So back at the drawing board for the next adventure. This 1-month stay in France will include WW2 sites, wineries, champagne cellars, city tours and maybe an electric bike tour or two.  Planning for this trip started about 2 months ago but was put on the back burner thanks to the airlines increasing their fare by 100%. Not until we researched what we could do with our Chase Sapphire points did it become possible for us to consider France again.

Apparently Chase Sapphire points can be traded for miles with several airlines, United being one of them, and they transfer 1-for-1, meaning 1 point is 1 mile. We had saved these points for 2 years so we had a sizable number, so we moved a few hundred to United to cover the flights to France this September and to cover our flight to New Zealand next year. (More on NZ later)  In researching using our points, we also found out that if we used Chase Rewards for travel, we had enough points for 2 tickets to New Zealand, coach class. That’s it, 2 tickets. When we found we could transfer the points, we then had 4 tickets, 2 to France and 2 to New Zealand, coach class, and had points left over for another trip. Why would anyone use Chase Rewards to redeem their points??????

Enough. The trip will begin 13 Sept with our flight to Paris. We pick up the rental car, Avis, at Charles DE Gaulle Airport and will have it for 31 days. I’m hoping there won’t be the usual high-pressure sell for upgraded insurance and bitching about 31 days versus a max of 30 days but I’m not too hopeful.

I’ve attached our itinerary to give the lay of the land once were in France. I’ve also included a picture of the packing exercise we went through to make sure we have what we need and that it fits within our baggage restrictions. We used the website packing list template first, then refined it once we actually saw what we were taking.

We also bought a neat little thing called. “D-Day Box”. This is a MP3 player and set of files that walks you through each D-Day site in Normandy. It includes an e-book with the invasion descriptions and explanations, along with a guide map of the locations with corresponding numbers associated with the audio files. There is also a “clicker” included which was used during the invasion as a pass code for the allies. One click was used to challenge, two clicks were returned to signify an ally.  No clicks in response resulted in one or more shots being fired. What will they think of next!

Another note. We used VRBO extensively in planning for this trip. Since their acquisition by Expedia, the “service fees” and constant emails are a real pain in the ass. Homeowners are more reluctant to offer discounts because Mother Expedia is watching and wants their fee based on the full rental cost.  Although we received a discount for each of the homes we rented,  there was much negotiation and most often not involving VRBO but instead using the owners website. As for their constant emails, just trash them. As an added service to homeowners, Expedia has installed an automated response feature that sends you an email every other day to see if you’re still interested in renting a property, even if you’ve notified them you’re no longer interested. Just another example of a company taking something that worked, and putting “their touch” on the process. Like I said, pain in the ass!

Planning is done, tickets bought, homes reserved, practicing French so almost ready.  More to follow……..

France Trip 13 Sept – 18 Oct 2016

September             

Tuesday               13           Depart Denver   United #263                       @ 12:35pm

Arrive Chicago                                                @ 4:01pm

Depart Chicago  United  #987                    @ 6:15pm

Wednesday        14           Arrive Paris, France                                        @ 9:30am

Avis Rental Car

Drive to Caen – 3hrs

Thursday             15           D-Day sites

Friday                    16           D-Day sites

Saturday              17           D-Day sites

Sunday                 18           D-Day sites

Monday               19           D-Day sites

Tuesday               20           D-Day sites

Wednesday        21           D-Day sites

Thursday              22           Drive to Bordeaux – 6hrs

Friday                    23           Bordeaux – Dordogne River Caves – 2hrs

Saturday              24           Bordeaux – Sub Pen

Sunday                 25           Bordeaux – Winery Tour

Monday               26           Bordeaux – Oradour-sur-Glane WW2 site

Tuesday               27           Bordeaux

Wednesday       28           Drive to Lyon – 6hrs

Thursday             29           Lyon – Winery Tour

Friday                    30           Lyon – Roman Theater

October       

Saturday              1              Lyon – Electric Bike Tour

Sunday                 2              Lyon

Monday               3              Lyon

Tuesday               4              Drive to Metz – 4hrs

Wednesday        5              Schoenenbourg – Maginot Line

Thursday             6              Bastogne

Friday                    7              Luxembourg City

Saturday              8              Villy – Maginot Line

Sunday                 9              Metz

Monday               10           Metz

Tuesday               11           Drive to Reims – Champagne capitol – 1.5hrs

Wednesday        12           Reims – Champagne Cellars

Thursday             13           Day trip – Margival – Hitler’s HQ

Friday                    14           Reims

Saturday              15           Drive to Paris – 1.75hrs

Sunday                 16           Paris

Monday               17           Paris

Tuesday               18           Depart Paris, France   United #914            @ 12:25pm

Arrive Wash / Dulles                                    @ 3:00pm

Depart Wash / Dulles   United #980          @ 5:05pm

Arrive Denver                                                @ 7:08pm