EP3: France (1 of 4)
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Including: How we planned a three week trip to France for our 30th anniversary and what resources we use, the Tour de France and the Medieval town of Carcassonne!
Tour de France: We are huge TDF fans and we were excited to see it finish for the first time ever in another town instead of Paris because of the Olympics! This was a great opportunity to see both events in one trip! Planning for it fully entails waiting until October when the organization releases the route in its entirety. Prior to that, all you know are the start and finish dates and the start and finish towns. We booked our hotel in the finishing town of Nice, as soon as we realized what was going on. We always try to pay in full at the booking time for a big event like this, because they will be less likely to cancel/change you.
Planning Resources: There are multiple sources that we use for trip planning, including Facebook groups, youtube videos, podcasts and Pinterest- of those, here are favorites:
1.Facebook Groups: This is one of the best ways to get up-to-date information from people who live where you are going, are traveling there now, or have been there and have advice to share. You can ask questions and get immediate answers because it has an international following, (someone is always awake) and you can use the search tool within the group to see answers to former questions. When on Facebook, just search at the top for “France Travel” and a number of groups will pop up. Request to join whichever one appeals to you. Once accepted, you can follow along with daily posts. Not only will they offer practical advice, but it will get you even more excited and confident about your trip as you will feel more informed. It is a fantastic resource to put your mind at ease about safety, what to pack, what is the weather really like, where should you stay, what should you do, etc… We joined the group, “LES FRENCHIES” and it was absolutely invaluable to us. For the Olympics, we joined “Paris 2024 Olympics Planning and Preparation” which after the Olympics finished, flipped over to “Cortina 2026 Olympics Planning and Preparation”.
2. Youtube: youtube is perfect if you want a more visual exploration of where you are going. You can watch walking tours or many tubers will offer a locales, “Top ten things to do” or “What to avoid when in..” It can help you choose between towns you want to stay, help you pick a hotel, which tours to take, etc. LES FRENCHIES also has a youtube channel and their videos are entertaining and super informative. We watched almost all of them! And you really feel like part of a community of like minded individuals.
3. Podcasts: These are fantastic for information on the fly. You can listen from your car, while doing housework at home, from a coffee shop, etc. Our favorites for France were, “The Earful Tower” and “Join us in France”
4. Pinterest: This is a good place to go if you like to read more about your destination. Pinterest is full of bloggers who will give you tons of information about a destination with pictures. Often they will have topics like, “How to spend three days in Paris”, “Best daytrips from Paris” and things like that. We don’t have any specific ones to reccommend, you can just scroll through pins and click on whichever ones spark your interst.
5. Google Translate: If you do not speak the language, this app is a necessity! It will help you translate menus, signs, documents, communications from your lodging, and can help you talk with people on the street if you need to ask for help, directions, etc. SO handy!!!
6. Google Flights/Skyscanner: These are two sites that we use religiously to check on the costs of airfare. Some carriers will not show up on Google Flights, but they may on Skyscanner and vice versa. Some carriers, you may need to go to their website directly, but these are good resources to get a general feel on prices. Use the multi-city button to check the availability and cost of flying into one city and out of another. We do this all the time and it can save money and time.
7. Booking.com: In recent years, we have used this site/app more often than not for booking our lodging. You can search different types of lodging in one convenient spot like hotels, airbnbs, bed and breakfasts, etc. The more you use them, the better discounts and perks you get and they make communicating with your lodging super easy and their cancelation policy is very flexible. Often times, you can cancel up to a day or two before check-in which gives you peace of mind and incredible flexibility. It also keeps your past stays, so you can easily look back at where you have stayed. * Calling the hotel directly can be beneficial too, but we have found that we save money and have more flexibility with Booking.com.
Carcassonne: Medieval Carcassone was built in the 5th century and it is a fairytale castle town that we have wanted to see for years! It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, a walled city with 53 towers and it’s amazing! When we were still piecing together an itinerary and researching towns, we realized that we would be in France for one of their most important holidays, Bastille Day. We Googled, “where is the best place to be in France for Bastille Day” and Carcassonne came up. They have a very large and famous fireworks display using the castle as their backdrop. This sealed the deal for us and we knew that this is where our trip was going to start! We stayed at a lovely, historic manor called the Demeure Saint Louis. If you click on their name here, it will bring you to their website, but we used Booking.com for it. Ask you propietors for advice because they know the local area and have lots of resources. Our host turned us on to the Le Comptoir de la Cite which is where we joined a beautiful fete for the celebrations! Another nice spot for the fireworks may be the Tribe Hotel. To get the best pictures of the castle town itself, get up early and go before everyone else is awake!
Side Hustles: There are lots of ways to make a little extra income. I started going to Goodwill Wholesale, finding new or like new items and reselling then on Marketplace and Depop. I spend most evenings and a good share of my weekends working on this, but over the course of a year, I saved enough to pay for an epic three week trip to France! If there’s a will, there’s a way!!!