Bonjour!
Who we are:
We are Dennis and Colleen, from Seattle. We are retired and we LOVE to travel! We've done some travelling on our own, but decided this time to let someone else take care of all the reservations and the transportation. We wanted to basically just enjoy the trip. Doesn't that sound like it's time for a group tour?
Why a Rick Steves tour?
We're from Seattle and Rick Steves is a local icon. We regularly watch his PBS shows and have been to several of his seminars in Edmonds. On previous trips, we've found his guidebooks to be great resources for hotels, restaurants and must-see sites and we like his approach to travel. He promises:
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Small groups of fun people
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Great guides
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Great bus drivers
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Great local guides
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Centrally located hotels, staffed by friendly people
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Ample free time to "do our own thing"
We had all of those things, plus a lot more! This was our first Rick Steves tour, but it certainly won't be our last!
Why did we choose this itinerary?
When I first started high school, and my very first French class, I saw lots of photos of France in our textbook. I was fascinated by pictures of Mont St. Michel and the castles of the Loire Valley. I wanted to see them! Plus, we've both wanted to see the Normandy beaches, and I truly love French Impressionist art so a trip to Giverny sounded fantastic. Wow - this itinerary has it all!
An added benefit was that I would get to practice my mostly-forgotten French!
Planning
As advised in the Rick Steves literature, we planned to be in Paris in advance of our tour allowing us to get over jet lag and do some exploring on our own. Armed with Rick's Paris guidebook, maps and the internet, we planned out what we wanted to see and listed the sites, grouped by neighborhood. Wow - we had an extensive list and were going to be busy! We would be walking and "metro-ing" all over Paris.
We also notified the banks that we would be in France. This really is a must-do. Having your cards denied could be really embarrassing and a complete disaster if you plan on using your cards for either cash withdrawals or credit card purchases. We used the credit card for bigger items (our extra hotel days, for example) and used cash for the smaller purchases (souvenirs, etc.).
Packing
We made an amazing discovery! It really IS possible to pack everything we thought we would need for the entire trip into a small carry-on sized bag each and a small backpack/day bag for each of us. No checked baggage here! This included 5 or 6 shirts each (lightweight, quick-drying and wrinkle-resistant items are best), several pairs of slacks, underwear and socks, nightwear, toiletries, umbrellas (just in case), jackets, sweaters and guide books. It's amazingly easy to wash underwear, shirts, etc. in the sink in the hotels. Dry by morning and ready to wear! Rick is serious when he says you may get to lug your own bags for several blocks. Those narrow European streets do not allow room for buses to roll up to your hotel door! Light-weight is better!
And don't forget the money belt! It's a must-have for feeling pick-pocket-proof. We both wore ours all the time, keeping a few Euros handy in a little more accessible spot. I can't imagine travelling without one.
A coin purse is also a good idea since all those smaller denomination Euro coins can add up in a hurry. I think they actually multiply when you're not looking.
We also included a few empty plastic bags. They came in handy for stashing a multitude of items.
Welcome to our Paris and the Heart of France Adventure!
About our scrapbook
Background photo: We've tried to place a special photo as the background of each page. For example, this page shows the French flag, which has always held a special place in my heart. Back in that very first French class, the teacher (Madame David, to give credit where credit is due) showed us the French flag and asked us to tell her what color it was. Like the red-blooded American kids that we were, we said red, white and blue. She immediately came back with "Non, non! Bleu, blanc, rouge (blue, white, red)!" Who knew that they would always start with the color closest to the flagpole? We then all got to recite "bleu, blanc, rouge" multiple times. To this day, every time I see the French flag, I go through a mental recitation of "bleu, blanc, rouge." A pretty effective teaching tool!
Slideshow photos: We've inserted multiple photos to show the various placed we visited. The majority of these are contained in "slideshows." There are small arrows on either side of each picture to ease in browsing (< >) and also small buttons at the bottom of each slideshow.
Churches: You'll also see photos of quite a few churches. We discovered long ago that some of the most interesting and beautiful things can be found inside even the most humble-looking churches. You don't have to be religiously inclined to appreciate the art and architecture.
Hints: We've included some "hints" that are things we learned that we found helpful. For example: do your homework! Spend some time researching the areas you'll be visiting so that you know a little background. It enhances your visit and helps you to know if there are specific things you might want to see in your free time so that you don't miss something that you learn about later.