Thanksgiving

Tim and I decided once again to spend Thanksgiving at home. Since I had gotten used to ordering our dinner, we agreed to do the same again. We did make one change, however. Instead of ordering a dinner for four from King Soopers, we ordered two dinner plates from Cracker Barrel. Good, old-fashioned cooking sounded perfect.

We scheduled our pickup for 1:00 pm and drove to the restaurant. I couldn’t believe the line of cars that wrapped around the block! I guess everyone had the same idea. The line did move fairly quickly, and we enjoyed our meal when we arrived home.

Just like every year, I did purchase a jar of sauerkraut to augment our dinners – I can’t have Thanksgiving without that Baltimore tradition!

A Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving - Delicious!

We’re Really Going to France

Tim and I had booked our first river cruise, France’s Finest, while we were on our Viking Homelands cruise this past May. Today, we made our final payment. We will embark in Avignon on May 7, 2023, and we will disembark in Paris on May 21. We’ll be on our own for several days before and after the cruise.

Status - FINAL!

Prior to our cruise, we will be spending a few days in Nice and had I booked our flights back in July. In October, United cancelled our reservations due to a change in scheduling. Since we had to make a new reservation, Tim and I talked seriously about flying business class. With our previous reservations, we were using airline miles to standby for business. This time, I wanted a confirmed reservation. I know business class seats are ridiculously expensive, and we don’t have enough airline miles, but I finally admitted that I’m too old to sit up on an overnight flight when there’s another option.

I kept checking for halfway-reasonable fares and finally found one. United codeshare flights with Lufthansa were much less expensive, and although I had hoped to fly United Polaris business, I was just happy we would have lie-flat seats. I booked the flights.

At the end of our cruise, Tim and I will be spending five nights in Paris. I’ve been researching hotels and trying to decide where to stay, and today I made a reservation. Although I was unfamiliar with the hotel, I picked the Hôtel La Tamise, a restored nineteenth-century mansion that began as a private home and then became a guest house for society folks on their Grand Tour of Europe. Located halfway between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, just off Rue de Rivoli and across from the Jardin de Tuileries, it’s in a perfect location for visiting museums and other must-see sights.

I loved this description in a Condé Nast Traveler review, “Thoughtful touches, impeccable design, and attentive service give this boutique inn a luxury glow.” The rooms are likely to be quite small, but I’m hoping we’ll be happy there.

Our Hotel in Paris Is Booked

Our cruise is paid for, our flights are booked, and our hotel in Paris is reserved. Now, we need to determine our arrangements for Nice for our pre-cruise stay.

It looks like we’re going to France!