While I was Wandering: The French Adventure Begins

Vacations are one of our favorite things to talk about, dream about, and plan. When we started to kick around ideas for our vacation this year we quickly zeroed in on France. I immediately thought of my husband’s love of history and Normandy came to mind as one of our destinations. We then added the Loire Valley, Chartres, and Disneyland Paris on to our itinerary as we did further research and planning.

After choosing the destinations the planning began. We researched plane tickets, hotels, car rentals, tourist sights and brushed up on our history and my mastery of the French language. Finally, the trip was upon us! We were off to France!

While I was Wandering: Leaving Charlotte – France or Bust!

We left the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on a Friday via Charlotte Douglas International Airport with a Saturday morning arrival at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. We treated ourselves to business class tickets for the long flights. When we checked in at Sarasota Airport the American Airlines staff was atwitter we were off to Paris, even wishing us a great time as we boarded our plane to Charlotte.

The business class treats started the minute we boarded our flight from Charlotte to Paris with a glass of sparkling wine. Dinner, which included a choice of short ribs, snapper or chicken was served, followed by dessert. Then it was time to take advantage of the lay-flat pod style seats for the overnight flight to try to get as much sleep as possible for a fresh arrival in Paris.

After arriving, clearing customs, and grabbing a much needed Starbucks we rented our car and were off! Let the French adventure begin…

Our Tips:

• Sleep as much as you can on the overnight flight to Europe to get the most out of your first day in Europe.
• Know if you need liability of CDW insurance with your rental car. Call your insurance agent and/or credit card company. If you can decline this due to pre-existing insurance it can save you hundreds of dollars.
• If you have air miles, or if you can afford to, upgrade your flight. The extra space is ideal for sleeping – plus it is a great way to start a special vacation.