It
's been one challenge after another, but looks like we're finally going.
This fall, I invited my granddaughter, Phoebe, to come with me to Paris. This was in part because I had taken her cousins to Hawaii, and you can't do one without the other, .... It was also because when I asked her where she would most like to go, and she said "Paris," I was thrilled (see previous posts).
So I booked an Airbnb in the center of that wonderful city, purchased airline tickets, and reviewed clothing necessities with my travel companion.
But fate threw up roadblocks. First, that incredibly wonderful apartment in the center of Paris proved to be a fraud which I was lucky to cancel with a full refund (thanks to the owner's guilt). Within a day I found another Airbnb even better: a whole house owned by a young Russian emigre photographer. No matter that it was much further from the center of the city - the area was friendly, family, and pretty close to just about everything we wanted to see.
But then Phoebe's passport got hung up because of an error in the original application. Due to a misunderstanding, Phoebe's existing passport was not submitted with her renewal. A month after sending in the renewal, Phoebe's mom was notified that the existing passport had to be submitted. This hung up the process for at least a month. Thanks to Senator Tester's office, the passport came through just before the scheduled departure but not before I had cancelled everything, fearing that I would miss deadlines for cancellation. Luckily, both lodging and airfare were 100% refunded!
So, now we have Phoebe's passport and everything is in order. In fact, we now have an apartment close to the center of Paris and the owner will meet us at the door upon our arrival! This arrangement is in fact better than any of the previous, and I now feel quite at ease about this trip. In fact, I'm really looking forward to it!
Phoebe is going to experience the trip of her dreams, and I am going to enjoy sharing with her my experiences some 50 years ago. This could very well be the trip of a lifetime for both of us.