France Trip Day 1-2: Airport-a-Gogo & Arrival in Bordeaux

Thursday, June 8-Friday, June 9: SMF > DEN > ORD > BRU > BOR

Mr. E & I headed off on our long awaited return-to-France trip with a multiple-stop journey from Sac to Denver to Chicago to Brussels to Bordeaux. Phew! The nice part was that we left at a reasonable time on Thursday morning June 8, so I could easily fit in my whole Zumba and yoga workout without getting up too early. We were flying First Class/Business Class for the entire voyage, so that also made the long trip much more comfortable and enjoyable. Due to relatively short layovers, we barely got to enjoy the lounges in Denver or O'Hare, but then we got comfy in our Polaris pods for the trans-Atlantic flight from Chicago to Brussels. 

My special "Asian vegetarian" meal was pretty tasty, with no apparent onions or garlic in sight. Yay! Mr. E and I both enjoyed the free-flowing wine and cocktails and the in-flight movie options. I watched three really good films: The Independent, She Said, and Uprooted. Then I was able to snooze for nearly five hours, which definitely helped with adjusting to the time difference and the 8+ hour flight. 

Due to a delay (grrrr United), we had just under an hour in Brussels to clear customs and get to our connecting flight. We had a surprisingly delicious tuna nicoise salad as our in-flight meal, thanks to continuing our journey in Business Class, and arrived in Bordeaux just after noon on Friday, June 9. Since we didn't check any bags, we were able to exit the [rather empty] airport quickly and were lucky enough to snag the solo taxi that was waiting at the curb to take us to our guest house, Au Coeur de Bordeaux. Our "family suite" was on the first [second for the US] floor, the two windows at the right with the balconies in the photo below. Such a beautiful historic building!!!

We were too early to check in but were able to leave our bags safely in the dining room alcove, and we then set off to explore the area and re-acquaint ourselves with the central part of the city. Our first stop was the Auchan grocery store just across the street, which is not a store we'd explored during previous trips to France. But what a find! I struck gold with two bags of mini Lion bars (my favorite), three bags of the Regal'ad regular mixed fruit chews and one special bag of all red fruits, and a package of mini Hit cookies. Yay! We dropped off my goodies at our guest house before continuing our stroll around the central city, including the beautiful water mirror on the river bank.

Just after 3pm, we returned to our lodgings to check in. Since we were only staying for one night, we didn't do much unpacking. We both lay down for a bit, and then I got up for a workout in the second room of our suite while Mr. E continued to rest. Once we were feeling a bit more energized, we headed out again to find a spot for dinner.

On our way, we noticed a large crowd gathered near the church and tower and heard some sort of announcements through a speaker. Everyone was looking up, so we did the same and spied a tightrope walker crossing between the two structures. Yikes! We eventually continued on our way and discovered the lovely Bistro Rigloetto on a relatively quiet pedestrian street. The weather was a little warm but cooling just enough for enjoyable outdoor seating. Mr. E ordered a burrata pizza and I had a fabulous salad with mushrooms, olives, hearts of palm, and other veges in a light citrus vinaigrette. Perfect after a long day of travel!

We then returned to our guest house and went to bed early to try to catch up on sleep and begin the process of shedding our jet lag. So wonderful to be back in France after nearly seven years!!! (Yep, I couldn't remember for sure, but I checked when we got home, and our most recent trip was our first time to Bordeaux back in September 2016. We definitely need to make this a more frequent destination now that international travel is possible again!!!)

Catching Up on April & May: Family & Work Travel

The travel story for April and May was mostly about family, including some unexpected extra trips to Austin as a result of my Mom's declining health. I grabbed a one-way Southwest flight on Tuesday 4/18 and spent the rest of the week working 1/2 days at J's house, spending time with Mom, realizing the full extent of her cognitive decline, and coordinating with J to visit several potential communities for Mom to relocate. By the time I returned to Sac on Saturday 4/22, we had a sort of plan in place, but it took several more weeks to finalize everything and have J get comfortable with the decision.

(NOTE: Mr. E and I were originally booked for a Big Island trip that third weekend of April, and we cancelled just in time to avoid any resort charges. We'll find time later in the year to reschedule)

Mr. E took a trip to Chicago Wednesday 4/26-Sunday 4/30 to visit his Mom and take her up to Madison for a couple of nights for a meet-up at the School of Human Ecology (SOHE), where we've endowed a scholarship in her name. She was able to meet with SOHE leadership and students, and Mr. E took advantage of the time to regroup with some of the UW Foundation staff as part of his ongoing efforts to grow his network there with an eye to a potential future job transition.

I had a work trip Monday 5/1-Tuesday 5/2 to visit three of the community colleges that participate in the Finish Line Scholars Program (Feather River, Lassen, and Shasta). Road trip! The drive from Lassen to Shasta was particularly striking as we passed through a snowy landscape amidst a few flurries. Quite different from our typical weather in Sacto, for sure!

Then back to Austin for me Friday 5/5-Monday 5/8, a visit that included lots of purging and organizing of Mom's cottage and culminated with moving her into Silverado Barton Springs Memory Care. Luckily, we had until the end of the month to fully vacate her cottage at Solstice, so Mr. E and I both returned to Austin Friday 5/12-Monday 5/15 to complete this process.

Our final trip of the month was to Denver for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel downtown but were unfortunately foiled in our attempt to enjoy oysters at Manzo's nearby. However, we discovered a great new breakfast spot, Syrup, and made time to visit with my family A, R, F, and C, including a fun trip to the Denver Zoo, along with Mr. E's family D and M.

Next up: Returning to France!!!