Prepping for WW,Too
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