Franco-Fridays: Trip-Planning, His + Her Style

The thought of going to Paris with a group from our church left me feeling kind of giddy by itself, but about 15 minutes after the trip got verified I was cleaning up Ella's bedroom when KJ came in and said, "Hey.  Is there anywhere else you'd like to go in France?"  "Um...[quizzical look] what are you thinking, KJ Pugh?  Normandy?"  And that was the beginning of planning an extra few days in Europe, which turned into an extra week.  

And because I just don't know that much about France I really couldn't come up with any other places other than Normandy off the top of my head.  KJ said, "I was thinking it would be fun to rent a car and drive to Switzerland.  You wanna see the Alps?"  And then I knew the one place I really wanted to go if we went to Switzerland:  Reichenbach Falls.  You know it?  It's the falls in the Sherlock Holmes story, The Final Problem, where Sherlock and Moriarty struggle and fall.  You may have seen it portrayed in Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows.  (I told you that 40% of my enjoyment in a place came from reading a book about it.)

So here's how KJ and Lynn start preparing for a trip:

KJ starts out by studying Google maps.  Lynn starts wondering which shoes she should take.

 
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Lynn decides that learning French would be a good idea and goes to the library, bringing home audio CDs and guidebooks for France, Paris, and Switzerland.  KJ reads the guidebooks, and Lynn listens to CDs in the car.

Lynn makes a Pinterest board of photograph inspiration and tips on packing light.  KJ studies a map of the Metro and researches affordable rental cars and hotels.  Lynn starts to think that it's a good thing she's traveling with KJ because otherwise she might look cute and take a lot of nice pictures, but she might also get lost.

In other planning news, it looks like our Paris team is complete, and I am really excited and thankful for the group of people God is putting together.