JUST 1 SUITCASE?
What's "Just 1 Suitcase" about? Interesting you should ask! I blame it all on Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, and Rick Steves. About three years ago, in one of the concluding episodes of the TV series "Parenthood," Millie (Bonnie Bedelia) asked Zeke (Craig T. Nelson) if he would go live in Italy with her. She loved painting and had a passion for studying the Italian masters. Zeke thought about it, understanding how important it was to her, and said "yes." At the end of that episode, John asked me, "Would you go live in Tuscany with me for a year?" I thought about it and, understanding how important it was to him, I said "yes."
We knew that I had to retire before we could go on this adventure, so I gave my boss a 3-year notice and we started planning! We subscribed to "International Living Magazine" and started watching every episode of Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa, and House Hunters International that we could.
Enter Rick Steves, travel guru, and his theory of traveling through Europe with just one suitcase! There you have it!
ABOUT US . . .
We are John, Chris, Katarinna (Kat), and Eleana (Ellie) Springman. We are a retired couple living the dream of an extended tour of Europe. Kat and Ellie are our adopted granddaughters (now our daughters). Kat is 16 and Ellie is 13. In the fall of 2015, we enrolled them in an online charter school in anticipation of this European adventure. They are great kids, doing pretty well with the new school format, and excited about going to Europe. We hope you enjoy reading about our travels and some of our funnier experiences!
PLANE TRAVEL
Plane travel is not as much fun as Kat and Ellie anticipated! Up early . . . a lot of waiting with luggage . . . a lot of uncomfortable chairs . . . security checkpoints with taking off of shoes and coats . . . NO food service on the planes (well, there were cheap snacks available for inflated prices) . . . and, worst of all, the advertised "free WiFi" did not work! Oh, no!
We tried to stay true to Rick Steves and carry "just 1 suitcase" (carry-on size) each. But, oddly, we found that we just could not fit all our stuff into one suitcase each. So we resigned ourselves to 2 checked bags among the 4 of us. We thought that was pretty good! Then we got to the airport curb-side check-in only to find that both of our checked bags were just slightly overweight--by about 7 pounds total. The very kind, nice check-in lady suggested that John run into the airport gift shop and buy another bag, which he did! On the curb of the check-in area we unpacked our checked bags and redistributed the payload. We now have 3 checked bags, and "just 1" carry-on each!
AIRPORT FOOD HACK: The chili cheese fries (4 euros) are a much better value for the money than the ham & cheese sandwich (8 euros)!
The Paris Apartment
Having thrown Rick Steves to the wind, we ended up in the Charles DeGaulle Airport with 8 bags, one of which was a large set of golf clubs. It took the valet two tries to find a taxi large enough for us. But we finally were deposited at the door of 224 Boulevard Voltaire.
My boss warned me that Airbnb properties do not always live up to their descriptions. This might be one of those instances! We waited outside the building with our luggage for only about 5 minutes before being shown in by Eric and Yael. The apartment is in an 8-story building which is very pretty but very old.
We were in the lobby with 8 bags. The apartment is on the 7th floor and the elevator is the size of a phone booth! It took about 5 trips up a VERY slow elevator to get all our bags into the apartment. The apartment is old. Decorated nicely, but old with "interesting" plumbing, a funky little bathrool where you have to literally climb into the tub/shower (toilet is in a different room), no closets, and other unique aspects. But we have beds, plenty of hot water, and it's adequate. And you can't beat the view from the front windows.
There is a patisserie right across the street--and about 3 on every block, for that matter. We have gone every morning to buy a fresh baguette and sometimes other pastries. Ellie has fallen in love with French macaroons. Every time we go out, we put a baguette in our backpack and knosh on it throughout the day. Ah, Paris
WEATHER: What?? You've got to be kidding!! It has snowed lightlyl every morning. It clears in the aternoon but temperatures are around 40-45 degrees. We have a night bike tour this evening--yikes!! We've got to get to warmer climes!
Eiffel Tower Souvenir
On our first day, we visited the Eiffel Tower. Ellie saw a pink beret in a sidewalk kiosk that she had to have. A French tourist showed her how to wear it. She said, "I feel very cultural. How could I be more cultural than this?"
Notre Dame--Best Things
The best things about Notre Dame Cathedral are . . .
lighting candles ("What? It's only 2 euros, mom, what's the big deal?") and . . .
having pigeons on your head and all over your body! What could be more fun?
Metro--Gotcha!
We've gotten pretty good at using the Metro. That is, with John's app and his willingness to plan every route We all just follow him! We've only taken the wrong train a couple of times and missed a stop or two. The Paris Metro system is quite amazing. One would never need a car to live here. And the signage is great. But we're often on the metro at the end of the day when we're totally worn out. I got the following two pictures I wanted to share of Kat and John. The first is when they didn't know they were being shot. The second is after they realized--gotcha !
les catacombes
The Catacombes of Paris were highest on the site seeing list for the girls, even higher than Disneyland Paris. The day we went to see them was, as usual, a rainy day and we had to stand in line sandwiched between all the smokers--there are A LOT in Paris. When we finally got inside and started the self-tour we walked down a steep spiral staircase, and another, and another, and several more. The Catacombes are very deep underground. Then we walked through several long hallways, twisting and turning, until we finally came to what is called the "Ostuary." We entered the "empire of the dead" as they call it. It was dimly lit throughout and not as spooky as I'd imagined. But the girls were satisfied with the "creep" factor.
We could not understand--anyone have a clue?--why some of the skulls are facing us and some are facing away.
There are millions of bones. I touched one! There was one inscription that got to me. If I translated it correctly it goes like this (Breanna, this one's for you) . . .
"Where is she, death? Is she in the future? Is she in the past? For me, I think she's here in the present."
Bicycle Tour of . . . ?
I love my husband. But really, John, I want to thank you so much for publishing that most flattering picture of me. You know, the close-up of me in the bike helmet. It may be more than a bicycle tour of pain for you. You won't see it coming, as Ray Donovan would say. . . .
Kat's Back
The bike tour was literal pain for Kat. She injured her back somehow during the tour and has been struggling with back pain, from tolerable to severe, ever since. I'm sure that lugging heavy luggage through the Paris Metro, up and down stairs and onto trains, did not help at all. She smiles through the pain . . .
. . . but is having a hard time. She managed to walk to the Barcelona marina this morning (and it was a long walk) but we had to take a taxi home because she just could not walk any longer. She will stay home tomorrow and lie down as much as possible and we hope that she'll recover soon so that she can see some of the other great sites. Barcelona is truly a magnificent cithy, as my sister described it!
French Protest March!
The day before our departure from France, we heard a lot of commotion on the street below our apartment. We watched as literally thousands and thousands (literally, no joke) of people marched down the street with signs and bullhorns, yelling and chanting things we could not understand. The picture below captures just a tiny piece of the march.
Kat researched the local media and found that this was a country-wide planned protest of a proposed change in the labor laws. We didn't understand the details, but the research indicated there had been a similar protest in 2006 that had turned ugly, with shooting and looting. So we were nervous for the 2 hours people were populating the streets. But it passed and we left France safely. Exciting, though!
Laundry!
We are now in Barcelona and I thought I would give you a glimpse into part of my day-to-day life! Laundry! Our apartment in Barcelona is in a very old building, but the apartment itself is clean and modern. The washing situation, however, is another story. We've found in Europe that clothes dryers are not common. Here is a picture of our washing machine.
The washer is in a little closet and is about as wide as the little surfboard behind it, to give you an idea of size. It has an internal "drum" that spins to wash the clothes. It has a normal spin cycle, so the clothes come out much the same as in an American washing machine. Then, one must find a way to dry them! This is our drying system, which is what everyone around here (same in France) uses.
Dry inside if the weather is bad...
. . . outside if the weather is good.
Every apartment terrrace has this "clothes dryer" attachment and everyone hangs clothes outside all the time. If it's raining, some smart people have plastic tarps that they put over the clothes. Others just take them in. One of the things I love most about our Barcelona neighborhood is the sight of clothes hanging from every apartment!
M-m-m-m-m . . .
So, a few comments about food after a couple of days in Barcelona.
Grocery stores are very small and do not carry a wide range of items. To find everything you want, you have to make several stops. Produce stands or small markets are everywhere, and bakeries are everywhere. There are several of each of those that we have visited every day! For example, today we needed to get another loaf of bread and some pastries, a spatula for making fried eggs, some jam and Doritos (yes, they have those), some plastic wrap for leftovers, something for lunch out for me and John, and something to take home for lunch for Kat and Ellie (they were home doing homework). There are kabab places everywhere and we really like them, so we stopped for a kebab sandwich. This place made kebab wraps that were huge, so we ate half and brought half home ($11). Then we went across the street to the little grocery store and bought a couple of bottles of jam and some Cheetos (they were out of Doritos!). Down the block is a dingy little shop called "Super Ganga" that we call the WalMart. It has the look of a thrift store, but it has everything. We got a spatula, some plastic wrap, a pill cutter, a pill dispenser, a wash cloth, and some gum ($3). Then we went to the bakery and bought Kat and Ellie each a ham & cheese sandwich on fresh bread, half a dozen croissants, some donut holes (they are fabulous), and some apple pie (looks like appel streudel). We were gone about 90 minutes and this was all within 2 blocks of our apartment. I'm probably giving you more information than you want!
The other day, we ate dinner out at a Brazilian cafe called Bracafe. Here's how that went . . .
Olive appetizer before . . .
Olive appetizer after . . . (John ate 1 and I ate the rest! Fabulous!)
The paella I had for dinner--before . . .
(This was very hot, smelled wonderful, and tasted even better!)
and after . . . delicious!
This is what Ellie had. Her comment, "I hate to say this, but this is even better than KFC!"
John is eating everything, but not enjoying the food as much as I am. Still a little dry mouth and not too much taste--so sad.
We went on a Barcelona City Bus Tour today (Friday the 18th). It was cold, but we bundled up so we could sit in the open top of the bus and see everything. We saw this amazing, beautiful city from north to south and from the ocean to the mountains. It's a stunning city. Mount Tibadabo was one of our last stops. We took a city bus to the top and had lunch with an amazing view. The highlight for Ellie was the funicular ride to the very top, and the surprise of an amusement park at the very top that we were not expecting. There is also a beautiful cathedral to see, but the amusement rides took priority! We had two complimentary ride tickets purchased with the funicular, so Ellie got two rides. She chose, of couyrse, the moire hair-raising one--an old plane welded to a frame that swung it out over the edge of this very high mountain.
At a street stand, Ellie found a box of Jelly beans called "Bean Boozled." This comes from Harry Potter. These are jelly beans that have some regular flavored beans and some disgusting flavored beans. There is some kind of game where you "play chicken" with the beans. When we got home, none of us would agree to play the game with her, so she played it herself. She put out 2 white beans, one of which was coconut and one of which was baby wipes (flavored!). She was lucky and got the coconut. She then put out two yellow beans, one of which was popcorn and one of which was rotten eggs. Not so lucky this time! Finally, she put out two brown beans, one of which was chocolate pudding and one of which was canned dog food. She was reluctant this time!
Unlucky again! The kitchen smelled like canned dog food--we had to take the garbage out! Fun in Barcelona!
It's not exactly beach weather in Barcelona--some days rainy, mostly overcast, and hovering around 55-60 degrees. But Kat and Ellie have been working at home most days to get their third quarter school work done. So, on Monday when the weather forecast was for 60 degrees and sunny, we took the opportunity to go to the beach! Ellie brought her metal detector with, tucked into John's golf bag, in hopes of finding beach treasures. The beaches are beautiful. John, Kat, and I sat in a very posh beachside restaurant, on their open patio, and spent $35 on an order of fries and some Diet Cokes and, in comfort, watched Ellie roam the beach with her metal detector. She's the small figure between the palms.
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