ha! well you would know thank you! i've noted these, which also look to be substantial day trips from Florence/Rome. i'm gonna hold off on booking any of these for now, see how everything else fills in. i still haven't researched all the possible sites around Paris or Rome. in Paris i've booked a dinner cruise with the family (first night) and a morning Secret Food Tour in Monmarte, that's it so far. we've got a half day winery tour from Florence, and other than a list of places i know i want to see (Colliseum, Parthenon, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc.) i haven't booked anything for our three days in Rome yet. we still have a lot of time to fill in...or not π
mais oui, je sais que les francais sont aimable! i've already been practicing, doing an online refresher, etc...our exchange student was wonderful and she is SO excited for us to come visit her this time! so cute lol. she always told us that the French, and Europeans in general, especially young people, still love the average American, despite some, uh, recent 'challenges' we've had #noCR (she stayed with us in 2017 and 2018). i'm up on the greeting etiquette and i've been corresponding in French with all of our AirBnB hosts (Strasbourg, Normandie, Brest, Paris) and they have all been kind and gracious (and only one doesn't speak much English). it helps that i can read/write a lot better than i can converse in person haha! but i'm not at all worried about making our way about in France, even in the countryside. my sister is the one with the heightened anxiety about it, but i suspect once we're there a while she'll relax a bit.
and good to know about the train - yes, i'll be booking the TGV Lyria Paris to Florence, via Switzerland. tickets not yet available but should be within the next week (i've been tracking daily). will just be the two of us at this point, and i plan on splurging for the first-class tickets so we can get the full Alps experience. there seem to still be plenty of tickets that far out so far but i know they will sell out eventually between now and then. good to be prepared for what the crowds might look like, especially since it's an early morning train, thanks.
we're still going, just after we take a couple days in Kitzigen to get our sea legs. only one night though, an old Bavarian hotel - will honestly be our must 'rustic' accomodations lol. coming in the afternoon before and planning to be at Eagle's Nest right at opening (hotel is only 10 minute drive). depending on how much time we spend there...Burg Hohenwerfen isn't nearly as out-of-the-way as Heidelberg would be π€looks like it only adds about half an hour as opposed to 2 1/2 to our drive time to Strasbourg. hmmmm...we may call an audible on that one. ohhh and it has a funicular too! like Heidelberg!πi'm a dork for funiculars lol. thanks for the mention of this one!
merci! i'm getting pretty stoked. my dad is as well...talking about the DDay spots in France, he said "man, i'm so glad i'm gonna get to see all this before i check out!" this trip is really going to mean something to him π§‘. i'd say my sister is still in the anxiety phase...she has pretty much said 'i have no opinion on seeing anything or anywhere, i will go wherever any of y'all say to go, just get me through it safely!'
et oui, absolutement j'attends les fraises et le vin specifiquement!ππ·
thanks for the ideas guys.