TRIP IT .I have kept all the complexities of this trip entered in this free program, which is overwhelming in its completeness. Day by day, it keeps track of reservations, contacts, and even turn by turn directions and maps for each locale, not to mention how much we’re spending (YIKES!). I used some software for years and years, but the developer did not keep it up to date. It had a good budget feature which Trip It lacks, but did not have the maps that Trip helps with.
PLANES,TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
American Airlinesgave me one more reason to never want to fly them again when they forgot to give me a seat assignment when I booked last April. Shame on me for not checking until it was too late for Ken and I to get the seats we wanted. HE had what the agent said, but somehow, I had NOTHING! And even though it is their fault, they will do nothing to help me. So I get middle seats. Whoopee!
GEMUT Car rental. These guys are in Seattle and are consolidators for rental cars. You simply cannot beat their prices and their service. Get a quote by e-mail, talk to a live person on the phone, change your plans a dozen times. They’re cool. (Don’t worry about the fact the specialize in the Germanic countries–we’ve used them in Italy and now France.) I also ordered a GPS for the car–and maybe for walking in Paris?
SNCF Letters I came to dread. That’s the French train site–all in French. But if you have to use it, click on over to Seat 61, a site that de-mystifies the system (as much as possible.) Trains are no longer the bargain they once were, but Seat 61 has lots of tips to keep the price minimal–and how to cope with a French-language site if you don’t speak French.
BOOKS
Normandie Impressionniste. The Normandy Tourism Office sent this beautiful soft cover book which is part of their press package. The Impressionist paintings and artists are being featured throughout Normandy this summer, and some of the programs last through September, so we will be following their trail.
Le Guide du Routard 2010, Impressionist Normandy. This one is available for purchase. The Routard books are nifty little guides complete with dining and accommodation recommendations, and a rather basic map. This one has twelve suggested itineraries for following the footsteps of the likes of Monet. The lively web site is in French only, alas.
Claude Monet 1840-1926. This is an illustrated guide to a Monet exhibit mounted by The Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. I have seen the magnificent Monet collection in Chicago, and Ken and I drove up to Phoenix to see this traveling exhibit. I’m looking forward to Giverny, and also places where he painted like Honfleurs and Rouen.
MOVIES
We watched Something’s Gotta Give, out of curiosity about the restaurant where Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton ate dinner, but not much of the movie is in Paris.
I liked the DVD of the History Channel program on the French Revolution. Very helpful. Don’t want to be one of those tourists who doesn’t know that the Bastille is not there–because it was torn apart brick by brick.
This news fromThe Scotsman, was passed on to us by Kerry Dexter because of our prior discussion about the movie Amelie. If you are an Amelie fan, this will strike a chord.
“The delegation from Dundee University was on a field trip to Europe’s highest mountain last month when an undergraduate chanced upon a bundle of letters …”
“The elusive lost correspondence formed a vital plot device in the classic 2001 French film, Amelie, when Audrey Tautou’s character is inspired to create a fictional letter – from a lover who had died in the Malabar Princess crash – for a lonely female concierge after hearing about mountaineers finding similar letters and sending them on to their destinations.”
“While the summer thaws have revealed numerous artifacts from the aircraft’s wreckage over the years, the find by the team from Dundee is the most emotive yet. It was discovered around 2,500 metres from the crash site after it had been carried down the mountain by a flowing glacier in the last 60 years.
Accommodations
You’ll hear more about places we stay later on, but thanks to the wonderful Marie at France Made Easy, to the Tourism office ofBayeux, Flanders Tourism and a Small Luxury Hotel of the World, and to the Relais and Chateauxhttp://www.relaischateaux.com/en/destinations/region/49/Bretagne/504/ Group we are going to try out some pretty nifty places. Marie in particular has a knack for knowing just what I’m going to want to do, and she has an endless knowledge of the right people to contact and places to see in France. Check out France Made Easy.
Other STUFF
I bought aNetbook (ASUS Eee), so I will keep semi-in touch while I’m gone. But don’t expect me to be hanging out on Twitter all the time, or even dropping by here very frequently. After all, I’m in France to see France.
LATEST NEWS: I’ll be testing out a MI-FI wifi portable connection.
I’m signing up for the new Google Voice phone service. My son has tested it out for me and it seems to work great. It will supplement theMobal phoneI’ve used for several years.
I still need to buy a museum pass, book one night’s hotel, and train tickets from Bruges to Amsterdam. Oh, yeah–and pack. Anything else?? Questions? Suggestions?
And would somebody please ensure that TSA do a better job of keep people with box cutters off of planes! We’re not flying Chicago to Amsterdam–but darn, that’s scary. Not to mention the hurricane going up the coast on the day we fly out. Floods, volcanoes, locusts, anyone?
(You can see the other Trip Planning Posts, by going toTrip Planning III and working your way back).
Sounds like an amazing trip. I am traveling to Italy this year and perhaps it will be Paris next year. Traveling has become such an important thing to me in recent years and I appreciate your blog and all of its tips!
One good tip for traveling is not to look like a tourist! When in Paris I carry a small A4 folder with any addresses, contacts I need to make + the map opened at exactly where I need to go so I can then look quickly and discreetly to check. This means I’m not opening a map and looking like a lost tourist!!
My camera which is small, I carry in a little fabric purse I bought in Provence and this can go in a pocket or handbag – or else in my hand with my room key + a little money for what I need so no handbag to lose etc!
Hi Vera and good to hear that you arrived safely in Paris and I hope all went well with the packing!!
Tourist offices in cities usually have offers such as 1 night in a hotel including a city pass and perhaps a museum pass (or several) Check out the Bruges Tourist board at http://www.brugge.be and their telephone mumber is +32 50 44 46 46
They will speak English so it is worth giving them a call! Good luck!
The Amsterdam Tourist Office have an Amsterdam city pass with lots of good offers as well and they are at http://www.iamsterdam.com
Good luck!
Marie (France Made Easy)
I suspect that all airlines have problems on occasion. They are run by humans afterall. I have had too many problems with EasyJet that I will no longer fly with them. Their problems appear to be bad management or at least organization. That is a larger problem than one human error.
And, not only has my luggage been lost for days after arriving in Charles De Gaul airport in Paris, almost everyone I know says that lost luggage is common for this airport. The upside: two days later they delivered my bag to my hostel’s door, saving me from lugging it across Paris. Still, two days later!
Good luck. Pack well.
I have such pleasant memories of trips to Normandy with Sven. We would eat fruits de mer and explore the D-Day beaches and the American Cemetery. Oh, did I mention my husband is a historian? Enjoy your trip! I’m envious. You are waiting to leave and here on Cape Cod, we are waiting for Earl to come.
Thank you for sharing this software. I have never used travel software, and I will give it a whirl for BrickCon in Seattle!
Hi all – I am also in the middle of sorting out my very exciting 3 week trip round France to meet up with tourist board specialists who are advising me on good quality accommodations in their areas.
They will introduce me to these people and I am investigating cookery courses and wine tastings throughout all the areas I am visiting.
Included in this is a wine specialist who will take clients round vineyards meeting the owners and then have lunch in the vineyard or in a wine cellar!
Part of my trip includes the Loire Valley where I have been invited by a Countess to stay at her chateau. We are going to put together a package where our clients stay in Paris a couple of nights, then do Normandy for a few nights and then spend 3 nights with the Count and Countess, have dinner on one night with them and then visit the area advised by the Count and Countess.
If any of this appeals to you, I would love to hear comments and suggestions back! My clients are mainly from the US and Canada and I think any of these ideas would appeal – help!!
Comments and suggestions will be very welcome! Thanks.
Marie (France Made Easy)
Thanks for sharing your travel arrangements. I’ve learned about some new travel planning sites, especially the car rental one. I’ve been using Gliider to plan trips. For comparison purposes, guess I should plan one with Tripit and decide which one I like the best. Who has time for that?
Sounds like you are all set & will have a ball. Planning is such fun!
We are in France now, having spent most of this summer in Provence, Loire Valley and Paris. We’ve seen Giverny twice, so didn’t go again, but did soak in some Monet at the Musée de l’Orangerie & elsewhere. 😉
Now we are on our way south to Barcelona for more sun & warmth, planning London, SF, Tahiti, Sydney & lots of Asia as we roam. We don’t usually do this much flying on our open ended family world tour, so “winging” it as we go. 😉
SoulTraveler: I keep getting asked why we are not going south instead of north. It was a tough choice, but we wanted some of the history in the north–Vikings, Wm. Conqueror, and the Impressionist painters in Normandy and Brittany. But I know I’ll want to go back for the South some day.
Jackie, happy to announce that two seats on the two seat side of the airplane opened up last night, and I grabbed them. Still up in the air (Ha!) about return flights.
You really can’t go wrong with France. I had been there a lot before our open ended world tour & yet we have done extensive traveling in France 4 times since 2006. North, South, East ,West it is all good, rich in history, yummy food & lots of beauty. It is a big,( European standards) beautiful country with LOTS to see.
No one can see everything, even on our extensive travels, we have to pick and choose to some extent. It’s fun to go back to places too. As much as we saw this summer, we will be back to Provence & Paris to review the best and find new gems.
You’ve made great choices, so enjoy …& there is always more…next time. 😉
Love you AA tale.
At least you have a seat. . .two years ago Air France lost my entire flight from Seattle to Paris. Had it not been for two determined ladies at Alaska Airlines Mileage Partner desk, I would not only have missed the flight but a cruise at the other end as well.
The airline had ‘lost’ me and several others but was unwilling to correct the error — I finally got a seat four days before departure. . .hmmm, now that I think of it, we haven’t flown Air France since. . . .
Have a great trip! Look forward to reading about your adventures.
Sounds like an amazing trip. I am traveling to Italy this year and perhaps it will be Paris next year. Traveling has become such an important thing to me in recent years and I appreciate your blog and all of its tips!
One good tip for traveling is not to look like a tourist! When in Paris I carry a small A4 folder with any addresses, contacts I need to make + the map opened at exactly where I need to go so I can then look quickly and discreetly to check. This means I’m not opening a map and looking like a lost tourist!!
My camera which is small, I carry in a little fabric purse I bought in Provence and this can go in a pocket or handbag – or else in my hand with my room key + a little money for what I need so no handbag to lose etc!
Hi Vera and good to hear that you arrived safely in Paris and I hope all went well with the packing!!
Tourist offices in cities usually have offers such as 1 night in a hotel including a city pass and perhaps a museum pass (or several) Check out the Bruges Tourist board at http://www.brugge.be and their telephone mumber is +32 50 44 46 46
They will speak English so it is worth giving them a call! Good luck!
The Amsterdam Tourist Office have an Amsterdam city pass with lots of good offers as well and they are at http://www.iamsterdam.com
Good luck!
Marie (France Made Easy)
I suspect that all airlines have problems on occasion. They are run by humans afterall. I have had too many problems with EasyJet that I will no longer fly with them. Their problems appear to be bad management or at least organization. That is a larger problem than one human error.
And, not only has my luggage been lost for days after arriving in Charles De Gaul airport in Paris, almost everyone I know says that lost luggage is common for this airport. The upside: two days later they delivered my bag to my hostel’s door, saving me from lugging it across Paris. Still, two days later!
Good luck. Pack well.
I have such pleasant memories of trips to Normandy with Sven. We would eat fruits de mer and explore the D-Day beaches and the American Cemetery. Oh, did I mention my husband is a historian? Enjoy your trip! I’m envious. You are waiting to leave and here on Cape Cod, we are waiting for Earl to come.
Thank you for sharing this software. I have never used travel software, and I will give it a whirl for BrickCon in Seattle!
Hi all – I am also in the middle of sorting out my very exciting 3 week trip round France to meet up with tourist board specialists who are advising me on good quality accommodations in their areas.
They will introduce me to these people and I am investigating cookery courses and wine tastings throughout all the areas I am visiting.
Included in this is a wine specialist who will take clients round vineyards meeting the owners and then have lunch in the vineyard or in a wine cellar!
Part of my trip includes the Loire Valley where I have been invited by a Countess to stay at her chateau. We are going to put together a package where our clients stay in Paris a couple of nights, then do Normandy for a few nights and then spend 3 nights with the Count and Countess, have dinner on one night with them and then visit the area advised by the Count and Countess.
If any of this appeals to you, I would love to hear comments and suggestions back! My clients are mainly from the US and Canada and I think any of these ideas would appeal – help!!
Comments and suggestions will be very welcome! Thanks.
Marie (France Made Easy)
Thanks for sharing your travel arrangements. I’ve learned about some new travel planning sites, especially the car rental one. I’ve been using Gliider to plan trips. For comparison purposes, guess I should plan one with Tripit and decide which one I like the best. Who has time for that?
Sounds like you are all set & will have a ball. Planning is such fun!
We are in France now, having spent most of this summer in Provence, Loire Valley and Paris. We’ve seen Giverny twice, so didn’t go again, but did soak in some Monet at the Musée de l’Orangerie & elsewhere. 😉
Now we are on our way south to Barcelona for more sun & warmth, planning London, SF, Tahiti, Sydney & lots of Asia as we roam. We don’t usually do this much flying on our open ended family world tour, so “winging” it as we go. 😉
SoulTraveler: I keep getting asked why we are not going south instead of north. It was a tough choice, but we wanted some of the history in the north–Vikings, Wm. Conqueror, and the Impressionist painters in Normandy and Brittany. But I know I’ll want to go back for the South some day.
Jackie, happy to announce that two seats on the two seat side of the airplane opened up last night, and I grabbed them. Still up in the air (Ha!) about return flights.
You really can’t go wrong with France. I had been there a lot before our open ended world tour & yet we have done extensive traveling in France 4 times since 2006. North, South, East ,West it is all good, rich in history, yummy food & lots of beauty. It is a big,( European standards) beautiful country with LOTS to see.
No one can see everything, even on our extensive travels, we have to pick and choose to some extent. It’s fun to go back to places too. As much as we saw this summer, we will be back to Provence & Paris to review the best and find new gems.
You’ve made great choices, so enjoy …& there is always more…next time. 😉
Love you AA tale.
At least you have a seat. . .two years ago Air France lost my entire flight from Seattle to Paris. Had it not been for two determined ladies at Alaska Airlines Mileage Partner desk, I would not only have missed the flight but a cruise at the other end as well.
The airline had ‘lost’ me and several others but was unwilling to correct the error — I finally got a seat four days before departure. . .hmmm, now that I think of it, we haven’t flown Air France since. . . .
Have a great trip! Look forward to reading about your adventures.