Provence Hiking Adventure: Travel days - August 27th to August 28th

February, 2015: I received a National Geographic Adventure catalog in the mail. Flipping through it, I saw they offered a hiking trip to Provence in southern France in the Fall.

Hmmm, sounded interesting, I had always wanted to visit Provence, but really, hiking 6 miles a day, 7 days in a row? Sure, 6 miles is feasible, but every day for a week? I discussed this with hiking friends (who applauded the idea), non-hiking friends (who thought I was mad to even contemplate such a trip), and of course, family. So I decided to do some "practice" hikes to see how it went. I hiked a 10-miler in San Francisco with friends, another 6 mile hike with other friends, and some shorter hikes around the Bay Area. Though all of this boosted my confidence, still, I was not convinced I could do this trip.

March 9, 1015: Ultimately I made the decision that whether or not I could do this trip, I could at least try. After all, they did have a sag wagon if I flaked out in the middle of a hike. With some trepidation, I sent in my first payment (nonrefundable) and immediately took out trip insurance - just in case. Then I spent the rest of the Spring and Summer considering what I would need and purchasing what I didn't already own. I also tried to fit in more hikes than usual, hoping all of this would be sufficient preparation.

Pre-day 1 (Aug 27th to Aug 28th): Inevitably, departure day was upon me and I was off to the airport with the usual pre-travel jitters. My flight on United Airlines from San Francisco to Paris was in Coach class. Though at the last minute, as I was checking in at the airport, they offered me a first class upgrade for just a "bit" more. How could I resist? Even though I've done it before, eleven hours on an airplane is always daunting; a chance to sleep in a seat which actually reclined into a bed was far too good to pass up. As it turned out, it was one of the better decisions of my life. I managed to get 4-5 hours of sleep and arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) in Paris at least partially rested. After grabbing my suitcase (why is it always the last one?), and going through French customs (always fun), I made my way to the CDGVal people mover and rode it from Terminal 1 over to Terminal 2 where the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse - a high-speed electric passenger train) station was located.

After a 3-hour ride, I finally arrived in Avignon at 5:07 pm on August 28th - after 24 hours of continuous travel.

While waiting for a cab, I met Michael and Michelle from Mission Viejo, CA. They were looking forward to their Rhone River cruise the following day and since we all were staying at Hôtel de l’Horloge, I suggested we share a cab. They immediately agreed. Once at the hotel I checked into room 104, found a cafe nearby in La Place de l'Horloge (an area filled with sidewalk cafes and tourists) where I wolfed down a croque monsieur sandwich and a diet coke for dinner before going off to bed for some much needed sleep.