Dylan Schiemann

Today begins the start of our two-week journey to Béziers, Paris, London, and Rouen!

There are many reasons for this trip:

• Web-5 conference invite. I’m invited to deliver the opening keynote on April 4th
• Leita’s French heritage. This is her first ever trip to France!
• London Ajax User Group. I helped start this group when I was living part-time in London, now I’m back to deliver a pair of talks with James Thomas about AMD, and to show Leita a few highlights of London.
• A Fun Vacation. It’s been many years since I took a vacation where I wasn’t trying to work every moment that I wasn’t checking out a tourist site.
• And more…

We’re starting our journey on British Airways, in the lovely Club World. As the only airline with a non-stop flight to Europe, we’re lucky enough to have seats on the upper deck in part due to my about to expire BA Gold status. We then have a short flight across the channel to Paris. To get to Béziers, Rouen, and back to London, we’re taking the train so we can see more of the French countryside.

To make this trip as amazing for Leita as possible, we did far more advanced preparation than normal: travel books (mostly Rick Steve’s) an extensive TripIt itinerary, French 1 lessons from Pimsleur, a museum pass, train tickets, etc. We found a cute little flat to stay at in the Montmarte region of Paris via AirBnb.

We’ve been careful to plan without over planning the trip, by giving ourselves many ideas and options, but leaving plenty of time open for random strolls and cafes. And we’ve managed to pack pretty lightly so we’re not lugging massive suitcases on the various trains.

We leave tonight!