Geo: 43.7034, 7.2662It wasn't my first choice, this having a 7:20 am flight, but for $8, who am I to complain?One bonus to being at the airport that early: You get to watch the sun rise.One downside: It <i>might </i>be too early to really think through looking in all the places in the rental car that you might have left something.For example, you <i>might </i>forget to check the passenger door map pocket, to see if you'd put the pocketknife there after liberating an arrow sign.Our flight to Frankfurt was uneventful, but the bit where we flew over the Alps was specTACular. Really amazing. Snow-covered jagged peaks as far as I could see.Note to self: Add a trip to Switzerland to the short list of upcoming vacations.Our layover in Frankfurt was also uneventful.Once on the plane back ... read more

Geo: 43.5249, 5.45414 We started off with breakfast the way I like it: full of bread, delicious jam, and pleasant conversation.The hotel/inn has a single large table, so you get a chance to chat with other guests. We met a woman who was traveling with her college-aged daughter and her daughter's friend, and they were heading out for a guided tour, so they didn't get to linger over breakfast. Luc (one of the proprietors) makes his own jam, so we enjoyed some watermelon jam and strawberry jam on our fresh baguettes.Laurent claimed that in Aix, they drink coffee out of bowls, so we played along. He could just be taking the mickey, but it delivered the coffee to my mouth, so I didn't care much (though it does cool off much more quickly, with that much ... read more

Geo: 43.7284, 7.36224I musta' been tired, because I slept in until almost 8. That's pretty late for me anymore. Good thing we didn't have anything specific to do, early that morning.We grabbed a quick pastry from the boulangerie, and ate it on our way back to the start area for the last day of the race.There were still more riders that Gnorm wanted to meet, so we headed back to the buses.We did manage to meet Wilco Kelderman and Luke Rowe, before they all headed to the start line. Today, they were doing a circuit of sorts, starting in Nice, going through Èze, then looping around a pass and coming back through Èze, before finishing in Nice.Dejo had decided we should head there, so we could see them come through twice.It's a cute village right on ... read more

Geo: 43.7034, 7.2662We land in Nice.Nice.The very pleasant man at Europcar helped us get a slightly smaller car than we'd originally been assigned (in Europe, smaller is usually better), and we were off to the hotel.After one small wrong turn (my fault, not Dejo's), we found the hotel, and the parking garage (relatively spacious, really).The jetlag, the hike through Frankfurt AIrport, and just the traveling in general had sapped us of most of our energy, so we got checked in, and then set off in search of some dinner close by.There were a few places within a few blocks of the hotel, so we wandered a bit, checking out menus and the looks of places. We decided on pizza.Yes, in France.Don't judge.I got a salmon pizza (and actually, I can say "Eet's good" with a straight ... read more

Geo: 39.3759, -104.86Some of my readers may know that I'm a (very) part-time travel agent. Mornings and a few evenings, arranging travel for no more than a dozen or so clients at a time.Many people think that being a travel agent gets you all kindsa' freebies, discounts, and perks.Ha!Okay, hotel discounts are pretty easy to come by (unless you're looking at popular destinations during popular times). And sometimes you can get a discount on airport parking, or a free day at an amusement park (if you've taken the time to go through the online course and learn about the products).But air discounts? A thing of the past.So imagine my skepticism when I got an e-mail from an airline, offering $8 fares.I nearly didn't open the e-mail.But I did, and found that they were offering $8 fares ... read more