Best 28th Birthday Ever

What an amazing last few days, I am struck by the beauty of Paris, and its sophisticated style. I adore the public gardens and parks interspersed throughout the city; so well groomed, full of birds and ideal for people watching. Thankful for my good pair of walking shoes.

First evening in Paris

Great flight, arrived safely with no problems. After dinner in Luxembourg Gardens, we walked the streets of Paris and arrived in time for the lights to glitter at the Eiffel Tower!

Now time to get some rest in time for the big 2-8 tomorrow. :)

Bon Voyage!

Check in went smoothly with XL airlines. Everyone was wishing me a happy birthday and it brought smiles to the employee’s faces to know that I would be celebrating in Paris! My Osprey Farpoint 40L bag zipped up nicely just like a duffle bag. I had to check it because XL has stringent carry-on limits. 5kg or less, which fortunately for me, is enough for all my electronics, which include my iphone, kindle, canon cybershot, canon DSLR with telephoto lens, and this MacBook Air I’m typing on. I’m officially a flashpacker. Once I was safely past security, as a farewell to San Francisco, I indulged at Firewood Cafe with clam chowder in a sourdough breadbowl. Yum! Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals is on, I hope LeBron and Miami loses, mostly for the sake of Jon’s sanity.  Au revoir San Francisco! 

Expiration dates -my nemesis

So, I leave for Europe on Monday. Excited? Yes. After an awesome destination wedding over Memorial Day weekend, I was confident I could get everything ready for my trip in 6 days...Then the curse of expiration dates took over.

First- ATM Card. I had the forethought to call Schwab about my international travel, as I was calling, noticed my ATM card expires in July...Oops. After a few phone calls, some excellent customer service (thanks Kyle!), and a walk to my local branch, it should be fed-exed on Saturday. We hope.

Second- Passport. Now, I know what you're thinking, isn't the number one rule of international travel to make sure your passport is up to date? Yes, and now I know why. Technically my passport isn't expired yet, I still have another two months...But online searching tells me that many countries have the right to deny you access if your passport expires within 3 months of your entry to their country. Not okay. So, after unsuccessful phone calls, filling out an application, a trip to the Walgreens photo booth, and 90 minutes at jam-packed but surprisingly efficient San Francisco Passport agency, I will be picking up my passport tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness there is an SF office! Again, we can only hope...

Third- Car Registation. This was the only one of the three I anticipated! Somehow got locked out of my online California DMV account, will try to call this afternoon. I really don't want to be standing in line at the DMV and the Passport agency tomorrow. Two overworked, underpaid government agencies in one day is two too many. This is less vital to my trip, thus it's last on my list.

Is there anything else that can expire I should be aware of?! I hope not. I already double checked my credit card and drivers license. Three times a charm I guess.