Bienvenue | Welcome
.png)
Bienvenue!
Welcome to our scrapbook documenting our Rick Steves' My Way France in 13 days tour! We are so excited to share our biggest adventure yet, with you! We hope you enjoy seeing what our experience was like through our photos!
My Way France in 13 days itinerary
View the tour website here to match our adventure!!!
A "receipt" for us being from rural Ohio LOL...we have summer celebrations in a barn 😂
Bonjour tout le monde!
Welcome to our scrapbook from our AMAZING Rick Steves' Europe My Way Tour of France! Our names are Lexi and Jacob, otherwise known as Boot. Just FYI, Lexi is the one writing this, so assume personal pronouns like "I" and "my" means Lexi! :-) It has been my biggest dream to travel to France for so many years, I can't even remember not having this dream, which is what prompted this trip, and my desire to practice speaking French! To better understand our adventure in France, a little background might be helpful, so here are some facts about us:
-
We are both from rural Ohio.
-
I have dreamed of visiting France since I was 13 when I started learning French (and have been saving my money to go ever since). I also had a Paris themed bedroom growing up.
-
I have been living vicariously through watching Rick Steves' Europe with my dad since I was little.
-
I am a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist, and Boot runs a small town hardware store.
-
We got ENGAGED on this trip! YAY!
-
I know you're all wondering the burning question...WHY would someone's nickname be BOOT?!?!?! - Well the truth of the matter is, we have no idea how he got the name...it just kind of happened when he was little.
-
After this trip, Boot has a newly found LOVE for traveling!
-
Lexi speaks French well enough to get the basics taken care of...directions, ordering dinner politely, checking in to a hotel, BUT don't expect a riveting conversation from me in French LOL
Why Rick Steves makes the impossible seem possible...
-
Rick Steves makes traveling to a foreign country feel accessible to everyone...even for two people born and raised in rural Ohio from families that have NEVER left the country.
-
Boot had NO interest in traveling to a foreign country for himself. When he found out how badly I wanted to go, he tried to do everything in his power to make this trip possible, BUT I could tell how worried he was...UNTIL I got him to start watching Rick Steves episodes with me...and then mentioned that Rick Steves had a tour company, then you could see the worry fade away.
-
On our "My Way" tour, we had independence, but we also had an expert to talk with each day about our plans and to ask questions to.
-
Our guide also took us on "orientation walks" around each new city to help us get the feel for the new atmosphere.
-
The "My Way" tour was perfect for us and anyone who doesn't want their days to be structured but wants to feel supported on a trip out of the country and not feel alone​.
-
Riding the tour bus between cities was such a fun experience! We stopped at French rest stops and a grocery store, and it was another aspect of getting to know the culture! We were also able to get to know our tour manager and tour members during this time! We made friends that we are still in touch with!
From the Rick Steves' Europe Travel Blog - see the post here https://blog.ricksteves.com/page/139/
From @ricksteveseurope on instagram
Here are some quick French Survival Words / Phrases for Our Scrapbook and your Rick Steves' Tour in France
​Bonjour = Hello
​​
Bienvenue = Welcome
​
Oui = Yes
​
Ouai (slang) = Yeah
​
Non = No
​
Au revoir = Goodbye
​
S'il vous plaît = Please
​
Merci = Thank you
​
La Tour Eiffel = The Eiffel Tower
​
Château = Castle ​​
​
Belle = Beautiful
​
Fromage = Cheese
​
Quand devrions-nous manger plus de gelato ? = When should we eat more gelato
​
Je suis vraiment fatigué = I am REALLY tired
​
Mais très content = but very happy
​
Je m'en souviendrai toujours = I will remember this forever
​
J'adore Rick Steves Europe = I love Rick Steves Europe
​
​
*NOTE: I always have heard online that if you go to France and try to speak in French as an American that French people will just respond in English, and I did NOT find that to be true at all! I found the locals to be so EXCITED that I was trying to communicate with them in their language, because I was in FRANCE after all, where they speak French! Moral of the story, I found the French people to be very open to my OVERLY formal and grammatically incorrect French conversational skills! They were super sweet about it, and most people even complimented me on my French!