Today was a really good day! I had early dismissal, meaning that I was home at around 1PM. The kids had a day off school so they drove T crazy while he tried to work from home.
After dismissal, I drove home, and had some time with L while R was taking a nap. She did her Legos while I took some time to book our accommodation in France.
The France trip has been on my mind since… this past August?… I went to Paris with the kids back in the spring, and I can’t take it out of my mind. Now. I know the rest of France is not Paris but – I still want to see it.
The trip itself is in July-August of 2025 and is 33 days long. T used his points to book return flights from Paris to Newark. I purchased a one-way airfare for the kids and I: Newark- Marseille by way of Brussels on United. United gave me $400 toward our tickets. Hey, I’ll take it!
The rental car had to have an automatic transmission so I paid more for that. But we are staying in gîtes de France which are mostly remote so we need a car, and I never learned to drive manual. We are picking up our car in Marseille airport and returning it to Strasbourg Central train station. Also a bit more expensive but not by much.
So far, our itinerary is:
~ Provence: 6 nights
~ Dordogne: 5 nights
~ Loire valley: 4 nights
~ Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: 3 nights (near Beaune)
~ Alsace, near Colmar (Grand Est region) – 6 nights, return our rental car in Strasbourg, take a train to Paris.
~ the trip ends in Paris (T is flying in): 9 nights. Flying out of Paris together!
The most expensive accommodation is, of course, Paris. Our budget is about $150 per night. Why so expensive? Well, Paris is expensive. T is joining us in Paris, and it’s his annual vacation, so we want space.
All the accommodation I booked for the rest of France are gîtes (restored farm houses/free standing cottages). Bed and breakfasts were a bit cheaper, but I splurged on gîtes since it will be nice to have the whole place to ourselves, cook what we want, not worry about noise (ya know: kids). All gîtes have washing machines (important); many have pools, playgrounds, and gardens. I used both Airbnb and Gîtes de France websites to book our accommodation.
Below are some picture of gîtes in a variety of regions in France: Burgogne, Provence, Loire Valley, Dordogne, and Alsace (Grand Est). Gîtes are not glamorous by any means, but they have ample space to run around, free parking, full kitchens, and washing machines. And, as I mentioned above, many come with pools. So, it’s a no-brainer for someone like me who travels with kids. Pictures taken from Gîtes de France website.
I am excited. I know this trip is in the summer but I love the fact that it’s ready so we have something to look forward to.
NaBloPoMo 2024 is here, and this post is part of it. Join me and other awesome bloggers in this challenge!
Mom of Children 