Arrivee Grandmere et Grandpere

May 23, 2014

After a quick layover at De Gaulle and a hop to Toulouse, we picked up the Ford Max and made our way through the beautiful French countryside by way of Albi and Carmaux to Combefa...not much more than a collection of houses. Not surprisingly, the "best laid plans" actually slipped away in the whirlwind of the French adventure! Our arrival in Combefa was frustrating as we had no solid idea of how to locate the house and no way to contact the family via cellphone. The GPS kept taking us to Chateaux Combefa and our attempt to ask directions in French with no address and no homeowner's name was fruitless. After driving around for more than an hour our best guess proved to be correct.

I actually recognized the garage from a picture on Home Exchange and we went to the front door, pounded loudly with no response. We then stumbled into a closeby rural property which happened to be owned by another Brit who said,
" You must be going to Bill and Jane's house." Our guess was confirmed so we went back to the previous house, Paul went around the side of the house and, behold, Idanna, PE and Lila were all there but blissfully unaware they couldn't hear the door from the downstairs kitchen area! Upon arrival, we had a tour of the enchanting and enormous "chateau" and were able to unpack and claim a bedroom. Other than the slight feeling of panic at being unable to find the house, it was an easy trip.

The house was as advertised with numerous bedrooms and baths, a massive living room ( never used by us ), a large library/den ( also not used ), modern kitchen with a table for twelve and a fireplace in which an adult could stand upright plus two beautiful outdoor areas which we utilized constantly. The adjoining property came complete with a friendly donkey and some peaceful cows.

The downside was a typically undersized refrigerator but that gave us an excuse for a daily shop. The most problematic adjustment though for some in the crowd was the lack of wifi and television.

On The Road Again

May 22, 2014

We are actually on our Delta flight about an hour outside of Paris. getting prepared proved to be quite easy for me this time because I planned ahead and for Paul because he never takes more than about thirty minutes no matter the duration of a trip. His clothes we packed with the stroller. My idea is to leave the stroller in France if we require the space for purchases!

We spoke with PE in Combefa before we left Bent Tree and he suggested last minute instructions for accessing the house. Hopefully, the plan will work. With no actual address, I am concerned.

Proudly I can report I packed in a carry on sized bag, a small purse and a not full small roll-on for documents, IPad and special neck pillow to which I have become very attached since the recent return of my afib. It is essential for sleeping sitting up.

We spoke with Josh who said they plan to be off from work on Friday to prepare. Sylvia had some concern about procuring items for the children. I tried to reassure her that, indeed, Betsy and I found everything necessary on the Tuscany trip and there should be no problem.

Betsy said they are about packed and expected a smooth launch. With Sanchez staying at the house, the transition is eased. The Denver group also has a house/dog/chicken sitter with Conor.

After conferencing with Fred about fish care and a brief stop to say farewell to the parents, we made an uneventful trip to airport. A quick snack and an almost immediate boarding and we were off. Taking a mid afternoon flight is a bit different and, so far, quite nice as we land at De Gaulle before midnight EST. We'll have a two hour layover before the Air France flight to Toulouse. It remains to be seen how one adjusts to jet lag with this schedule. Hopefully we can grab a catnap this afternoon and go to bed early. Tomorrow I'd like to shop for essentials before the rest of the family arrives.

French Adventure

May 20, 2014

So we are about to embark on another adventure that will be replete with three small children...Roby, Rider and Canon. Perhaps the best place to start is at the beginning.

Several months ago Paul's sister, Idanna, called with a tempting idea. She was contemplating a home exchange in the south of France for late spring and wondered if we would like to visit while she was there. In fact, she had found a house on Home Exchange that had plenty of room for the two of us and all the children and grandchildren. It would truly be a family trip and would include Lila as well.              

After checking the listing, which was incredibly tantalizing, I phoned PE, Joshua and Betsy to check their availability. The house is outside Toulouse and has eight bedrooms, five baths, two kitchens, a saltwater pool and extensive gardens. What was there not to like?

As imagined, everyone would have to clear their calendars for a vacation at that time and Paul would be tasked with procuring as many frequent flyer tickets as possible. Therefore, calendars were cleared and the rest of the arrangements began to fall into place. Paul had accumulated enough miles on United to fly everyone from Denver, Knoxville and Los Angeles. Delta would be our carrier of choice from Atlanta. It was complicated but possible to transport the whole family over a period of days to a little corner of southwest France. At the moment of inception, most of us were thinking the south of France as in Provence and environs. As it turned out, our destination was to be in the Tarn area of the Midi Pyrennes not all that far from the border of Spain.

It seemed prudent with the umber of variables involved with twelve people that travel insurance should be purchased. I dutifully began checking our own which we have with American Express. We've had it for years and never had to use it...hopefully we won't have to this time either. Because Josh and Betsy are members of USAA, it was easy to enroll them and their families through that agency. Paul Jr. had to come under another company but all was arranged and that wrapped up one logistical matter.

Next I tackled the matter of rental cars. Idanna would rent one for herself, Lila and PE and it seemed necessary to rent two others. European cars are by their nature not large and we would have six more adults, two booster seats for Roby and Rider and Baby Canon in a car seat.  We weren't going to be there the three weeks that would make it practical to do the lease/purchase plan Betsy and I did in Italy. So, after lengthy research, it was determined the renting would be through USAA and thus through Hertz. The rentals would involve pick up on two different days because of staggered arrivals but all drop offs would be on the same day. Cars were selected, paid for and the vouchers arrived. Hopefully there will be no snags on the other end as the plan is to add Joshua and Betsy as drivers. Getting automatic transmissions was not cost effective so having two people who feel totally comfortable with manual is essential!

Our corner of France didn't receive much coverage by Rick Steves, my favorite travel guru, so I sought out a more specific travel guide and found one through Insight Guides titled Southwest France and ordered copies for Denver and LA families and one for myself. I've read through and I hope at least one of the other two pairs has spent a little time getting a feel for the area. It seems a rational idea not to plan to move all twelve of us on every excursion so I suggested each person pick a few sights that would be on a "bucket list" and where the lists intersect, we'll join forces.

Not without some planning for my parents in particular and other general considerations, we are within a couple of days of leaving. PE, Lila and Idanna are off today. Paul and I leave on Thursday and the rest of the crew will leave on Saturday. By Sunday we should all in ensconced in Combefa. I'd like to say I practiced my French sufficiently but I truly didn't. I will have to rely on one phrase book , a downloaded app and the goodness of the French people. Viva la France!