Every journey has a path that lies not only within it, but also comes before it. The specific path that led us to France was a long time coming. In early 2017, Tim suffered an injury that did not allow him to work. In airline lingo the injury “grounded him” for some time. The road of his injury had its ebbs and flows like so many do. Our first course of treatment was to relax, spend time together and heal. As time went on and the extent of his injury became clearer, the challenges also became more difficult. The bright side waned. But at some point we returned to discussing our dreams. What would we do when he began to feel better? What would life look like if he weren’t flying? Of course, the first answer was, we still wanted to TRAVEL. But where would we go?

Why We Decided on A Pilgrimage
We felt very called to Lourdes at so many times during those two years of harder days. Once we were able we followed through with that conviction for our “re-entry” into long flights and far away destinations. If you are not aware, Lourdes is a place of miraculous healing, prayer and contemplation. This bucolic foothill town is the site of one of the most well-known and publicized Marian apparitions in history. Our first return to what Tim’s life “looked like before” was a 206 Tours pilgrimage to the “Best Shrines of France”. Lourdes was the main reason for the trip, but we wanted to see and do more than just one place and this tour is expansive. It’s interesting; Tim learned so much about himself during the process of his injury. He doesn’t only love his job, he also loves what his job allows him to do and to see. So if we were going to “get back out there” we were going to see as much as possible. Because neither of us have been through the central part of France, this specific trip seemed right up our alley. It’s funny. Nearly everyone we spoke to about our trip was confused about the fact that it’s a called pilgrimage. Were we walking? Hiking? While the popularity of walking pilgrimages seems to becoming more mainstream, a pilgrimage does not have to be walking. Simply, a pilgrimage is visiting religious sites central to ones faith and beliefs. If you have never taken one, whether you are religious or not, you should! It is truly amazing to contemplate the way that people centuries before us revered and expressed their religion through the creation of sacred spaces. It is an experience not to be missed.

The Importance of a Pre-Tour Vacation
Tim and I decided to begin our trip by staying the night near the airport we were flying out of. This allowed us to be up and ready to go without the stress of an early morning drive. We found an amazing rate on kayak.com and had a fabulous room at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront. It was the perfect way to start off our vacation. When we go on tours we often like to “bookend” the trip. Meaning, if we are going on a trip with an itinerary, we like to get to the location a day or more ahead. This allows us to adapt to any time change and to be certain delays won’t affect us. For this particular trip, we looked for destination that would allow us to visit somewhere different from the tour but also get us there with relative ease. We decided on Bordeaux.

Traveling Between European Cities
As you probably know, the train system in Europe is incredible. At the same time, it can also be fairly pricey and oftentimes a flight is both cheaper and easier. Our flight from Paris to Bordeaux on Air France was half the cost of the train and much easier to do after flying all night. Once in Bordeaux we also opted to use Uber to get to our hotel. It was is just as quick, convenient and inexpensive overseas as it is at home. It’s important to keep in mind that there are many different ways to get to your destinations. On this trip it would have been less expensive to take the bus or train from the Bordeaux airport to our hotel but both also would have meant a decent hike from the stop and a lot more time. These are all important things to weigh in on when making transportation decisions. I usually always opt for the least expensive way to get anywhere but boy let me tell you, after flying all night and then waiting for 4 hours to catch our 90 minute flight that uber drive and curbside hotel drop off was AWESOME. (Well-done honey!)

Should I Sleep When I Get to My Destination?
Since we are both used to traveling overseas we have a plan that we always stick to. Get to the hotel, unpack, eat, drink tons of water, walk and then go to sleep NO EARLIER than 8:30 pm. While this doesn’t cure the dreaded jet lag, it absolutely helps to get on the local schedule as quickly as you possibly can. And even though we followed this exclusively on this trip, we spent a good 3 nights tossing and turning before we could acclimate. Another thing we love to do when we get anywhere is start off by finding a market. We stock up on fruit, snacks, drinks and other local items that don’t necessarily need refrigeration. It’s cheap, tasty and ready for when you invariably wake up at 2am and your body is sure it’s dinnertime!

Visiting A Foreign City “On Your Own”
We had spent a while researching Bordeaux before we went and boy I’m glad we did. We purchased a few online guidebooks and a paperback copy of Rick Steves France but mainly relied on blogs. (Hand Luggage Only had the best info for us) For our few bookend days we decided to walk the city of Boudreaux to get its feel and flavor. We also chose to take a popular side trip to Saint-Émilion for one of those days. Our short “pre-trip” allowed us to get a midmorning train to Lourdes and arrive there in ample time to meet our tour travel guide and companions and begin our actual pilgrimage.

Why do we love tours?
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of tour companies online to choose from. If you have never taken a tour rely on word of mouth and carefully read reviews to see what tours fit your personality and travel wants. There is truly something for everyone these days and tours are wonderful for a variety of reasons. While we are both adventurous and love getting off the beaten path, neither one of us have time to fully study an area and then recount what exactly it is we are seeing while we are there. From navigating lines and tickets for sites to driving from place to place to ordering off a menu, tours help with the little and the large things and make traveling SO easy. Also when you only English it is certainly limiting to your travel. It feels almost respectful to be traveling with someone who knows the language, understands the culture and can help you navigate being in a totally different place. During this trip Tim and I made a simple credit card purchase at a convenience store. The clerk ran our card twice and the first time we could decipher that the machine did not work. The second time the machine actually spit out a receipt asking for a signature. However, the clerk told us (all in French mind you) that neither credit card transaction went through. He then asked for payment in cash. As we acquiesced we also told Vanessa what was going on. Because she spoke French (not one person at the convenience store spoke English) we got our money back. While it was only $7 – this little scenario (and so many others) make taking a tour in a foreign country a win win!

Why 206?
As I said before, if you have never taken a pilgrimage, we highly recommend it. We had both been on 206 tours before this trip and loved them. Also we had a chance to meet the owner at Philadelphia’s World Meeting of Families when we worked at that event. She is passionate about her tours, her staff and her pilgrims and it shows. 206 goes to great lengths to give everyone the best experience possible and from the service to the experts they hire it is evident how hard they work for you. Our Spiritual Director, Father Kevin; myself and Tim and Vanessa While tours can seem pricier than doing it all on your own, considering what you get – I think the pricing is even if not even a little less expensive for a tour. On this trip, we had a dedicated and incredibly knowledgeable guide, Vanessa, who speaks 5 languages. Vanessa not only took care of all tour logistics but is a virtual historian of the areas we traveled. We also had a tour bus company that has an incredible relationship with 206 and drives their pilgrims all over. Never once were we alarmed on the bus (even on the narrowest streets). Everyone I have ever met on a 206 tour is professional, knowledgeable, passionate and kind. Somehow they hire people who feel more like friends than guides, which makes the experience that much better. At each destination we had one or more local guides. They gave us the history of the area and the destination we were seeing. These guides all spoke English and directed us to anything we wanted to do on our free time. What is unique to these tours (and incredibly special) is that each tour has a spiritual director. Often a church will put together a trip with their own Priest but on our trip the group of us were coming from all over the US and we had a Priest unknown to all of us. Part of these particular tours is a daily celebration of mass. Getting to share that experience in beautiful chapels around the world is unforgettable. On this particular trip we started singing at our second mass – tentatively and quietly at first. By our second to last day, as we finished a song and our voices echoed in the cavernous chapel our tour guide turned and said in her beautifully accented English…“and now… you are a choir.” Stunning moments with the loveliest people.

Where do you stay on tours?
206 makes sure their pilgrims have the most comfortable (and often high end accommodations) available. Each hotel was perfectly appointed, comfortable, clean and full of amenities. As well, we never had to worry about our bags. (It’s quite nice to never have to think about luggage besides packing it.) I have a bad allergy and had asked for rooms without feather bedding. At nearly all of our stops I didn’t have to wait for room service to come change the bed because this was pre-arranged. Since this is something that takes time away from our vacations, it was wonderful that 206 took care of it. I would be totally remiss talking about tours if I did not mention the travelers. The thing about tours in general is the wonderful people you meet. . No matter cruise or tour everyone is there to see and experience these very special places with the same excitement. There is an instant bonding in that shared love. It is something that makes traveling with strangers an incredibly powerful experience.

Not Everything About a Tour is Rosy
Of course, there are some negatives to touring and for us those would be food and flexibility. On our tour both breakfast and dinner were provided for. While they were always good and the staff at each spot did an amazing job the options were limited. Good but certainly not how we would eat on our own. On this trip, I think we had three of the same exact dinners at different destinations. At the same time I did get the best croissant I have EVER tasted at one of the spots and our last hotel had the best breakfast buffet I’ve ever been to so there is balance in all things. All in all, the good outweighs the “bad” for us and we are tour devotees. From getting information you cannot get out of a guidebook – having all of the guides set up for you – getting to and from with incredible ease – to feeling safe and secure as you travel in foreign locations, the benefits of tours are immense.

Where did the tour go???
This tour was so busy that there is no way I could write about all the locations in this piece!! So come back and join us to see what where we went. Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion, Lourdes, Toulouse, Rocamadour, Paray-le-Monial, Nevers, Chartres, Liseux, the US cemetery at Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel and of course, Paris. Check out the other posts on our blog and follow us on social media to find more about each place.

God Bless!
Stephanie Bosse