The Art Of Vacationing

It was a lazy weekend. Though it was sunny the whole Saturday and Sunday, the below-freezing temperature outside was not inciting enough to prevent us from being couch potatoes. So couch potatoes, we were.

Another reason of not going out was that, I'm quite worried that Louna catch any sickness outside. I initially planned to go to Jura, the mountains, to catch a bit of snow. But we will be leaving for a week-long getaway to a country we've never been so I'm taking all necessary and not-so-necessary precautions. Maman's instinct maybe, but better be careful than sorry.

So the whole weekend was focused on preparing for our next vacations. And I'm not talking solely about our vacation this February, we also talked about the Labor Day weekend this coming May and our summer vacation.

Summer Vacation

I have received travel/vacation catalogs at home early this year and have already bookmarked some interesting offers for our summer vacation. Like the past two years, we will again book for a week stay in a Villages Vacances where meal is served from breakfast to dinner and a multitude of daily activities are organized by TOs (travel organizers). (We normally take 3 weeks - the other 2 weeks will be spent at the seaside with my inlaws).

I know, I know. You might think that we're lazy and we lack adventure and such vacations are reserved only to oldies. But I tell you, after a day of canyoning, kayaking or hiking, you would certainly wow the comfort. Pre-Louna time, we were the the kind who wouldn't even mind reserving a hotel:

- we once planted our tent somewhere in the middle of Corsica because it was already late and we haven't finished our hike yet. Unfortunately, we couldn't continue the hike because .. we forgot our flashlights. And yes, we've done this in almost all corners of France for divers and various reasons, lol.
- we slept in cheap motels on our way from Death Valley to San Francisco.
- We slept in tents at the Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon because we wanted to start a hike at the first hour of the morning.
- we stayed in a Youth Hostel in Barcelona (oh that was great! we felt young again!)

So you see, we've been to an enormous change already - we're responsible parents. Yey!

I'm eyeing on a Villages Vacances somewhere in The Alps where activities range from water sports to, well of course, mountain hiking. Facilities include sauna, hammam, heated pool for adults and kids... - a great reward after a day of physical activity. And since rates vary per month, I think I'll book for the month of June - Louna is not going to school yet anyway, so we have no constraint.

Labor Day Weekend (May 1)

I have invited my friend's sister to spend this weekend with us. After knowing how much moolah she spent for a one-day-one-night stay in Paris, I thought, I have to take charge of this little girl (Jean, wag mo ng pagalitan, babatukan ko na lang pag nagkita kami, lol). I willl have to show her how to get the most out of her hard-earned money. Why pay more when you could pay less, right? Right. Apir.

I have a problem though. I still don't have any destination in mind. Any proposal of an exotic destination within the Schengen states, do-able in a 4-day weekend?

Winter Vacation

The nanny asked for a one-week vacation this February. Her family will ski in The Alps. The first question we had in mind was What will we do with Louna? If you're a regular reader of this blog, you would know that the nearest family we have lives a long 6-hour drive from our place. But since we still have a lot of paid vacation to take this year, we thought, Why not take our vacation too? *ting! light bulb switched on*

Frenchguy: So were will we go?
Me: Hmmm, what about somewhere in the Schengen States?
Frenchguy: What about Egypt?
Me (after searching the net): I need a visa. But to get it, I need to go to Paris and release date is unfortunately, the next day. Don't you have any other destination in mind?
Frenchguy: I'll take my plane on Monday. Before heading to the airport, I could submit your visa application. What do you think?
Me: Great. I need to go to Paris on Tuesday. I could then take my passport back. That's good timing.

So there you go. Our vacation was planned and scheduled just like that. Without too much ado.

We're responsible parents, but not quite. After booking everything online, I started to read travel forums and it seems that visits start too early in the morning and this and that. I have a list of what to bring now: from mosquito repellent to drinking water. But if you have any tips on what to expect from a toddler on a river cruise and how to explain what a pharaon is, that would surely be appreciated.

Photo credit here.