulous fish. We were relieved, and shared a good laugh about our lack of knowledge of proper "bouillabaisse" etiquette.   

Describe the greatest adventure you’ve yet to take:

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know:

I sang in commercials as a teenager including Dairy Queen in the days of “scrumdillyicious”, Perkins restaurant and a number of banks.