Logistics

So we are a week out from leaving for Chamonix. My first task? Question my life decisions of going to a cold place when it is just starting to get warm where I live! Then I check on our flights and place we are staying. The rental car falls to Andy. I then check weather. I always check weather before I even think about what to pack. I will think about the weather all week while I decide what to take. Then it was time to search for an esim card or calling plan. I get overwhelmed with this because when I have purchased them in the past, they did not work. So what do I do? Get in the hot tub. Doesn’t solve the problem, but makes me feel better! After quite a bit of procrastination, I did finally get to work. I began with looking into CLEAR. With the government shutdown, I thought it might help us get through security more quickly since Pre-Check is currently closed. I ended up deciding against it. Tip: CLEAR offers a 2 month trial. Unfortunately, our oldest had already used her trial, so it did not make sense for 4 of us to have it and 1 that did not. I will just watch the security lines to determine what time we should arrive. Tip: You can download apps to your phone for airports. These can give you ideas about construction around the airport, parking and security line times. I went ahead and downloaded the app to keep an eye on security line times for the week. Now it was on to communication. We would normally just use What’s app to communicate, however there is no wifi on the mountain. Since that is where we will be spending most of our time, I need to get us an esim card. Ultimately decided on Orange as they seem to offer the best coverage. In the mountains? We will see. Tip: Check coverage maps for where you will be traveling. Keep in mind that in mountainous regions cell coverage can be spotty. We are just going to have to cross our fingers. The last thing to check was French shopping etiquette. Tip: Always check simple etiquette for places that you traveling. You will get better/faster service that way. France is always greet the store person when entering and leaving (bonjour, merci, avoir). It is also considered polite to ask before touching items at small boutiques and markets (this includes produce). They are a bring your own bags country, so I will need to figure out packing. Since we are at an Airbnb we will be purchasing food. Tip: Next was to review tipping customs. In France, they add the tip (serves compris). If it is really good service you can give an extra tip of 1-5 Euros. Plan to tip in cash as it is difficult to add to a card. For a bar, it is not necessary but rounding up is fine. Taxis you can round up to the nearest euro or add 102 euros. For hotels it is 1-2 euros per bag for the porters or bellhops. It is important to check this as a large, American-style tip is not customary and can be viewed negatively. Finally, I will need to complete on Monday is preparing work in case of flight delays. I will need to have lesson plans ready to go for a sub, just in case.