Tour! Here we come.

Planning for the Tour de France 2010 and More trip is pretty much complete. This is, after all, the real retirement celebration kick-off and we need to do it in style. Key destinations thus far include:

  • Fly to CDG-Paris and take the TGV Brugge.
  • Rotterdam for the TDF prologue and the departure of Stage 1.
  • A quick train trip to Brussels to catch the finish of Stage 1.
  • Watch the departure of Stage 2 from Brussels and then head to Copenhagen for a few day in Scandinavia.
  • Fly to Berlin for a few days exploring the both sides of what was once the wall. Laurel actually drove through the east, back when it was under the thumb of those godless Commies.
  • Head to Dijon, via rail, with an overnight in Strasbourg (it’s a long trip).
  • Five nights at an apartment in Dijon. Our hostess, Coco, will pick us up at the gare. I’m really looking forward to checking out the neighborhood bistros, charcuteries, etc.
  • Drive to Lyon and then on to Bordeaux. Lyon is one of my favorite French dining destination.
  • In Bordeaux we’ll catch the finish of Stage 18 and then watch Stage 19, the Bordeaux to Pauillac individual time trials and then take the TGV to Paris for the grand finalle.
  • In Paris, we have reserved seating on the Champs-Élysées. The seats are advertised to include ‘refreshment’ which I assume will include a bit of vin blanc.

Surprisingly, the Dollar/Euro rate is heading in the right direction for us. We still have 3 weeks until we hit The Continent, but I doubt it’ll rates will change that much.