france

Foray into France: Part V (All that Glitters is Champagne)

Posted by

1

I know this is going to be the last blog of the trip, but I find that I’m having trouble getting started. I am pretty sure it’s going to be the longest because I feel like there is so much to cover. It’s not just the champagne houses- it’s the food, the town, and the final day in Paris. I try not to think of trips as “once-in-a-lifetime,” but looking back, I realize just how phenomenal this one was!

When we decided to set up this trip, my friend David Johnson was just starting his luxury travel company: Trip Lush Travel. I wanted something quite customized, but I still wanted to be led around. My main focus in the Champagne region was getting a chance to try wines that I wouldn’t be as likely to get in the United States. But, confession time: As much as I love wine, (and I do love it), I have A LOT of trouble discerning between great champagnes and mediocre sparkling. I mean I can tell the difference between Andre and Krug, but it’s not like the difference between Franzia and Cheval Blanc to me. I’m pretty okay with all that sparkles. Still, I want the experience and the stories. We definitely got those!

So, from the boat dock, the four of us were picked up in a Mercedes minivan. That seemed to be the mode of transportation because that’s what all of our transfers were in. I like it! The rear was configured so that we faced each other. Truly, the ride to Reims would have been far faster on the TGV, but once we got out of Paris traffic, the ride was smooth and quick – under 2 hours.

Once in Reims, things got a little hairy. There was a lot of construction, particularly around our hotel: La Caserne Chanzy. Eventually, after backing up and turning around a time or two, our driver got us out to the entrance. The rooms were spacious and cool. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t available, but it was early in the day. They told us they would contact us when they were ready- they didn’t, no big deal. Sadly, the wifi didn’t work most of the time when we were there. The breakfasts were fantastic each day and included with our package.

We spent some time in the gorgeous cathedral just across the street. I loved that the character completely as the light changed. The whole thing was full of the most amazing mismatched stained class throughout, including windows designed by Marc Chagall

I mean, yes, it was ABC (another bloody church), but this one was really worth wandering around in. It’s HUGE and so interesting. I also discovered the fun of using ChatGPT while I was walking around. Almost all of the explanations for everything were in French, but if I took pictures of the signs and uploaded them, Chat translated for me. Very useful! Notre Dame de Reims was amazing. Before this trip, I thought there was only one Notre Dame other than the university. I saw at least three on this trip…

As part of our wanderings, we found another café and a spot to stop and drink some champagnes… I mean, when in Reims… (Oh. and the pronunciation? you say the “ei” like you would say the “a” in France, so it ALMOST rhymes with the American pronunciation of France.)

After our champagne stop, we returned the the hotel and our room was ready. Then, the Bear wanted to go get a few more drinks and another bite to eat. He found Bistro des Anges right behind the hotel. It was a great experience. I asked the somewhat surly bartender what I should order to drink. He said, “Not Coca Cola. Too many Americans come in here wanting Coca Cola.” lol. Fair enough! He also told the Bear he could not have a gin and tonic with Tanqueray because it was “boring.” I had some wonderful escargots and the Bear had an average pate, but then loved the desserts he ordered.

The next day, Benjamin, our driver picked us up. But Benjamin was more than just a driver. This man is a ROCKSTAR. If you ever happen to travel to the region, he is your guy. He studied the area, has been a concierge at 5 star hotels. Now he teaches other concierges. His wife is a winemaker. He did EVERYTHING we needed. When we finished at a place early, he gave suggestions of what to do. When it was raining, he adjusted. He stopped at locations to take pictures, and he could answer every question and fill-in-the-blanks for anything we wondered on other tours. He called ahead when our timing was off. I can’t say enough glowing things about him.

We did three champagne houses and one lunch each day.

Lanson was our first stop. We were already familiar with this particular champagne and buy it often. I liked starting at one that we know but that is not likely to be found everywhere. They had a very small vineyard right there in town. I knew that there were a LOT of rules for winegrowers in champagne. I did NOT know that all of the vines that are currently planted there are the only ones that ever will be unless the governing authority says someone can grow more. The villages that are Premier Cru and Grand Cru always will be. It’s not about how good the wine is from year to year. It’s only the ones that were designated. And in each village grapes are handpicked when the governing body says it’s time- individual winemakers have no control. Our first host went through the champagne making process with us- with which we were already familiar, but it was good to review -once. By the time we went to our last house on the second day, we asked to forego the explanation. Ha! I’ll be hearing “dosage” in my sleep for years!

Anytime I saw the word “Bouzy” on this trip, I took a picture. Bouzy is one of the villages on Reims Mountain (which Benjamin pointed out is just a hill), and they make some of the best champagne. We’re adopting a golden retriever soon, and his name will be Bouzy. (The French pronounce it BooZEE, which I really like!)

After our first champagnes, Benjamin let us know we’d want to be quick getting to the restaurant because it was one of the most popular in the area. We ate at Brasserie le Jardin on their large covered patio. Lunch and our bottle of champagne WITH lunch were both spectacular, but my strawberry tart for dessert was the true standout! I am not normally a big dessert fan, but WOW!

From there, we had a little time until our second visit of the day. Benjamin drove us through the lovely countryside and stopped so we could take some pictures and see the windmill.

Our next stop was at the very small grower producer A. Margaine. They are father/daughter winemakers going back generations. Mathilde was in Paris, so we got to tour with Arnaud who made his first wine there in 1989, When we went to the kitchen overlooking their garden to taste, Benjamin suggested that he share an older bottle with us, and Arnaud was happy to oblige. It was such a wonderful, casual, authentic experience.

The bookend to our first day of tasting was the much larger Canard Duchene. It’s so interesting to see what the larger houses do with their cellars. All had art installations included in their spaces. I had no idea how long the non-vintage wines sit in there just waiting for the right time to release. I’m not going to lie – the stairs going down to this cellar were TOUGH, and then climbing up all 100 of them at the end was even a challenge! I usually don’t have trouble with up, but I was sucking some wind when I got back to the top!


Almost every winery also had some sort of display that would show the sizes of champagne bottles from split to Nebuchadnezzar which holds 20 standard bottles.

We fell into a routine for the next three nights. After a day of a big breakfast and big lunch, we would go back to the hotel room and have an aperitif and a bottle of champagne (okay, or two) with Paul and Julie. Their room had the cathedral view, so we would go in there for a few hours. Julie, in the best Julie way possible, had an array of snacks she had collected through the trip for us to share for dinner. By night two, both she and the Bear were filching food from the breakfast buffet to add. They called it the “wifi tax” since the hotel STILL didn’t have wifi. Benjamin even bought us some “champagne biscuits.” Truth? None of us liked them, but we did like TRYING them.

We had one more day left in the Champagne region and made our way to Ay, Epernay, and Bouzy the next day.

It was a somewhat stormy morning on and off to start. Our first stop of the day was Philippe Martin. We were supposed to taste on their lovely patio, but because of the thunder and rain, we were moved indoors. Funny enough, I had mentioned during breakfast that we hadn’t seen any winery dogs on this visit. A few minutes into this tasting, I saw a golden retriever walking around outside. Our hostess told me that he couldn’t join us because he was wet. A few minutes later, he stood at the entryway, looking very sad. She said if we were SURE we didn’t mind wet dog, he could come in. We did not mind! U2 (yes, that’s his name), was the BIGGEST cuddle puppy sweetheart. Sure, I liked the wines, too… but the DOG! I did ask to try an “odd” champagne while we were there, and I asked about trying a rose. Our hostess let us know that the popularity in rose goes up and down, so often they don’t produce it at all. She let me try one of the darkest ones I have ever seen.

At that time, we had planned to walk down Champagne Avenue in Epernay, but it was POURING. Benjamin took us for a drive anyway, and called our lunch place, Le Clos Corbier, where he arranged for us to do an additional tasting of their estate champagne, Collard Milesi and their family partner, Domanie Mea. Why not? When it rains, it pours Grand Cru. We followed that with another amazing lunch. I THOUGHT I was ordering light. I got a chef’s salad that turned out to be a PILE of wonderful potatoes in prosciutto. It was AMAZING!

I had been a little concerned that we were going to be cutting it close for lunch with our appointment at Moet Chandon being as early as it was. Benjamin assured us we’d have plenty of time. As it was, we did get a little rushed at the end, but that may also be because a large group came in. We were 10 minutes late for the tour for which we were supposed to arrive 10 minutes early, but it was no problem at all. Benjamin called ahead, and all we really missed was some time to walk through the art installations before the cellars.

So, I know I said that I wanted to go primarily to small houses and grower producers. This is true, but if you’re going to throw a big one in there, why not the biggest in the world? I’m glad we went, but it was definitely nowhere near as personal as the others. I do find the winemaking itself pretty impressive. It’s like Budweiser, you know? No matter how the grains are grown, people want Budweiser to always taste EXACTLY the same. People feel the same about their Moet, so there is craft in making something taste like there wasn’t any craft, and it’s amazing to go into a cellar with MILLIONS of bottles and miles of caverns.

Then, we went to our last winery, which I believe was the favorite for all of us: B Tornay et F. Hutasse. It is a husband and wife team, both with families with Grand Cru estates, and they each have their own part of the caves. We also met one of their twin sons- Remy- who is getting ready to begin an internship at Domain Carneros in California as he is continuing the family business. We told our hostess that we knew PLENTY about the process of making champagne. Our tasting turned out to be private, so she was able to tailor it specifically to what we wanted to know. She took us back into their production facility, and we got to see the machines that are used in place of a human riddler. We were able to ask all the questions that we wanted. In the tasting room, she shared a variety of interesting wines with us, including still wines and a brut natural that had some age on it. It was a TERRIFIC grand finale!

From there we bid a fond and final farewell to Benjamin. The next morning we took the ride from Reims back to Paris for our final hotel of the trip. Paul and Julie went off to stay in the Latin quarter and the Bear and I stayed at Hotel Madison in St. Germain. It had an amazing view of ABC (another bloody church), and was very centrally located.



We made off for our last walkabout and met up with Paul and Julie in the Luxembourg garden. It was such a beautiful place by the Senate to just watch life in Paris. A high school band was playing music. People were playing soccer or stopping at pop-up stands to eat a crepe. Statues and fountains were everywhere, and we got our last peek at the Eiffel tower.

Truth be told, however, this was not your regular walkabout. The Bear had a destination in mind: Le Grand Epicerie. It is a very famous grocery store in Paris, known for the little indoor cafes and the wall of butter! Turns out you can actually vacuum pack it and bring it home with you, The Bear had a lot of fun on this trip, but I’m not sure I ever saw the level of giddiness anywhere else that I saw at this store. We got a small plate of iberico and manchego for lunch right there in the middle of the meat department before traversing the streets a half mile or so back to the hotel- passing Hermes, Rolex and things of that ilk on the way.

Our flight was at 9 AM the next day. As we left Paris at 5:15 AM, we saw the partygoers from Friday night making their way, bleary eyed, out of the bars. Again, we were lucky at CDG- through security in no time at all and into the lounge for the last croissants. We had a LONG layover in Montreal (almost 6 hours), but, again, we were in a lounge with plenty of space. I finished the new season of Ginny and Georgia and finished reading the new Fredrik Backman book. Then, it was one last four hour plane ride… and we’re home.

And now the blogs are done, and I have completely relived every moment of the trip, and I loved doing it!

It’s weird not to have another big trip planned (although I’ve been researching Amsterdam to Budapest on Scenic all day- ha!) Still, I have a new resort in Mexico to try out in November, and I’ll continue enjoying life until then!

What a great trip! And that’s a wrap on France 2025!

Foray into France: Part IV (Calvados, Monet and the beginning of the end)

Posted by

0

After the beaches and Normandy, it seemed that the main “draw” of the river cruise part had come to an end, but I was excited to still have two more days and new things to enjoy. After the World War II day, we didn’t get into our next port until after sunrise, but we would have a chance to sail again and explore two small villages that day.

I always like the days when you can just look out the window and see what’s up and coming with the day ahead.

On our original plans, we were to take a coach up to Chateau Gaillard, but due to some kind of car show/race, many of the roads were closed, so our excursion plans were changed. People could either make the steep climb up to the Chateau, or they could do a walking tour of Les Andelys and visit a small Calvados producer. I saw enough of the chateau from my room… lol. The walking tour sounded great!

It really was lovely. In general, the stores would be closed on Sundays, but as more boats are docking, more vendors choose to open. It’s a quaint village with ABC (another bloody church). This one was particularly funny. The church was locked, so our local guide went to the bartender across the road because he had the key and could open it for us.

Our visit there was short before we boarded the bus and headed to Les Fermes des Ruelles. What an adorable place with adorable people! This is a family owned farm and Calvados producer – fully committed to the environment and sustainability. We got to hear all about the worms that he uses to till his fields and the many species of birds that returned after he got rid of all pesticides. His products also tasted WONDERFUL! Michel chose to only speak French, but part of the fun of the trip was the interactions between his translator and him.

Our total time at this port was brief, and we took off on the river again in time for lunch. The Seine closer to Normandy definitely had better sightseeing. Still, it was nothing like the sheer beauty and magnificence of the Douro. I have yet to be on the Danube or Rhine, either. Even so, I love the peace of making our way down the river. We docked next at Vernon. The main reason for this was for the ride into Giverny the next morning. Still, we elected to do the brief walk in town, saw ABC, but headed back a little early since it was the night for the last fancy dinner aboard the ship.

This was our first Tauck tour. It seemed that on this one, the tour directors wanted passengers to be sure to stay with the guides much more than those we’ve taken with Uniworld or Scenic. On Uniworld and Scenic both we had quite a bit more free time or moments when the guide would tell us we could either stay with them OR go off and explore on our own. I mentioned in my review that I wish there had been a little more opportunity to do that. We’re adults. Tell us when we need to be back to a meeting point and then allow us to follow or not.

The chef’s signature dinner that night was definitely showstopper! I had one of the best soufflés I’ve ever had in my life, and my friends said that their food was amazing as well. The night ended with a cabaret that was FAR better than I was expecting. Four women performed dances, and one of them sang for about an hour. The main singer performed “My Way” in both French and English. Her eyes first filled with tears, and then they were streaming down her face. Tears were streaming down mine as well.

Then, as the days had all flown by, it was time for the final excursion on the boat: Giverny. Now, I have mentioned that I am not one for art museums. I had no interest in going to the Louvre. That is true. However, to see Monet’s house and gardens? That is a different story entirely. I also understood that it would be one of the most touristy spots we had been to since Versailles, and I hated the crowds and heat there. But it was a nice, cool morning in Giverny, AND Tauck had private access half an hour BEFORE it opened to the public, and that made ALL the difference. We were never surrounded by people, and it made it a very special experience.

This final bus ride was VERY short as it seemed we practically rounded the corner to get to the one-street town of Giverny. This was a good thing. Ha! I had a very late night and a lot of poor drinking choices after the cabaret, and I was FEELING it. I was glad the weather was good! We began in the gardens. I must have taken hundreds of pictures. I went to one of those virtual Monet immersive exhibitions in Cincinnati last May, and I really enjoyed it a lot. But then, to actually BE there in the REAL gardens and the house was overwhelming in all of the best possible ways. We had time to explore the town after. We walked to the end of the street and ABC to see Monet’s grave. We also had access to the museum. Interestingly, Monet’s actual works are at the Orangerie in Paris, not in Giverny. Still, being there was phecomenal.

Once back on the boat, there were several activities planned for the afternoon including some tours and a painting class. I’ve neve done one of those “sip and paint” kinds of things before, so I thought “Why not?” We each chose a famous painting and were given very vague instructions of what we should do as we created our own interpretation of it. We had a very rough sketch in pencil and then began to mix our colors and “fill in.” I liked it enough that I’d like to do it again. My friend Julie liked it enough that she’s thinking about taking a class. The Bear did not feel that way AT ALL. Cooking is his art, and when the painting in front of him felt out of control to him, he despised it. I didn’t mind so much that my painting was out of control. I didn’t like it enough to keep it, but it made me smile while it was happening. SOME of the people on board though, WOW! There were some real artists in the group.

I didn’t choose to take part in any of the other activities of the day. Instead, I sat up top, had a few more glasses of wine, and read my book.

Our driver was coming to pick us up at 9 AM the next day to take us to Reims and Epernay for a few days as this first part of our journey had come to a close. I reorganized the suitcase and packed up the room and reflected on what a wonderful trip it had been.

I hope to do another river cruise sooner rather than later. I think I’d really like to go more towards those central European countries where I haven’t been, yet. Between Uniworld, Scenic, and Tauck, my favorite line for river cruising is Scenic-by more than a nose but not by a mile. I feel so thankful that I have a chance to have these experiences in my life, and I was glad this trip wasn’t over, yet! I still had the pop of champagne to experience at the end! If you want to experience the part of my trip after the ship with me, you can get there here.

Foray into France: Part III (Joan of Arc and D-Day)

Posted by

0

The reason that we originally booked this particular cruise, and one of the reasons we were lucky enough to have Paul and Julie join us was inching closer. I was definitely surrounded by World War II scholars. My amount of scholarship on war is slim. This includes the Hundred Years’ War. My knowledge of Joan of Arc before this was that she dressed in men’s clothing and was burned at the stake – end of knowledge. I love trips for the beauty, for the culture, but also for learning. These days in Normandy were GREAT for all of that.

The Bear is the only one who cooks at our house, and he LOVES it. It’s a passion for him, so I always know if a trip into the market is a possibility he will be there, so in Rouen, we began our day taking the walk to the market. Rouen is a LOVELY city. You can see the mix between English and French influence everywhere as Normandy went back and forth and back and forth over the years between each country. The market was small, but the food was so fresh it glistened. Since we were in France, we were again eating cheese in the morning, and it was wonderful! We got to hear the story of the heart-shaped cheese of Neufchatel and how love can be a little salty…

We returned to the boat to spin right back around and go back again to learn a little more about the history of the lovely town of Rouen. The major landmarks in the small city are Notre Dame de Rouen and the Gros-Horloge-which is a big, beautiful clock. Then, nestled in this very charming town there is a spire that marks the place where Joan of Arc burned to death. Up until this point, this cruise had not felt like an “ABC” cruise -which many tourists had dubbed the “another bloody castle” or “another bloody church.” In Rouen, we doubled up on the gothic cathedral and then the modern and very Scandinavian Joan of Arc church. I thought Rouen was adorable. I also thought it was significantly more geared towards tourists and shoppers than some of the other places we had been to this point on the trip.

We stopped at Richard’s cafe (Apropos, since the Bear’s name is Richard) and had lunch. Then, we had some exploration time. Our guide had mentioned a Joan of Arc museum that included some interactive elements and that she said was different than what you would normally expect from a museum. I knew it was in the Archbishop’s palace, and it sounded really interesting, so I suggested that we try that for our free time.

We did, and I was DELIGHTED. However, I may have been the only one in our group who was. Ha! it ended up not really being a museum. Instead, you watched a movie projected on walls in several different rooms. In each room, you would watch approximately a 10 minute clip where the trials of Joan of Arc were reenacted. (Spoiler alert: so that she could be canonized, she was found “not guilty” after her execution.) You move from room to room in the palace. It was very corny, and very Disney, and totally up my alley.

In my favorite moment of the day, after you see her burned, you ascend to a small watchtower at the top of the palace. Turns out there is only one way out from the watchtower, and it’s the same way you go in. I neglected to mention that when we entered the first room, there were the four of us and three other adults in the room. Just before the lights went off, two teachers and about 30 young school children – third grade or so- entered. Hahahahahahah. NONE of us have children or planned on vacationing with them. To be fair, the children were very well behaved. At one point, we had to ascend MANY stairs on a winding staircase to go towards the top of the building. Then, even more to the watchtower. I was near the back of the group- one man was behind me. When I entered the watchtower, I saw the panicked faces of Julie, Paul, and the Bear. Around them were thirty yelling children. Julie yelled to me “turn around!” I tried to, but the man was still behind me, and he had to be able to go up to go back down. She yelled again, “Turn around!” with so much panic I almost pushed the poor man down the stairs. It was definitely a highlight of my day! I’m still sad I didn’t get a picture.

We spent time sailing through the salt cliffs again that afternoon until we got to our docking spot for that evening in Duclair.

That evening, we had a five minute bus ride to the Chateau de Taillis for dinner. It was definitely a hot night, and we met the owner outside for a cocktail reception. Many of us started grabbing chairs and tables and looking for shade. It was a lovely spot, but the heat was unprecedented in this part of France where it is more often cold and rainy than hot and steamy. Still, dinner was quite good, and we had a chance to meet some new people at our table. One of the couples had been traveling for 35 days! It’s amazing to me how many people will string several trips together. The grounds were lovely, and they had friendly goats and other animals that we were able to greet after dinner.

The next day would be a long and emotional one with the two hour ride to the D-Day beaches.

We had our earliest departure at 7:45 as we set off for yet another hot day. Our first stop was at a convenience store/ rest stop- The Bear called it the “Buc-ee’s of France” before we picked up our amazing guide, Florent “Flo” Plana. I’m not sure about the guides the other groups got, but I feel so fortunate he was ours. He has a mission of telling as many stories of as many World War II veterans as he can, and he seemed to simply know EVERYTHING. He’s not just a guide. This is his life’s work. During the summers, he guides. During the winter, he seeks out veterans in the United States and Canada to hear more stories.

We started our day at Pont du Hoc. It was impossible for me not to visualize the soldiers as they made that climb. Looking at the bunkers and the collapsing walls just added to the emotion of the day. From there, we went to Omaha beach. It was surreal to see families spending the day enjoying the unusually warm weather. In my mind, I pictured the ships and heard the guns. Carl Sandburg’s poem rang in my head while I looked out in awe:

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

We had a break in the day as we went to a lovely lunch at Chateau le Cheneviere. I can definitely see myself wanting to return there to spend more time in Normandy. I know the Bear would really have loved a chance to go to more museums and see more history than we could during the time that we were there.

Our final stop for D-Day was at the American cemetery. We stopped at the wall of the missing. As Flo was telling us the story of one of them men, bells began to play the Star Spangled Banner. Everyone paused and listened. That was followed up by Taps. I just let the tears roll down my face as I thought of where I was, and I what I was seeing. Then, some young American service people ran out of the gates, and I felt such gratitude. It was an interesting time to be in France. I will say that everyone we encountered in Normandy still talked about how grateful they were for what the Americans did in the 1940s. Our guides told us how parents taught them to respect and thank us. The whole day was emotional and remarkable. Seeing all of those crosses in such a silent and sacred place. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

We took the two hour drive back to the boat and saw that most of the very small town had been taken over for a music festival. We cleaned up and went to dinner for a seafood buffet then listened to the sounds as we sailed away for the next day in Les Andelys. It was hard to believe it was getting to be the end of the trip already!

Foray into France 2025: Part I (Pre- cruise)

Posted by

1

Since my mom started taking trips to Europe with her boss back in the 90’s, I have been VERY interested in going to Europe. Then, as the Bear and I got more and more into the wine world and more of our friends had been places, it became a near obsession for me. Still, neither of us are very daring- particularly in unfamiliar situations- and the idea of going on a big trip overseas, with just the Internet or travel agent to plan, seemed daunting.

I glommed onto the idea of a river cruise. We did our first on the Rhone on Uniworld in 2022, and the European travel bug only got worse. As soon as we were home, I had decided I wanted to do another river cruise in Italy, but realized that there really weren’t any great ones that got me to the gorgeous interior of Italy, so we went with a land tour with Tauck in 2023. We enjoyed the land tour just as much but missed having a hotel that moved as opposed to us moving. I “accidentally” planned a river cruise through Portugal for the following year with Scenic and had ANOTHER amazing time. When we returned from the Douro, I started looking at small ocean cruises on Seaborn and Regent Seven Seas. (We like to travel fancy, what can I say). I knew that the Bear (my husband, Richard) REALLY wanted to do Normandy and D- Day. I had been researching many of the small boat ocean cruises, but I kept drifting back to the rivers after our other amazing trips. Many told me that the Tauck boats were the best, so I ended up booking the Impression from the Seine through my sister-in-law with Fairy Godmother travel. She specializes in Disney, but can book almost anything. Then, the Bear surprised me on our Douro cruise when he said that he wanted a few more days! (He has NEVER said that before!) So, I came up with the idea of tacking a few days on at the end in the champagne region. He was all for it! Then, I contacted my European expert friend to customize a few days in Reims and Epernay for us. I asked if anyone else wanted to go, too – and to my surprise and delight, two of our long time “winey” friends decided to join us.

Well, surprise and delight and – a little concern. Our friends are VERY experienced world TRAVELERS; whereas, the Bear and I are TOURISTS. We enjoy people ferrying us around, leading us by the noses, and telling us what to do and where to be. I was worried our friends would be bored and frustrated. Still, they reassured me multiple times on the trip that they really loved the sailing time, the views, the plans already being made. They would wake up early and go exploring on their own before getting to hear more about the places on the slower paced tours, and found a way to make it work for them.

After a year of anticipation, it was time to embark on the trip in June 2025. Since we had already done a previous trip with Tauck, we got to take advantage of the “gift of time” . I’m not sure if this perk is going to stay around forever, but it’s pretty amazing! You get one day before or one day after at a hotel paid for by Tauck. They also take care of the transfers associated (from airport- to hotel- to ship at the beginning or vice versa at the end.) And the hotel is the quality you would expect from Tauck. Our reservation was at the VERY five star Intercontinental Le Grand in the heart of Paris with a view of the opera house. Ooooh la la indeed!



So, according to the Bear, a trip across the pond MUST be done business class. I’m definitely not one to complain about that! However, the PRICE of those flights is astronomical, so a few years back I invested in the best travel card ever- the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It covers travel insurance, Global Entry, and a HOST of other things… But. most importantly, are the points. We use the card to pay for most things in our day-to-day life. Most years, the card pays us back for at least one of our round trip business class tickets. This year, I used 300k points and $2,500 total for the two of us to fly on Air Canada.

Our trip on the way there had a stop in Toronto, and it was the FIRST thing on the trip that I was really excited about. When you book an overseas flight business class on Air Canada, Toronto has a “Signature Suite” that is more than just their regular business class lounge. I love flying business class, and I also love lounges. We got to start at the rather nice United lounge in Austin before Toronto.

I will say based on some YouTube videos and things I saw, I expected the Signature Suite to be a LITTLE swankier and feel a little more like a high end restaurant, but it definitely wasn’t bad. The food and the wines were good, and it was a nice included interlude between flights.

When it was time to board, we got all settled into our little cubbies. (I love having a dedicated overhead bin and all kinds of storage space, a lay flat seat, and the other things that come with business class.) They started bringing food again, and by the time dinner service was over, there were really only about four hours left of the flight- barely enough time for a nap. I mean, sure, I could forego the dinner service, but it’s all part of the fun to have some little bites…

We actually landed in Paris around 10 AM and about 20 minutes early. We had heard horror stories about CDG, but on both ends of out trip it was empty and easy to navigate. Since we were so early, we did have some trouble finding our driver. But after a few phone calls and texts, they sent us SOMEONE. His sign said “Emirates” not “Tauck,” but our names were on his sign, so we went with him!

We got in a nice Mercedes van, which seemed to be the regular for our trip. He did get the backend stuck on a fence, which was a pretty funny way to start. Still, off we went. Paris traffic is NO JOKE. The city has been made EXTREMELY bicycle friendly, which has made it EXTREMELY vehicle UNfriendly. Motor bikes whip in and out of lanes, but cars sit still. It took us almost 2 hours to go 17 miles.

Once we got to the hotel, our room was ready!!!! We went upstairs, cleaned up, and took a pretty solid nap for the next four hours or so!

As I have said, we are not very good “travelers.” We struggle with what to do without someone telling us, but we have friends who have been in Paris MANY times. And we definitely know our way around a bar… (that’s actually one of the reasons we go with the cruise lines we do- we want all of our drinks included.)

So, off to Willi’s we went. The streets of Paris were what I had always seen in movies. Flower shops, bakeries, statues galore… and SO many people.

The wine list at our first stop was great. With all the food we had eaten over the last 24 hours, we only ordered a “few bites” before we went to our NEXT bar- the iconic Harry’s New York bar where you are supposed to go find your college pennant. I was looking all over for mine, but in a crazy coincidence, I was actually sitting right beneath the Baylor pennant and didn’t even see it until the Bear pointed it out to me! After a cocktail there, we ventured back to the hotel for – you guessed it: another cocktail (or two) in the hotel bar before going back to the room for the night.

I have found that I have the most trouble the morning AFTER a long flight. Jet lag doesn’t hit me until later, and it affects EVERY part of me. I sweat, I shake, I’m disoriented. It’s a mess. (I’m guessing the cocktails didn’t help), BUT our transfer didn’t come to take us to the ship until 3 PM, so there was no way I wanted to waste a day. We looked at the map and saw that the Louvre was not far away.

Confession: I had no interest in going INSIDE the Louvre. I do like museums – history museums, science museums… BUT I don’t enjoy art museums. I know… I know… No culture right? But, to me, it makes no difference whether I am looking at the art on a computer or a print of the art, or the REAL thing… I just don’t care that much. I still wanted to SEE the Louvre, however. So, off we went. In the “okay, some things can be kept private, Tamara” part of this blog- we got about a mile away from the hotel, and my body decided it needed to evacuate everything I had put in it for the last 24 hours. I had the SAME thing happen to me on a walking tour in Porto- also the morning after our flight. I got to find out the hard way that Parisians REALLY don’t care if you’re having an emergency in Paris. I walked into a hotel, and NO WAY was the hostess at the café going to let me use their restroom. I told her we would take a seat and would buy food. She said they didn’t have any reservations available. I told her it was an emergency. She told me there was another café a block up the street… I did make it: BARELY. And why is it that every restroom in Europe is either at the TOP of a long windy staircase or in a basement? We did have to buy a soft drink and water to use that restroom, but it was worth it. (Side note: I am fat. I’m not curvy or thick. I’m fat. France was VERY hot and crowded while we were there. On more than one occasion, people oinked/snorted at me on the street in Paris. It is what it is. I’m just throwing that out there in case anyone who is self-conscious happens to be reading this and would be very bothered. I’m self conscious, but I’m not very bothered. I ignored it, but it stung. )

We continued our walk across the street through Tuileries Garden to the Lourvre. We saw the very cool little Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel… and when I spun around, I realized I got my first view of the Eiffel Tower!

We went back to the hotel after that to cool off for a little bit. (I am INCREDIBLY glad I brought my neck fan. I was thinking I wouldn’t need it, but Europe was under a heat dome while we were there, and the streets were SO stuffy. Plus, the air circulation in those old buildings is so bad!) Then, we took one last excursion to the truffle shop and bought some truffles there – and some chocolate at another shop we passed- to take home.



Back at the hotel, the groups were starting to gather for the Tauck transfer. It was pretty easy to tell us apart from the people there for the Paris air show. Paris is a VERY chic city, and one group of people were wearing suits that cost far more than my entire wardrobe. They were young, fit, and looked rich. We Tauck people ranged in age from a few teenagers to people in their late 80s. I would say that the median age were likely in their early 70s. (I’m 52, the Bear is 49). This particular cruise of 90 people were all from the US. We all looked like we were prepared to be led around cities.

Two large luxury busses came to pick us up and we went through Paris for about a 20 minute ride that took us only about three miles.

I was glad the river was at a level where we were close to the city center at Port de Javel bas, because I had heard when it’s too high, the port is a long way away.

So… an entire blog finished, and we had yet to board the Sapphire! I’ll pick up there for part Deux!