I’ll state the obvious up front — if I updated this newsletter a bit more often, I wouldn’t have to cram so much into each edition! And that is what I intend to do. More on that later (possibly in a separate newsletter edition). As I mentioned in our last newsletter:
“Got some big travel plans for the next year, hopefully September and January. Trying to spend our next birthdays in ‘foreign lands’ - will keep you posted”
For now, this is Part 1 of ‘how we spent our summer vacation’ - including our trip to Europe. This one is just an overview, more detailed emails are in your near future. I can imagine five by the end of the month, no, really…
But first, a surgical interlude…
After our last newsletter we began firming up dates for Europe and began making reservations, buying tickets, etc. Soon we had firm dates: Aug. 29 - Sept. 23, 2023. But then, in July, Bryn began experiencing some pain and after several doctor visits and imaging (ultrasound and then CT) it was determined that she had a UTI which had likely been caused by the cyst on her left kidney that was interfering with normal kidney function. It was a ‘normal’ cyst, as cysts go, so a laparoscopic procedure on July 27 in Guadalajara took care of everything. The recovery was interrupted by what seemed to be a reaction to one particular antibiotic, but that was eventually overcome as well, after a few days of painful cramping and a night/morning in a local hospital. She recovered just in time for the big trip!
Our Vagabondians subtitle has long been “Escape Normal — Explore Your World.” I think we’ve done a fairly good job of escaping ‘normal’ (some would say we’ve *never* been normal) but the whole exploring the world part has been limited to North America. However, in late August we finally managed to plan and execute a trip to Europe! Originally we were going to do France and Spain, or maybe France and Italy, but as each trip plan approached six weeks the costs began approaching $15,000 or more and we had to scale it back. In the end we limited our trip to just France and Switzerland for 24 days.
We started out with a week in Paris. A HOT week. The daytime highs were in the low-to-mid 90’s! And our AirBnB didn’t have so much as a fan. We hit all the usual touristy spots (details in a future newsletter), but we also got some great walking tours and inside scoops from Bryn’s cousin Fred, who has lived in France for many years. He came to Paris and we spent an afternoon and evening walking around with he and his three wonderful children. We also discovered Picon bière! (a famous French orange bitters designed to be mixed with beer). Unavailable outside of France, evidently, so DIY recipes are being researched. We also became quite familiar with Paris’ Metro, a very modern subway where we rarely waited more than 3-4 minutes for the next train. Also ran into a crazy clock (see video).
We also spent a delightful afternoon with Christine who we originally met in Colorado whilst RV’ing in 2021.
We then departed ol’ Paris and took the train to Reims and spent a couple of nights there, mainly just to see their large cathedral, which…
…in its current incarnation, may be about 50 years younger than Notre Dame in Paris but is larger and was at the heart of Christian Europe more than 700 years before the Paris cathedral was built. More than 2,300 statues march across its facades, including a gallery of 56 kings.
It’s not ‘the’ famous Notre Dame, but since the one in Paris is completely off-limits during it’s rehabilitation it’s a nice substitute. Plus, no crowds! We even got to see the pipe organ being tuned (see video) While in the area, we also visited Epernay and toured some old champagne cellars (in a train, underground!)
We then spent a few nights in Nancy to visit our friend Laura whom we met while living in Zacatecas. Laura just finished her PhD! We also experienced something called a French taco. It was … interesting! And we caught the last night of the annual light show in downtown (see video).
For Bryn’s birthday we splurged a bit and spent a couple of nights at the Sofitel in Strasbourg (as it turns out, it is the *original* Sofitel location, built in 1964). We did a boat tour and climbed to the top of the local cathedral, right underneath the bells (see video). We also made a quick side-trip to Bischwiller and wandered in a cemetery looking for traces of Bryn’s ancestors on her Dad’s Mom’s side of the family. Unsuccessful, unfortunately.
We then took a train to Basel, Switzerland, which sits at the intersection with France and Germany. Our friend from Ajijic, Martha, met us there and we toured the town and then took a train to her place in Langenthal. From there we explored various towns and villages and experienced an amazing Alpabzug (cow parade)! Swiss cows spend the summer in the high alpine meadows. When they come back down for the winter it’s a big deal! Hundreds of cows, all wearing ridiculously large and ornamental bells and flowers, parade down through town watched by hundreds or maybe thousands of spectators. It was so loud! See the video and judge for yourself!
We also explored the valley at Lauterbrunnen - so many waterfalls! (see video)Also saw a nice antique steam train pull in at one train station on our way back to France (see video).
We then took more trains back to France and spent a few nights with Bryn’s cousin Fred and his lovely wife Geraldine. We toured a winery up north and Lyon to the south.
Finally we took a train back to Paris and spent our final two nights in France. There was intermittent rain, but at least it wasn’t hot! We also, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit, visited some filming locations for Emily in Paris (iykyk). We celebrated our anniversary a day early with a nice dinner at a wonderful little vegan cafe. The next day we took the train to Charles de Gaulle airport and flew back to Mexico.
That’s the highlight reel focusing on the people we saw along the way, next up will be more detailed newsletters on things we saw. Landmarks, cool things, etc. Check your inbox!