Bordeaux Region Vineyard, early spring.

     Get the most out of your French vacation experience by learning a little about the language, the geography, their history and their culture, and of course their food and wine destinations.

     Just planning a visit to Paris can be mind boggling. You grapple with the question of how long to stay in Paris, should you stay in a hotel, apartment, a villa? Left bank, or right bank? A guided tour, a hosted tour, or independent? Contact a travel Professional, or not?

   You will need the help of a travel professional for your trip to France. For one thing, French is spoken, so as an English speaker, you will need to plan thoroughly ahead of time. You might benefit from a guided trip. there are a myriad of types of guided trips available:small groups and adventure trips, bike trips, etc. The old "if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" has changed.  

   However, if you dream of traveling independently, let me plan your rail passes and book your seats, book your flights and hotels, and you will be assured that your itinerary will be well coordinated and that you won't miss a thing.

      My first trip to France was planned as part of a month-long 5-country trip on a Eurail Pass. I planned that trip for 2 years, organizing and reorganizing the itinerary. I read every travel guide I could find, and agonized over choosing the right hotel. As the trip that I had fantasized about for so long approached, I purchased our air tickets from a local travel agent.

     When I purchased our rail passes from Maxine, the travel agent, she suggested reserving a sleeper compartment for our overnight train from Nice to Rome. Since it cost no more than a hotel for the night, that's what we did.

     Well, that train trip was one of the most memorable experiences of that trip! It was August and the  night air was balmy, so we spent much of the night standing outside our compartment, windows down, elbows on a ledge, watching the French Riviera and then the Italian Riviera go by.

     It was late, the outdoor terraces were full of locals eating and drinking the night away under colorful, twinkling outdoor lights. Quite a sight, quite an experience. Of course we capped off the evening with a Napoleon French pastry that we had purchased at a patisserie in Nice!

     The advice of my travel agent turned out to be priceless, and it didn't cost us a penny!