We're leaving a week from today, so Laurie is approaching the manic/panic stage, but we're making progress. So maybe today I'll just write about getting tickets this year and our itinerary.
The first step in getting to Paris this year was, of course, getting tickets. Easy enough if you want to buy the ticket; less easy if you want to use frequent flier miles to get those tickets. We had enough miles, but...
For the last several years, using frequent flier miles has become more difficult, and using them to get across the Atlantic Ocean has become darn near impossible. We have our miles on Alaska Airlines, which has agreements with a number of airlines, allowing a person with Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles to use those miles to get reward tickets on the partner airlines. Maybe.
It turns out that to get to Paris, we could use our miles on British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, Iceland Air or American Airlines. That's good. It would be even better if those airlines opened any seats for reward tickets. Last year, I called Alaska Airlines MVP Reservations every two or three days for six months and never found even one available Frequent Flier ticket. (We finally bought tickets.)
It started the same way this year. “No reward travel seats...” “No reward travel seats...” “No reward travel seats.” Then the miracle occurred: the reservations agent put me on hold, came back five minutes later and said, “I can get two seats on Air France, out of San Francisco, two days later than you wanted and returning three days later.” It took me, oh, three or four seconds to grab those seats. I mean, after all, if we have to spend an extra day in France to get reward tickets, well, we'll buck up and endure that.
So the big obstacle disappeared - we have tickets to Paris. We leave Tuesday, September 6 (Laurie’s birthday), and we return 20 days later, on the 26th. This will be the shortest trip we’ve taken in years, but it’s the first time in years we’ve traveled in consecutive years; usually we go every other year. And this year, we’re going to stay a long time in Paris, and then a few days traveling, rather than traveling to more places. Our Itinerary:
The first step in getting to Paris this year was, of course, getting tickets. Easy enough if you want to buy the ticket; less easy if you want to use frequent flier miles to get those tickets. We had enough miles, but...
For the last several years, using frequent flier miles has become more difficult, and using them to get across the Atlantic Ocean has become darn near impossible. We have our miles on Alaska Airlines, which has agreements with a number of airlines, allowing a person with Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles to use those miles to get reward tickets on the partner airlines. Maybe.
It turns out that to get to Paris, we could use our miles on British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, Iceland Air or American Airlines. That's good. It would be even better if those airlines opened any seats for reward tickets. Last year, I called Alaska Airlines MVP Reservations every two or three days for six months and never found even one available Frequent Flier ticket. (We finally bought tickets.)
It started the same way this year. “No reward travel seats...” “No reward travel seats...” “No reward travel seats.” Then the miracle occurred: the reservations agent put me on hold, came back five minutes later and said, “I can get two seats on Air France, out of San Francisco, two days later than you wanted and returning three days later.” It took me, oh, three or four seconds to grab those seats. I mean, after all, if we have to spend an extra day in France to get reward tickets, well, we'll buck up and endure that.
So the big obstacle disappeared - we have tickets to Paris. We leave Tuesday, September 6 (Laurie’s birthday), and we return 20 days later, on the 26th. This will be the shortest trip we’ve taken in years, but it’s the first time in years we’ve traveled in consecutive years; usually we go every other year. And this year, we’re going to stay a long time in Paris, and then a few days traveling, rather than traveling to more places. Our Itinerary:
September 6 - leave Seattle, fly to San Francisco, then on to Paris.
September 7 - arrive in Paris, about 2 in the afternoon. Plan is to check-in, take a short rest, walk to our favorite place, Taverne Henri IV, for a light dinner and some wine, then a walk along the Seine and an early to-bed.
September 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 - Paris. Derek and Jill arrive about 10 in the morning of the 14th, Craig and Annie and Clara about noon the same day.
September 16, 17, 18, 19 - Chartrettes, where our friends Mary and Gilles Germain live.
Craig and Annie and Clara will go, too. Mary has arranged a dinner Saturday night with them, their son Eric, whom Laurie and I know well, our friends Jamie and Hervé Rufin, who live nearby, and the Berlin Zumstegs. That will be a memorable evening, I guarantee, and Gilles' wine cellar will likely not recover for a year.
September 20-23 - travel to Burgundy. Mary and Gilles are going with us, which will be great; we really enjoy traveling with them.
September 25 - descend on Chartrettes again. We're going to have dinner with Jamie and Hervé Saturday night.
September 26 - return. Sob, sniff.
September 7 - arrive in Paris, about 2 in the afternoon. Plan is to check-in, take a short rest, walk to our favorite place, Taverne Henri IV, for a light dinner and some wine, then a walk along the Seine and an early to-bed.
September 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 - Paris. Derek and Jill arrive about 10 in the morning of the 14th, Craig and Annie and Clara about noon the same day.
September 16, 17, 18, 19 - Chartrettes, where our friends Mary and Gilles Germain live.
Craig and Annie and Clara will go, too. Mary has arranged a dinner Saturday night with them, their son Eric, whom Laurie and I know well, our friends Jamie and Hervé Rufin, who live nearby, and the Berlin Zumstegs. That will be a memorable evening, I guarantee, and Gilles' wine cellar will likely not recover for a year.
September 20-23 - travel to Burgundy. Mary and Gilles are going with us, which will be great; we really enjoy traveling with them.
September 25 - descend on Chartrettes again. We're going to have dinner with Jamie and Hervé Saturday night.
September 26 - return. Sob, sniff.
This will be way too much fun.
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