So, after a little over a year, I finally have something to offer as a post…well, that’s not completely true…I just haven’t felt the real urge to jump into the pool of wouldbe travel bloggers until now. I plan on being a little more regular so hopefully you will find this blog entertaining on some level and of some value after reading about our experiences–on another. I certainly intend to be entertained, regardless.
We’re off to France!
After having traveled to Italy (2006), Costa Rica (2008), Jamaica (2010) and Spain (2011)–just to name our more long distant trips to foreign countries–our next adventure will be to France in May of this year (2016). Granted, that’s not a long list of countries but for two people with intense working lives, we think it’s pretty above average.
Over the last six months, we have been preparing to take a trip to a place that both Shelley (my wife) and I have previously visited…just not together. The decades have passed by for both of us since we last stepped foot in France–except for the occasional fly-through-the-airport experience–so we are anxiously viewing this trip as a first time experience as travel partners.
We are traveling with our good friends Terry and Margee; friends that we have also traveled with to Italy and Spain. Terry and Margee are the consummate travel companions in that they enjoy the same experiences involving food, architecture, art and, of course, wine. We have always made our own travel plans as a group by utilizing the resources made available on the internet. Rick Steves, along with Google Earth have enabled us to avoid some potentially major mistakes when selecting rental properties to stay at, or simply researching restaurants and museums to visit. And, the internet is always good for collecting advice for generally just getting around whether it be for public transportation, renting cars, scheduling train and plane trips and even bicycle rental. Based on self-planning all of our trips over the last 15 years, as very compatible travling companions we are very comfortable with making our own arrangements. Bottom line–we have taken a lot of the risk out of the planning-on-our-own process by taking our time doing a good deal of research and many dinners in the process.
So, the last few months my wife and I along with our two traveling companions have been working together to research, plan, schedule, cook, taste, read, and watch anything we can get our hands on in preparation for a 15 day, 4 city trip to France. Our goal was to find out as much as possible about French regions, art, food, customs and (of course) wine in order to decide where we wanted to spend our time and balance our time effectively. In taking the effort to plan early, the journey will begin before we step foot on the plane.
To be continued…
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