Many of us have bucket lists trips, trips we dream of going on, places we have always wanted to visit. What happens when you are invited to go on someone else’s bucket list trip? Do you go? I found myself presented with this opportunity a year ago. My brother-in-law Phil (who I first met on my 8th birthday) was given a bucket list trip by his wife Puddy, my sister. Phil is an extraordinary photographer and knew immediately his dream destination was Morocco. When he invited us to join them, my husband and I contemplated this question: “Do you go on someone else’s bucket list trip, and move your own down the queue?”. My own bucket list includes Bhutan, Scandinavia, and Scotland. Plus, I always want to return to many of my favorite places like Kenya, Europe, and the English countryside. I am a quick decision maker and my husband is much more thoughtful and contemplative, our answer was “YES!”. We were enthusiastic about returning to Africa and traveling with Puddy and Phil. I personally was very excited to join this Abercrombie and Kent trip. Having just started my own travel business, I was very curious to see how they ran a tour.
Don took me to the Luxembourg Gardens, a place I had never been before. It was a perfect setting for a man who loves gardens and his wife who loves sculpture!
This was Phil’s dream trip and he was planning the whole agenda. Although Don and I were invited to participate in the planning, we opted out. Knowing my brother-in-law’s love of research and good taste, we knew he would spend much more time selecting hotels, restaurants, and sites than we would. Don and I did our paperwork, made the payments, purchased our airfare, and nothing else. We never even read the itinerary until 4 days before we left. Using the word “read” is a huge exaggeration. I would say we skimmed it and looked up the hotels on Instagram to get a vague idea of what they looked like. We trusted the process and like a pair of youngest children, went with the flow. I like watching highly recommended movies and reading books that I know absolutely nothing about. I know it’s going to be good, but it’s going to be a big surprise. This is exactly how I went into this trip! However, since I am a huge, gigantic packing geek, I did research the weather, appropriate dress for women in Muslim countries, and “what to wear while riding a camel”. Hilarious yet true.
My favorite night in Paris is always walking over to Le Soufflé for dinner and a Vivaldi concert to follow at Sainte Chappelle. The chapel is wall to wall stained glass and a magnificent place to listen to beautiful music. On this visit to Le Soufflé I ordered the pear soufflé for dessert and they poured warm chocolate sauce on it for me. Best soufflé I have ever had!
We flew to Paris a few days early to acclimate to the time change and break up the flights. I am a big lover of acclimating. I am a very enthusiastic and devoted sleeper and I know that I have a much better time on international travels if I can adjust to the time difference before jumping right into fun activities. A few days in a romantic hotel on the left bank with my husband, several orders of Croque-Monsieur in Parisian cafes, long walks through world famous gardens, and two art museum afternoons were exactly what the doctor ordered. The garbage was starting to pile up in Paris and protests had begun. The complexities of the political policies and protests regarding Macron and the retirement age are far beyond my purview to write about. With great respect for the French people we left Paris through strike conditions and cancelled our return trip to Paris. We were disappointed but knew that it was the right move for our family. If I am going to find myself in the middle of a giant protest, I want to be sure I know the language and can foresee problems.
I love walking around Paris and taking in the sights, even on a slightly grey day.
Once we got through the numerous passport checkpoints in Charles de Gaulle, the rest of the trip to Morocco was very easy. Abercrombie and Kent sends an airport guide to get you through immigration. This was a wonderful treat, as our guide knew exactly what line to put us in for a speedy process and he translated for us with the customs officials. There were a lot of adventure travelers in baggage claim and it was fun to speak to the other travelers about who they were traveling with and where they were going. (And yes, I am that weirdo New Yorker who doesn’t socialize with my neighbors at home but randomly befriends adventure travelers in airports in far off lands.)
We were met outside the airport by our travel team, our guide and driver. I had no idea what a treat I was in store for. Ghani our guide, and Adele our driver/guide would be the stars of our show. The minute they arrived with confidence, professionalism, kindness, and big smiles I knew we were in good hands! It was our pleasure to spend twelve days with these two men who would show us the beautiful country of Morocco, share it’s rich history, and introduce us to the culture we quickly came to love.