Author: Shelia Watson

When you have more time than expected before the vaca starts

So our flight was delayed. That’s ok, we didn’t have anything else to do today except wait and fly and wait and fly.

While we waited, we strolled through the airport, and I noticed this billboard:

I couldn’t agree more: Extraordinary DOES happen here. At CofC and everywhere else in the Holy City.

It reminded me of a joke I heard a while back. This little old lady who lived on South Battery (Charlestonians will get this) was asked where she goes for vacation.

Her answer: “Why would I go somewhere? I’m already hey-uh.” (She’s speaking in Charlestonese, y’all.)

It’s cute, but it’s also true. Charleston has the best and the most of anywhere you’d want to go — at least that’s what native Charlestonians believe. (And it’s true.)

So why are we heading across the pond when we have extraordinary right in our own back yards?

Well. Because it’s a majestic thing to broaden one’s horizons. Because it’s good to seek out new lives and new civilizations (as the Trek Universe explains). And because Vif and Vrai took the time to learn French with Duolingo.

They certainly seem to be enjoying themselves so far.

P.S. When I took this photo, some people at the table next to us were pointing and laughing. I looked over and said, “Their names are Vif and Vrai.” They stopped laughing and looked the other way. Clearly they’ve never encountered traveling alligators.

Time to check out part of the itinerary

Here’s my cork board with a map of Paris, all nice and color-coded.

Are we overly ambitious? Have we underestimated jet lag? Have we forgotten that we haven’t been getting into shape the way we promised we would when we booked this last year?

Answers: probably yes, almost certainly yes, and duh!

Nevertheless! We’re going to give it a go. Everyone says Paris is very walkable. Plus, according to the distance scale on this map, things aren’t as far as one might think. Example: The Arc de Triomphe and Jardin des Tuileries look like they’re halfway across the map, but they’re actually about 1.5 miles apart. That’s doable. I walk that far every time I’m in Costco.

And … we’ll be tracking our steps and the distance (courtesy of my judgmental smart watch that keeps telling me I’m sitting for too long every day).

No seriously, I have a chart all ready to go.

Walking aside, let’s talk about the color-coding. As you might have guessed, the different colors represent days, but don’t get all judgy (I have enough of that from my judgmental smart watch). The sheer number of colored stick pins makes it look like we’re going to be power-walking through the rues. But that’s misleading. Those are merely the things we want to see, and this is a visual of where things are so we’ll know to be looking for them.

Trust me, most of the time we’ll just be strolling along, looking for a charming bistro and a glass of champagne.

It’s time to address the alligators in the room

I’ll start by saying this is not your typical travel blog.

Wait, I’ve actually decided to call it a travelogue, so I’ll start again by saying this is not your typical travelogue.

That’s because a couple of my contributors are alligators. Okay, that statement might need some unpacking.

As we venture “across the pond,” you’ll get a lot of photos and info about what we’re doing and seeing.

You’ll also get some mild snarking from two alligators who are along for the trip. Pop over to the What’s With These Alligators? page for all the info on them.