What to Wear in Paris and Other Notes to Myself for the Next Trip

So we are in the Detroit airport waiting for our connection to Phoenix.  I've been reflecting on what a great adventure this has been.  I've learned some important things about traveling to Paris and taking a long trip like this and I want to remember for next time.  It's been four or five years since our last big trip and apparently I forgot lots of things.  

Paris-What to wear for a long or short trip

1.  Comfortable shoes.   You will walk lots and if they aren't Nike's or Mephisto or another comfort brand, you won't be happy.  Nix on the chic.  Black Nike's are fine. 

2.  Layer.  It was so cold in mid-May and is even cold now in mid-June.  54 degrees and rainy today, June 10th.   Wear a camisole under your shirt for extra warmth.  You can take it off in a bathroom if it gets too warm.

3.  Bring fewer clothes.  I brought too many things that I didn't need this trip.  You can wash almost everything in the bathroom sink.  I brought laundry soap, but didn't use it.  I washed everything with the hotel shampoo and used heated towel racks for drying.  Not every hotel has these, so be sure your stuff will be dry before we leave for next destination. 

4.  For a month's stay, you can get by with three pairs of pants plus the one you wear on the plane, one skirt, one dress, three long-sleeved shirts, three short sleeved or sleeveless shirts, two sweaters, a jacket, two or three scarves, jamies, 3 pairs of socks, and undies for 5 days.   I bought most of my clothes at J Crew. 

Pants:  1 lightweight wool-black if you're going early in season -will be cold
            1 dark wash or black jeans with a little spandex
            1 light colored chino capris
            1 chino pants
Shirts:  3 lightweight long sleeve shirts with collars that can be washed in the sink and dry overnight-J Crew has good selection
             1 long sleeved lightweight cotton turtleneck that can be washed
            3 short sleeve or sleeveless shirts that can be worn alone or under sweater or jacket
Sweaters:  1  pullover navy or black-cashmere if possible for extra warmth
            1 or 2 lightweight cardigans in a solid or print
Skirt:  1 pencil skirt in black stretchy or dark denim
Dress: 1 lightweight washable dress-I didn't wear mine this time because it was too cold, but may need it next time.
Jacket-Neutral color-grey or black
Scarves-1 warmer cashmere or wool, 2 lightweight
Hat-panama hat-covers your hair so you don't have to mess with it every day and protects your skin from sun

5.  Bring all glasses including bifocals and an extra pair or readers.

6.  Make sure your cell phone works with a sim card and wifi hotspots.

Other notes to self  about how to make the long trips we take easier:

1.  Try to reset your biological clock before you leave for overseas trip by going to bed earlier every night for 4-6 weeks before the trip.  Only change by 15 minutes at a time for 3-4 days.  This worked great for us this trip and was best trip ever for dealing with jet lag.  

2. Once you arrive, walk everywhere.  You will be eating lots more than you normally do, so if you want your clothes to fit, walk wherever you can, even if it's raining.  Use an umbrella.

3.  Hike when you are in places where you can.  See above.  

 4.  Shower at night.  That way you can get up in the morning, have breakfast, and go do your planned activities without delay.

5.  Bring a travel alarm or two.  None of the hotels we stayed at had clocks.

6.  If you want flexibility in your schedule, don't book a hotel until the night before you will be in a place.  You will change your mind and want to stay for a longer or shorter period than you thought you would.

7.  Research as much as possible the places you want to be beforehand so you don't waste time or miss something because you ran out of time.

8.  Buy sample size packets of skin care products.  Travel size bottles are bigger than I want when trying to minimize my luggage.  Paula's Choice has little packets for cleansers, moisturizers, and hair products that don't take up much space.

9.  Use large ziplocs or packing envelopes to organize everything and/or use the space saver bags that you squeeze the air out of, but be prepared to re-squeeze when you take something out that you need.

10.  When you re-pack, keep the stuff you use most on top and the stuff you don't use as much on the bottom of the suitcase.

11.  Keep hand sanitizer in your purse and saline nasal spray.  Use nasal spray several times before, during, and after the flight.  I've read it's supposed to protect you from getting colds when flying because it's so dry in a plane that it encourages germs.

12.  Drink Smart Water or electrolyte water the day before and day of flying.  Same thing as 11.  You get really dehydrated on a plane and need extra to stay healthy.

13.  If you're going to be gone more than three weeks, make sure you receive your bills online and can pay them with online billpay.

14.  Bring a foldable duffle bag if you are going to be staying in different hotels every night.  That way you don't have to lug the big suitcases every day.  You can put what you will need for three or four days in the duffle and leave the big suitcases in the car.  

15.  Wear compression "flight" socks on the plane for flights overseas and/or take aspirin the day before and day of flight.

16.  Write a blog about your trip and take lots of photos.  You'll never remember everything that happened unless you write it down accompanied by many photos.  Do it for yourself and if no one but you reads it, that's OK.  You'll appreciate it in the future when you want to remember hotels, restaurants, excursions, and activities.   It's easier than a travel journal and you won't lose it. 

McDreamy in Paris

June 10th

So Dan and I spent the night at a hotel in the Paris airport.   This morning, we packed all our stuff, exited the room and headed for the elevator.  It was just the two of us as the doors to the elevator started to close, when a man in a hurry rushed in.   I took one look at him and knew who it was.  I looked at Dan and he mouthed "Do you know who that is?"  I nodded with a smile.

When we exited the elevator, Dan had to go print out  our boarding passes while I gathered the luggage and put it on a large cart to haul through the airport.  I was standing there in the lobby with McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) a few feet away from me waiting for  Dan to take care of our boarding passes.   McDreamy was talking to someone and I was trying not to look at him.  He  must get so sick of gawkers trying to strike up  a conversation.

After a few minutes he started to walk away and as he did so, he looked right at me.  I blurted out "Hi McDreamy".  He said, "Hi, how are you?"   I was speechless and didn't answer.   He walked over to the bar that was next to where we were standing to talk with someone else.

 HA!  He is handsome. No, I did not take his photo.  This is another from Google images.   I wonder what he was doing in Paris.

I can't believe that the weather in Paris is still cold!  When we arrived yesterday afternoon, it was 54 degrees and rainy.  Today when we left, it was 52 and rainy.   Geez!

Last Day in the Swiss Alps

June 8th

We only have one morning left before leaving for Lyon, France, where we will spend the night and fly to Paris on June 9th.  

Looking at the Eiger from our balcony our last night

The hotel across the street from us

Our last day in the Alps, we only had a few hours left because we had to drive to Lyon and it was a four hour drive from Grindelwald.   We decided we wanted to go back to Grindelwald First because the hike to Lake Bachalpsee would be opening that day, June 8th.    The hiking path had been closed because of the unseasonable amount of snow.   We had hopes of hiking to the top of the mountain where this crystal clear glacial lake reflects the snow-covered Alpine Peaks. 

We took the gondola ride once again to the top of the terrace at Grindelwald First.  (See yesterday's post)

There are so many hiking paths in the alps.  We didn't have time to take a single one.   

Next time we come, I'll do much more planning.

What a hike this would be!

The air is so fresh.  I never had any allergies the entire time.

When we reached the top of Grindelwald First, we saw this sign.  Lake Balchalpsee went to the left, and the Fast Flyer zipline went to the right.  I wasn't sure how long the hike would be, but knew it couldn't be too far.   This was the first day the trail was open because there had been so much snow this year.  It seemed like we were one of the first people to hike it as well because we got on the gondola around 9:40 and it normally doesn't open until 10:00.   

The beginning of the hike to Lake Bachalpsee

The views were gorgeous, even more so than on the terrace.

A funny looking snow drift that looked like a head with a face

There was a lot of snow still on the trail.

Dan is not a hiker by choice, but goes along with me because I like it.  This hike was pretty much all uphill and after about 30 minutes, he wasn't very happy.  I wanted to keep going and Dan was trying to be a good sport about it.  The views were so beautiful and I really wanted to make it to the Lake.  It would be our last thing before leaving the alps.

 

We stopped several times along the way to breathe. 

I'm sure it won't be much further.

Another couple got on the trail after us, but soon they were ahead.  I was afraid we weren't going to make it to the Lake.

Another couple along the way got ahead of us.

The woman stopped to rest on a bench overlooking the Alps while her husband forged ahead.

There was a little hut along the way.

You could see the whole north face of the Eiger straight on.

You could see the village so tiny below.

Oh no, not another hill to forge before we make it to the top.

After about 45 minutes of hiking, Dan wanted to turn around.  He had been a good sport.  I agreed, but reluctantly.  Later, we found that the hike is about 2 hours round trip.  So we had been more than halfway there when we turned around.   Next time we come to Switzerland, I hope I'll find a hiking partner.  Any volunteers?

We had to go down before we reached the lake.

This is what we would have seen had we made it to the lake.  Thanks Google images. 

I really want to go back. 

On the way back down

As we went back down, more people were starting to come up the trail.

And a parasailer glided above us.

Taking the gondola down.

Don't these hiking trails look like fun?

And this is just the Grindelwald area.  There are dozens of other areas to hike.

What are these goats doing on the patio of someone's house?  We saw this from the gondola on the way down.

So we left Grindelwald and headed for Lyon around 12:30 PM.  We made it there by about 4:45 and it was rainy.   There, we arranged all our stuff in the suitcases and boarded a plane for Paris the next day, June 9th.   We arrived at the Paris airport in the evening and went to Sheraton Hotel, which is in the airport in Paris.  We would spend the night and get up early for our flight to Phoenix.  

The adventure was almost over.  Many people say that there's no place like home after a long trip like this.  Not me.  There's no place like Paris, Provence, the Routes des Grande Alpes, and Switzerland.  I don't want to go home!

More Adventures in the Swiss Alps

June 7th-Afternoon

I wish we had more time.  If I could plan this trip again, I would take days away from Narbonne, Nimes, and the French Riviera, and give them all to the Swiss Alps.  Of all the places I've visited, this is my favorite and definitely worth the time of coming back some day.  We leave June 8th in the afternoon and there is so much more to do and see. 

We talked with another couple who had hiked to Murren after taking the train to Lauterbrunnen, and then a cable car to the top of the mountain. They said it was spectacular, but we didn't have time.  The cable cars usually close around 6 PM.

But, we decided at least to take the train to Lauterbrunnen.  The views from the train are so incredible, we couldn't lose.   Besides, the ride is less than an hour.

On the way to Lauterbrunnen

Little train stop along the way

We had to change trains at Klein Scheidegg.

Wow.  Look at that.  We said that constantly.

WOW

Another little Alpine town along the train.

 Many of these Alpine towns can only be reached by train.  There are no cars in these towns.  It's absolutely true.  You have to walk, bike, scooter, or take the train to get places.

The alpine flower fields are such a dramatic contrast.

Getting close to Wengen, another town with NO cars.

Lauterbrunnen from the train

Getting closer.

 By the time we arrived, there was not much time left.  We had about an hour so we took a hike to the waterfall and climbed to the top.  Not much to see from the top.  I think you can take a tour and go under the falls.

Huge waterfall at Lauterbrunnen

A little cemetery

A long climb, but a big disappointment.

It was time to head back.  Last train back to Grindelwald was at 6 PM and we didn't want to miss it.

Grund is the last stop before Grindelwald.

Tomorrow morning, June 8th, is our last day.  We don't have to leave until 1 or 1:30, but have to drive to Lyon, France where we will catch a flight to Paris on June 9th.