Bonjour from France

Beginning in April of 2022, my partner and I set sail on a transatlantic cruise from Florida, USA, to Barcelona, Spain, with plans of slow-traveling and backpacking through Europe while writing.

We spent July 2022 basing ourselves in the northwestern French city of Rouen (where Joan of Arc / Jeanne D’Arc was burned at the stake) and purchased a rail pass so we could dash around the country and be tourists.

We visited Paris, of course, Bayonne, Bordeaux, and Lourdes. But our all-time favorite side trip was the French Alps and the idyllic village of Chamonix. It was absolutely gorgeous and reasonably priced. We had a quaint Airbnb with a deck facing the Mont-Blanc Massif. The crowds weren’t bad at all. We learned that Europe tourists don’t usually arrive until mid-July through August. We toured an ice cave (glacier) and rode to the top of Brevant by cable car for some truly awesome views. We really wanted to do the cable car to the summit of Aiguille du Midi at a 10,000 foot (3048 meter) altitude, but it was sold out for the times we needed. Bummer. Maybe next time!

Outside of the horrendously hot summer temps in all of Europe during that time, the only issue we had in France was locating a corkscrew for my bottle of wine!! What? No corkscrews in France?? After racing around (not just one, but several towns) in search of a measly corkscrew, I finally found one. I was so excited and thankful, I gushed to the cashier (a 40’ish man who spoke no English), “Je t’aime!” (I love you). Hm. He turned 16 shades of red and responded with a subdued “J’adore”. Not sure if he meant it was more appropriate if I adored him rather than loved him. Oh well, at least he was smiling, and I got my corkscrew and lived happily ever after. :-))