Exitacion (Anticipation)

Bonjour!

I've always wanted to go on a European river cruise, and now, thanks to my former teaching colleague and current travel agent, Georgia Lange, I'm finally getting my chance. She had already planned this group adventure before I spoke with her, and she just added me to her list. It will be great fun, as some of the folks I will be traveling with are also former colleagues from my teaching days at Westlake Middle School in Lombard, Illinois.

I hope to post some of our adventures along the way, but expect to share mainly some photos and captions.

The plan is to spend three days, well, two and a half or so, in Paris doing all the touristy things (automobiles and trains and boats ), and then take a high-speed train to Lyon. In Lyon, which is the largest city in Provence, we will board the cruise ship AmaKristina for a seven-day trip on the Rhone river. The cruise ends in Avignon, from where the train will take us back to Paris for the return flight back home.

The first step, though, is taking our flight on American Airlines from Arizona to Dallas, where we will board another AA flight non-stop to Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris. A car has been arranged to whisk us to our hotel, which I'm told is within spitting distance of the Tour Eiffel. In order to help adjust to the time difference, I'm hoping to get some good afternoon steps in the area to help me avoid an early bonne nuit.

I have quite a few activities planned/booked to keep us busy in Paris, some with the group and some on our own, and, of course, I will elaborate on those as they happen including, hopefully, photographic proof.

I've been using the Duolingo app on my phone to help me brush up daily on the very few basics that I remember from "auditing" Madame Blossom Adler's 7th-grade French class back in the early 70s during my free periods. But I'll keep working on it as I go. I've been told that, with liberal use, Bonjour, Sil Vous Plait, and Merci Beaucoup will help a lot in getting us on our merry way.

I'm a long way from being Emily, but for now, let's call it "Francois a Paris."

A bientot

Jay

NEXT: Dodging Bullets


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