From the Inside Out

We woke up at 6 am on Thursday to catch an early flight to London Heathrow airport and to begin our long journey back to Dallas. Since we were gaining back the time we lost on the trip to Nice, we were looking at a 31-hour day with much of that time spent on an airplane or in an airport.

We got to the Nice airport with plenty of time to spare so we ate breakfast and watched the sun rise over the runways.

In London, we had a 3-hour layover so we grabbed lunch at Friday’s and then walked through the airport shops. Heathrow has a plethora of shops and restaurants — it’s amazing. They have Chanel, Burberry, Harrod’s, Omega, Swarovski, duty-free shops, and electronics stores. It’s like a mini shopping mall.

The flight from London to Dallas was uneventful. It was 9 hours of napping, reading, and watching shows on the iPod. After landing, we went through passport control. The lines were long at least we were off the plane and back home.

By the time we got to the luggage area. All the bags were already on the carousel…or so we thought. We found two of our bags, but were missing the other two. With no more bags coming out, we went to file our “missing bag” claims.

I hate it when that happens.

As we finished filing our claims, one of the baggage handlers came up and said there were more bags still downstairs. They had experienced a jam and were working to get the bags up to the baggage claim area. Since we weren’t in a hurry, we waited around hoping our bags would make it up. Eventually, they did.

Delighted, we grabbed our bags, went through customs and then headed home.

First stop….Mom’s house for the dogs.

Second stop…Mexican food!!!

J’aime Tex Mex…it’s good to be home.

After spending 11 hours in the air, we arrived in Nice around 3:30 local time. The flight from London wasn’t full so we breezed through passport control and customs — no lines, yay! After exiting the customs area, we met our driver who escorted us directly to our hotel, the Palais de la Mediterranee on the Promenade Des Anglais, one of the most sought after locations in Nice.

The Palais de la Mediterranee opened in 1929, and it was restored in 2004. The Art Deco style remains both inside and out. Our room is nicely furnished and spacious by European standards. And the location can’t be beat. You walk out the front door and are treated with an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea!

After settling into the hotel, we set out on foot to explore the area — and find food. Shops, cafes and restaurants line the street across from the beach and the streets behind our hotel. We found a neat area which was designated for pedestrian traffic only. Along that stretch were many interesting places to eat. We eventually selected a small Italian food restaurante to provide our first meal in Nice. Tres bon!

After dinner, it was dark outside, so we strolled around checking out the local sights and shopping in the stores along Promendade Des Anglais.

When we arrived back at our hotel this evening, we decided to investigate the small casino on the first floor of the hotel. Compared to Vegas casinos, this one is not notable, but it did have some really cheap slot machines, so we decided to take $20 and entertain ourselves for a while on the 20 cent slots. After playing for a few minutes, Gary hit a jackpot and won $200! We cashed out immediately and walked out happy — not a bad way to end the evening.

Tonight, we will try to get caught up on the sleep we missed while crossing the pond. Tomorrow we plan to visit Monte Carlo.

NOTE: For a complete photo album of Day One, check out the Photos section of the blog.

I’m sitting on American Airlines flight 78 bound for London Heathrow airport. The time is 9:45 pm, and I’m about 2 hours into a 9-hour flight. The lights are dimmed and a movie is playing on the overhead screens. The baby in the row ahead of me has settled down to sleep (why do I always get seated next to the babies…argh!). Luckily, the flight isn’t very full, so Gary and I can move if it wakes up and starts screaming in the middle of the night.

I’m avoiding the below-average inflight movie, choosing to watch the pre-selected programming on my trusty iPod while I write a few words for today’s blog post.

The day was largely uneventful. Gary and I spent most of our time getting ready for the trip, packing and running errands. I think our dogs could sense the excitement, and when the suitcases came out, they knew something was happening. Of course, they love it when we both travel because they get to stay at my parent’s house and play with my mom’s dog. Thanks again, Mom, for watching the boys!

We ate dinner at Cozymel’s near the airport — it’ll be our last time to get good Mexican food until we return to Texas! After dinner, we arrived at the airport early and walked around Terminal D grabbing last minute snacks and water for the long plane ride.

Once we arrive in London, we’ll have a 2-hour layover and then a quick 2-hour flight to Nice that should put us in the city around 3:30 pm on Thursday afternoon.

This vacation is long overdue. It was originally scheduled in October, but because of a strenuous work schedule, we had to postpone it. Now it’s finally here, and I’m “tres” excited. Look, I’m using some French…haha! Actually, I’ve been reading through my language books and listening to tapes on the plane in the hopes that some of it will stick with me when I arrive.

Only 11 more hours to go!

I’ll try to report daily once we arrive…until then, au revoir and bon soir.

Have you ever wanted to travel to exotic locations, but didn’t have the money to afford expensive hotel accommodations? If you enjoy meeting new people and you want to travel, then CouchSurfing may be the answer. CouchSurfing helps you make connections worldwide with people who are willing to host visitors in their homes. You can use the network to meet people and then go “surf” on their couches. They will provide you with some sort of accommodation, a penthouse apartment or maybe a back yard to pitch your tent in. Stays can be as short as a cup of coffee, a night or two, or even a few months or more.

The idea for CouchSurfing started when founder, Casey Fenton, got a cheap ticket to Iceland for a long weekend one April. With his ticket in hand, there was one problem: he had no place to stay and no desire to rot in a hotel all weekend and play Mr. Tourist. So, he came up with the ‘brilliant’ idea of spamming over 1500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik and asking them if he could crash on one of their couches. After exchanging emails with many of the students, he had several groups of friends offer to show him ‘their’ Reykjavik. So, after spending an amazing, crazy weekend just south of the Arctic Circle, Casey decided he would never again get trapped in a hotel and tourist marathon while traveling. From that point onward, it was all about crashing on exotic couches and cultural exchange. And, thus, the CouchSurfing Project was born.

The CouchSurfing Project boasts over 800,000 members from 230 countries, and they reportedly have over 1.5 million positive CouchSurfing experiences. They have implemented several safety measures for the benefit of their surfers, hosts, and community. Every user is linked to the other users he or she knows in the system through a network of references and friend links. In addition to the solid network with friend link-strength indicators and testimonials, they have vouching and verification systems to ensure the safety of travelers.

You can search the site and find hosts everywhere, even in Plano. I found a large number of people in Nice where we’ll be traveling in January. Some are willing to host people on their couch and others are just available to meet for coffee to share information and travel tips for their city.

I’m not sure how comfortable I would be surfing on someone’s couch, but it’s an interesting concept and from the looks of it, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are doing it. By staying with the locals, you get a feel for what life is really like in the areas you are visiting. You also get great tips from the people who know the city the best. Plus, it’s completely free.

I like the idea of meeting for coffee. It’s a great way to meet people, and it’s like getting a local tour guide for free.

To learn more, check out their website here.

Home. It doesn’t matter where I go, there’s something special about the moment when the captain comes on the intercom and announces, “We will be landing in Dallas in about 15 minutes.” I look out the window and begin to see familiar sights — lake Lewisville, highway 121, Grapevine Mills. I feel excitement rising. I know I’ll be home home soon.

That’s how I felt tonight as I arrived from San Diego. It was a stressful, but successful week, and I’m glad it’s over. I’m sitting on the couch feeling like I have nothing left to give. These events exhaust me. I should be working on Saturday Night Life (it’s next week, wow!), but instead I indulge myself and take a vacation for the remainder of the evening.

I bask in the familiar sights and sounds of home. There’s nothing else like it. I can’t believe I’m going to quote Dr. Phil, but he says “home should be your safe place to fall” and for me, it is. I can relax there. I am greeted with happy faces, hugs, and wagging tails. I know I’ve been missed, and it’s a nice feeling.

Dorothy was right…there’s no place like home.