So much has happened!
First of all, after some major thinking/reconstruction of her summer, Christine changed the days she can be in France and we’re now leaving on the 12th of May and will be in France together from the 13th until the 20th when she flies home. Now I’ll only be on my own in France for 2 days before my program starts!
Second of all, all of our travel plans are now set (we did everything on our own, and let me say it wasn't easy!)
Plane: Christine and I have both successfully booked our plane tickets. Boo to those being so expensive they were above our credit card limits forcing us to borrow our family member’s cards and pay them back. Also boo to the airline’s pokiness with acknowledging our seat requests – if we don’t get to sit together on the long flight over the Atlantic, someone will be in trouble!!
Hotel: After 5 incorrectly dialed phone numbers, Christine and I reached the hotel we wish to stay at in Paris to ask the essential questions: will they hold our luggage for us since we’re arriving in Paris at 8AM and check-in isn’t until much later, do we need to bring towels/sheets and is there a safe in the room? Between the French man’s broken English and my broken French, Christine and I found out yes, no and no. The hotel’s still a winner though – the first question was the only possible deal breaker. The hotel’s too reasonably priced, in too convenient of a location and the reviews are just too good for us to begin the long process of hotel searching again for a safe.
Random: the hotel has an exercise room and let me say that it proves how popular rowing is in Europe - there's 2 pieces of equipment and the dreaded erg is one of them. I love rowing, don't get me wrong, but ergs are torture machines!
Train: After a long debate that took most of the day, we also decided to take a train down to Biarritz instead of flying through their low-cost international plane company. The main difference between the two is that the plane has fuzzy definitions of what luggage we’re allowed (it’s a small plane) and how much we’ll have to pay extra after that and the train takes 4 extra hours and the reasonably priced train tickets had either very early departure times or late arrival times. First we both wanted the plane then I switched teams fearing the possibility of having very heavy bags - I will be there for almost two months after all and it seems like I can't bring enough! After numerous “let’s think logically” discussions, Christine finally decided the train was worth it too only she said it's because we’d save money if we leave super early and we can use that money for surfing lessons in Biarritz. Moral of the story? Make your best friend write out their bucket list so you know what’s on it ahead of time and bribe them with those experiences ;)
Return: The last piece of the puzzle is getting where we’re supposed to be after Biarritz. Christine booked her return flight directly from the sandy city and I’ll be taking a train back up to Paris for my program – woo 2nd long train ride across France. After my program, my plane leaves from Paris back to the good ol’ US of A.
So having everything set is a total relief. I cannot even attempt to count the hours and number of emails that Christine and I have sent discussing France plans. But we are done. We are much readier than before. We have travel arrangements, lodging and an agenda. I’ve even found the time to take my French placement exam.
I’m just waiting for my housing arrangements while I’m in my program which are supposed to arrive literally any day now. It’s so exciting; in two weeks, I’ll be on a plane headed for Paris sitting next to my best friend in the universe (or else someone’s going to get a major shaky fist!) Life cannot seem any sweeter!!
