Geo: 43.6044, 1.44295Paul, whose home we will be "sharing" in Toulouse met us at the airport just before noon to temperatures in the upper 90's. We did the full tour or his wonderful home, and unpacked luggage items we would not be taking with us on the road for the first part of our trip. Paul also gave us a short walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood so we could find some of the essentials like market, wine store, brasserie, etc. The process of installing tank bag, luggage, and Hit Air vest connectors was more complicated than planned. After about an hour, we finally got the R1100RS all loaded, put on all the gear and headed out for Vielle Adour, our first night's stay in France as Paul watched us navigate the road construction on his ... read more

Geo: 38.579, -121.491We had an easy drive to Sacramento Int'l Airport (probably because we left at 5 am) under clear, blue skies. After checking in our bags, we waited with our fingers crossed for the TSA screeners to let us know that our inflatable motorcycle “Hit Air” safety vests would be okay in checked luggage. Just when I thought we could relax I ended up getting the full Monty at the security check and had to undergo a pat down search. (Travel tip: take everything out of your pockets and don't wear a ball cap thru the scanner.) Finally, we were ready to roll. After a quick breakfast, we boarded our US Airways flight to Philadelphia. It was basically a no-frills “cattle car” flight, but we had decent leg room and an uneventful 5 hour flight. ... read more

Geo: 39.2193, -121.059 Last year, a friend of ours went to Spain on a motorcycle tour of the Pyrenees. His stories and pictures were just awesome! This got us thinking about maybe returning to France for a similar trip sometime soon. As luck would have it, a co-worker of Janet's who happens to live in France was visiting the company headquarters here in Nevada City late last year. During the course of their discussions, he indicated that he wanted to bring his family over for a vacation in Northern California. The seeds of an idea blossomed between the two for doing a "house swap." After several months of discussion and trying to sync schedules, we were finally able to work out the details. We'll get to stay in their home in Toulouse while they take over ... read more