Nervous Nelly...

Sunday, September 10. Langley.

Well, it is 5:30 here, Sunday night, Craig is coming for Sunday Dinner as he most often does on Sunday. The day is basically over and butterflies are starting to flutter in my stomach.

For some strange reason this trip has me rather excited. We have been on many travels in our life but this one is basically an unknown entity to me. Sure, we can look at the brochures and all that but there is not the same level of comfort somehow.

I think it is because we are masters of our own fate on this trip. It is not a cruise ship, nor an escorted tour, we are absolutely on our own in a foreign country, on a canal, in a small boat, that we steer, dock and everything else that boats do. We cook our own food: after we buy it in a store, [in a foreign country remember, and we do not speak French]. 

I did not say I was afraid, I said I was excited, for reasons stated above. I actually thrive on a bit of uncertainty. It is far from 'living on the edge' but I am glad to see that I can still get kicks out out that at my tender age.

Dave and Alyssa have some boating experience that we are rather heavily counting on. Cooking should not be a problem because Alyssa loves to cook, lets hope we can get the ingredients and have the capability of cooking them on a 39 foot cruiser. You think? Does Gilligan's Island come to mind?

We are off to an adventurous start for sure. Earlier this week they changed our boat for some reason and this morning we got an email from Air France that our connecting flight to Montpellier may be disrupted by a French Air Traffic Controllers strike. Investigation sort of indicates it is/was a 12 hour disruption. [We hope.] We should have known, in France, September is the month to have strikes right after August which is the month that everybody goes on vacation at the same time!

**  **  **

Below is our itinerary with Tongue-in-Cheek when we wrote it, intending it only for us...

- Itinerary -

The French Caper, or our Wonderful Excellent Adventure.

Adventurers: Dave and Alyssa - Doug and Fellette 

Monday September 11 to Sunday, October 1, 2017

OUTBOUND flights.  Monday, September 11.

Air France flight 379, departs Vancouver 1.30 PM, arrives Paris 8.15 next day. Business Class.    Seats:  05F, 05E, 07E, 07F    

Air France flight 7680, departs Paris 12.45 PM, arrives Montpellier 2.05 PM Economy.

In France on tour:

Tuesday, September 12. Arrive and check into Mercure Grande Motte Port  in Montpellier.

Wednesday, September 13. In Mercure Grande Port.

Thursday, September 14, Transfer via Taxi to Saint-Gilles to Hotel Restaurant Le Cours.

Friday, September 15, board our home for two weeks, Canal Boat Crusader

Friday, September 29 arrive in Port Cassafieres and board SNCF [train] to Kyriad Montpellier Centre for two nights.

Saturday, September 30. Montpellier Centre

Sunday, October 1. See flight schedule below.

HOMEWARD BOUND flights.

Sunday, October 1

Air France flight 7681, dep. Montpellier 6.20 AM, arrives Paris 7.50 AM.  Economy.

Air France flight 8230, dep. Paris 10.15 AM, arrives Amsterdam 11.35 AM.

Business Class. Seats:  04F, 04D, 04A, 04C.      

Air France, [KLM plane], flight 8378, departs Amsterdam 1.20 PM, Arrives Beautiful Vancouver 1.50 PM.  Business Class. Seats:    06K, 06G, 07G, 07K.

Tomorrow night we are in a plane so I have no idea when and where you will hear from me next. Stay tuned.

-->