travels

France and the online world

I live much of my life online and for good reason. It's part of my job but more importantly, it allows me to accomplish things on my schedule. No driving around looking for goods, no store hours, massive amounts of research at my finger tips. In general, I don't want to deal with people, it's much more effective to find the information I need and complete tasks on my own than trying to describe to someone what I want. I  shop, book travel, bank, buy tickets for shows and music, and communicate on my computer. I do it at home, at work, in cafes, in airports. The internet is open 24/7, I don't have to worry about making time during the day or being on the road, it's the same world no matter where I am or what time it is.

Planning for this trip, I naturally started online. While it was clear that I was going to buy guide books, they're not online and I do want something to toss into a bag, I did research which books were likely to target a traveler like me and purchased them on Amazon. (Note: Karen Brown's site offers itineraries in PDF form for about $3.95 a piece and they were very useful.) I studied sites where I had reward points to figure out what I could reward myself with in France and easily planned and booked hotels and airfare. What is weird is where it started to break down.

Many hotels sites take reservations but the process is ended by a call or a fax. Other hotels not only don't take reservations online, they only take them by phone. The language school I'm attending advertises online, has an extensive web site and allows you to sign up online. I filled out the forms and they responded by sending me large paper packages that contained exactly the information I accessed online. And even though I submitted my information online, it turns out I have to fax a form to them (I have no idea where the form is, I still need to figure that bit out). 

The US companies are not immune either. In February, I filled out the forms at Europe by Car to lease a car. When I didn't hear from them, I tried again. Still nothing, so I wrote an email.  They answered a couple of days later saying that the forms were only for leasing. I replied that was what I wanted. I finally had to call to find out that they hadn't received either of my submissions, didn't seem to think this was a problem and that it was too late to arrange for the car. I ended up having to pay a rush fee, overnight written forms and suffer angst over not getting the car I wanted (I really, really wanted a convertible for that drive from Nice to Monaco - see first post). At this point it looks like it's going to be ok but what a lot of time and energy for something that should have been taken care of (for less expense to the business too).

Three hotels and a French travel site were very good however. Michel Bras (their customer service has been impeccable and I'm expecting the experience will be too) the Windsor in Nice, the Villa St. Maxime, and the France Hotel Reservation site all let me live the online lifestyle. They followed up with very nice confirmation emails and in one case, a call when the price changed.

Here's what I take from this. What I'm looking forward to experiencing in France - small, independently owned businesses, a slower lifestyle, a sharper focus on the moment - is exactly why these people don't have a virtual presence. They're too busy with their real presence. The other thing I take from this is that the idea of existing online and what that means only goes so far. Many small businesses probably think that putting up the web site is the end, when in fact it is just the beginning. It takes knowledge and energy to ensure that a web channel is working and that it is as important a customer service experience as any other part of the business. When I think about it, I actually don't know how these small businesses would ever possess enough knowledge or energy to run what is effectively a completely different, and for anyone who has worked with computers knows, very tempermental business. Maybe there's a business opportunity there...

One other funny note, there was one hotel that I wanted to book who didn't have any online access so I called them. They only took reservations by phone from 9 - noon. That would be 3 am for me. Luckily my friend Christophe translated the phone message for me or I'd probably still be calling. I ended up booking one I could get online.

The good news is now have my lodging taken care of for all of April and the last week and two random days in May and I plan on winging it for the rest. Even better news is that my sister Penny is going to join me for a week and it will make the trip so much more enjoyable. She's also studying French so we can charmingly butcher it together.

Eight days to go and still so much to do. How does one pack for two months anyway?

Expensive Hotels

This is not an entry about the expensive hotels that I'm going to stay in but about the expensive hotels that I want to stay in. I love nice hotels. I love them beyond what is normal. Some of my fondest memories are of night's spent in world renown, over the top, luxury hotels. I don't care that in my day to day life, my little town house is quite modest. I love it and I'm proud to call it my own. But every once in a while, I stay in a hotel that costs per night what I might pay to stay for five nights somewhere else. But for that day and that night, and until four o'clock the next day (thanks to American Express) I am the center of the universe. The hotel makes, and keeps, its reputation by thinking of new and innovative ways to make me feel wonderful. Fresh fruit in the room, exclusive skin and hair care products in the palatial bath, employees who actually take the service part of the service industry seriously. It feels so right; it feels that life should always be this beautiful, this sensual, this smooth running. For a couple days, I have people. My people have people. I no longer have to expend energy on the little things. It's so perfectly relaxing.

As I'm doing my research into where I'll lay my head each night in April and May, the hotels that promise this experience keep poking their heads up and encouraging me to read their descriptions. Who can resist reading about the hotel that lives at the top of the list, the hotel with the big star next to it, the one in red letters. When you set out to do something, you want to do it as well as you possibly can. This is also true of vacationing. I know how well I vacation in these spots. And it's only money, right? But unfortunately, while I have no issue paying for a trés cher night or two once in a while, when confronted with the proposition that I have to pay for approximately 60 nights lodging, I begin to see the reality of the situation.

First off, the euro is strong against the dollar. Actually the dollar is weak against everything else but I have to ignore that or it would drive me crazy. Second of all, hotels in France are even more expensive than here. They are more than what I would pay in New York or San Francisco. For example, I really wanted to stay at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. The really cheap rooms are about 555 euro per night. At today's exchange rate, that's about $750. Multiply that times my 60 nights and it's starting to look more like a mortgage on a modest (but charming) town house than a vacation.

And really, I wasn't looking at Plaza Athénée rooms everywhere but there are some fabulous and charming (and often historical) destinations out there. I want to try them all, however, my current plan is that I'm going to budget for two very nice stays (of two - three nights a piece) and then keep it more modest the rest of the time. I will list my contenders here, so you too, can experience the agony of saying no to these potentially peak experiences.

As a night in a gourmet restaurant sitteth on the right hand of a night sleeping in a luxury hotel, there are two experiences that are calling my name so loudly, I don't even hear the French accent.

I stumbled on this one yesterday: Michel Bras three star Michelin restaurant and accompanying hotel. Look at that architecture! For a modernist like me, it looks like what's behind Peter and the gates. And the food. I've had fine, fine meals in my life but I've never experienced whatever it takes to get the third star.

Another was recommended to me and keeps springing up, the Oustau de Baumanière. It is another of the Relais & Chateaux properties (Michel Bras (different link) is as well) and is known for it's fine cuisine.

There's a laundry list of others. I've gotten over the need to stay in the chi-chi hotels on the Riviera. I think they're more image than substance and I'm sure I can find a charming small hotel that is every bit as centrally located and comfortable. There are a few that are moderately interesting however, the Martinez and Carlton in Cannes, the Negresco in Nice and Hôtel Hermitage in Monaco.

A couple I'm still considering are in St. Paul De Vence - La Colombe d'Or and Le Hameau. The La Colombe d'Or has a special appeal as it found itself with one of the finer 20th century art collections by virtue of their policy of taking paintings as payments when the likes of Matisse, César, Calder and others stayed there. The art now hangs around the hotel as if it were the manufactured prints of most large hotel chains today. Le Hameau is recommended as a more moderate priced hotel with gorgeous views and leisurely breakfasts. My attractions to St. Paul De Vence itself, is the Fondation Maeght a beautiful piece of architecture that houses an amazing permanent collection of 20th century artists.

There are numerous other wonderful places, pointed out to me by Relais & Chateuax, Karen Brown and others. And they all cost too much money. I'm sure I will find myself charmed and content in a number of small local inns and the lure of luxury will dim but I may need to have someone else help with reservations, just to keep me real.

Oh, and don't feel too badly about the Plaza Athénée. My virtual residency at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco over the last two years has netted me enough points to afford me six nights at the Hotel Prince De Galles.

Electronics

Not that I intend this blog to be a postcard for crass consumerism, but part of planning for big trips is about getting new gear. For this trip, it was important that I miniaturize a couple of key pieces so that I can comfortably carry them with me - my laptop and my camera. I have a great Thinkpad for work and while I regularly tote it around the world, it's big, heavy and belongs to work. Time to get my own.

After investigating a few of the subcompacts, I was torn between an IBM and a Fujitsu and there didn't seem to be a clear means of determining which one was better. First of all, I couldn't find a bricks and mortar store that carried both so I could try them out and the reviews were about equal. But as fate would have it, I saw the guy in front of me in a security line at the airport pull out the Fujitsu to put through x-ray and I got a first hand review. It was a rave and I ordered one the next day. If you're interested, it's the Fujitsu P7000D and it's pretty adorable. At three pounds and 10.5 hours of battery life I can take it with me everywhere to upload photos, write, check email, and blog away.

I also needed a new digital camera. While my Olympus 3040 has been a good camera, technology has advanced significantly in the four years since I bought it. It was now possible to get 5 megapixels in a pocket size package. After a little more online research, I ended up with a Pentax Optio X, also on recommendation. 5.1 ounces and .4 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches, it's small enough to fit in my back pocket.

A number of people have said that I should stay disconnected and inferred that taking a laptop would somehow sully the experience. I disagree. I'm going to be traveling alone, for the most part, and I like the idea of being able to stay in touch with friends and family. I also like the idea of being able to write (I can type far more quickly than write longhand), do research on the web (I plan on booking hotels online as I go), and get new tunes for my iPod. I like being digital, I like being connected. I don't intend it to take away from my experience but to enhance it. It will be interesting to see how many of the French are living the wireless lifestyle.