We’re traveling again–this time for three months. If this sounds decadent, remember we fly stand-by… and until earlier this year, we were still raising the last of our six kids; we’ve been actively parenting for the past 43 years. As of May 1 all six of our children are finally, technically adults, a grand milestone. Also in this category, John finished ten years working for Alaska Airlines.
John and I were recently in Paris again, staying for five weeks in my friend’s apartment. It’s my third trip here this year (John’s 4th) and it turns out we may have overreached the limits of our stay, not so much with my friend (though I’m aware of the possibility) but with France… We’d planned to stay in France for 3 months celebrating our new liberty, also learning about the culture and the language, a lifelong pursuit.
We want to celebrate our 46th anniversary on Nov. 17 in France, then head back home to fix a bodacious Thanksgiving meal for all the kids who missed us. But for now, our passports only allow for a 90 day stay in Europe (out of 180) which isn’t as easy to plan on a calendar as I thought. While in Paris, John, who takes care of the details, used the calculator to put the date we last left France (June 9) into the calculator for how long you can stay, plus the day we arrived (August 25) we found we had to leave by Oct. 25. I should have asked him to do this sooner, while we were planning, but in my mind I thought of the year as a whole… Better to use the calculator early.
https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en
Before returning home we’d planned to spend a week in a chateau at a French immersion camp (this is my kind of learning environment— meals and wine included). Extra bonus- it’s near Pau in the Pyrenees, a place we love. The workaround, found with the calculator, was to leave France long enough for our June visit to fall outside the last 90 day period…so we are now in Cheltenham, England.
Cheltenham is home to the world’s oldest literary festival, where this year one of John’s favorite authors, Mick Herron, is speaking, then signing books. He wrote the Slough House series of British spy thrillers, that the Apple TV series “Slow Horses” is based on.
Travel is most rewarding when it encompasses a larger purpose, more than just going places and seeing things. Our travels in France are often about meeting and getting to know cousins (from the child his grandfather left behind in 1918), and figuring out what a French life for us might look like.
But England, beyond being a reset for the Schengen calendar, is about heritage and literature. Today we’ll drive through the Cotswolds, visiting a village where one of our cousin’s partner grew up. After the Cotswolds we’ll head to Bath where Jane Austen and many other writers went to work and relax. Then on to Cardiff, and a train trip through Cambria in Wales before we arrive in Manchester. A Storytelling festival in Edinburgh gives us a taste of Scotland before we head to London for John’s birthday, and then we’ll have spent 18 days in non-Schengen countries and can safely return to France to continue our journey.
Sometimes a little reset, a little distance, is all that’s needed for relationships– and legal status– to go smoothly.
Happy travels– get out there, wherever it is you want to go- even if its just outdoors for a walk- go do it!
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