Planning Ahead

Written 2 September 2024

We try to take these things into account—we really do—but somehow stuff gets by us. Like the time we were so careful not to visit London while the Olympics were there, only to wind up in the middle of the Queen's diamond jubilee! And this time—again we were very careful to check the dates of the Olympics and to avoid them. The Paralympics were to follow the Olympics, so we allowed extra time before showing up. But it turns out that the Paralympics do not follow the Olympics immediately, and we didn't allow for the gap between them. As a result, we arrive the morning after the Paralympic closing ceremonies. The airport will therefore be a zoo, but at least the majority will be traveling in the opposite direction—out of the country as we come in.

The reservation process for Paris has gone smoothly. We're stepping down a level on the restaurant reservations—the very highest-ranked places can be a little uneven—but we're still going to some great places, both old favorites and new ones. By paying close attention to how far in advance each place would accept reservations, I was able to log in on the first day and got all the ones we wanted; no having to settle for lunches this time. And all the websites worked—I didn't have to make a single phone call!

We've also scaled back on the level of activity. In the bloom of our youth, we would schedule two or even three museums or other venues per day. This time, I signed up for just one a day, and we'll visit most in the afternoons. That's possible because almost all tickets are (1) reservable on line and (2) specific not just as to date but as to time of day. Before that last innovation, we felt obliged to show up at the earliest possible time so the lines wouldn't be too long. In fact, tickets to the Louvre are not only date and time stamped but nontransferrable! You have to give them the name of each person in your party, so that it can be printed right on the ticket, and you may be asked to show ID at the door! Presumably, that feature discourages scalpers, who might otherwise buy up all the tickets and resell them on line at inflated prices.

The only glitch in making the museum reservations was that the last three wanted two-factor authentication on the credit card payment, the cell phone number associated with the credit card was David's, and that phone was in David's pocket, across town at the bridge game. So I had to try again later, when his phone was back in the house.

Because most of the museums don't open until 10 or even 11 am, and you can never be sure they'll let you go out for lunch and come back (most won't), I signed us up for 2 pm most places, so we can have a nice lunch near the venue, then have a solid 3 to 4 hours before closing time—our feet don't usually last more than three hours anyway.

Written 8 September 2024

Another change I've made this year is to my packing. I often say that I pack the same whether we're going for a long weekend or for three weeks, and that's mostly true. And we've always tried to follow the sound advice, "Figure out what you'll need, then take along twice the money and half the clothes." But this year, I have relaxed my four-outfit rule. Ever since Delta lost our luggage on our first trip to Europe and didn't find it again for a solid two weeks, I have realized how few clothes I really needed to bring. I don't actually do "outfits" (i.e., combinations of clothes intended to worn together and with nothing else); I'm a mix-and-match packer—I've tried to hold my packing to four tops (blouses and shirts) and four bottoms (long pants, skirts), all in colors such that any top could be worn with any bottom. But the clothes I pack have changed over the years. I loved acetate shell blouses and microfiber skirts, which could be hand washed and would dry overnight on the towel rack. Now that my sources of those have been discontinued, I've wound up wearing a lot of Appleseeds and Lands End, e.g., Spindrift sweater-blouses and thick Sport-Knit cotton pants and skirts. Those last items are too large for most hotel sinks and, if you do manage to hand wash them, take two to three days to air dry.

Fortunately, my packing techniques have also changed. I don't bring books anymore; I have a skinny little Kindle. We're not visiting anyone this trip, so I don't need to bring visiting gifts. I bring one pair of shoes (plus rubber zoris for the hotel room); if they get wet, I squelch around in them anyway. And thanks to my handy set of packing cubes, I managed to fit everything in the same old luggage, pictured here— my faithful 26-inch semirigid suitcase, a somewhat more capacious computer case than in earlier days, and my "medium" Baggallini purse (stuffed fuller than on nontravel days)—even though I brought six tops (three thin for day and three Spindrift for evenings), four pairs of Sport-Knit pants, and three Sport-Knit skirts! With luck, and if the weather stays cool, I shouldn't have to do any laundry the whole trip, beyond a little spot cleaning here and there.

On 18 September, after our time in Paris, we fly to Milan to meet our Tauck tour, "Bellissima Northern Italy," which, like last year's, ends in Venice, from which we'll fly home on 28 September.

No, we won't get to see "The Last Supper." The Tauck tours don't include it, and to visit it independently, you have to book months in advance, which we didn't. I'm sure we will find more than enough other stuff to occupy our time.

Here's the handy diagram of our itinerary supplied by the Tauck people.