We are home and have settled back in... and what I always find strange after a trip is how the second you get back into your house it feels like you never left it. You walk around, sit on your couch, and all of a sudden it's like, "What? Haven't I been here the whole time? Was it all a dream?". So strange.
I'm happy to report that all the wine and champagne made it home safely (we were both concerned about the champagne... now my concern is opening it!) and because we had such small bags we were unpacked very quickly. It's very easy to unpack when one suitcase is full of dirty clothes (right into the hamper) and one suitcase is completely filled with candy and wine. I would recommend it!
Looking back on everything and attempting 3 weeks with only carry-on I would change only a few things. One is the pair of shorts I threw into my bag at the last minute and never wore once. I had carefully thought out our wardrobes to ensure that everything matched and could be washed together and then panicked at the last minute and included those shorts. They were a strange colour and didn't go with much and I definitely shouldn't have taken them. Also, I would've included one more litle sweater or long sleeved shirt for each of the girls. In the south of France it wasn't necessary, but for the other two weeks we often needed a little sweater in the evening. Jeff only had one and I had two but Jeff and I are much better at keeping ourselves clean! One wear of a sweater and they have hot chocolate or powdered sugar (or mussel juice!)all over themselves. Plus the habit of walking down the street and dragging your arm across store fronts makes for grungy, stretched out sleeves. We did laundry every 3 or 4 days but you have to let everything air dry so you have to plan ahead - need something this afternoon? Oops, you should've washed it yesterday!
Otherwise it worked out great. We bought most of our toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, shaving cream etc) after we arrived because we couldn't take liquids through airport security. That worked really well actually, I just had little travel sizes of those things to get us through the first day or two until we were organized enough to find a store selling what we needed. We also took a durable, flat bag that could be used on the way home if we had more stuff than we'd intended. We used it when we went to the beach or to the Parisian waterpark and it came in very handy. Last time we went to Europe we didn't have a little bag like that and we'd end up walking around or going to the beach with our stuff in grocery bags! Not cool.
Renting apartments is such a relaxing way to do things and we feel it's so nice to have a little home away from home - especially in a strange land! The only problem with apartments (especially in high season) is that you often have to rent them for a full week, usually Saturday to Saturday. This puts a little bit of a reign on travel plans though which can be both good and bad. Having a full week in Cassis was perfect, it allowed us to slow down and really experience the place. The week in Bruges was maybe a few days too long though, 4 or 5 nights would've been enough. The town itself is cute and you could spend a day or two there but after that you need to branch out. It was an easy base for exploring the beach towns, and Gent, Antwerp and Brussels are a short train ride away. I may be a tad jaded though as the weather wasn't the greatest and both Jeff and I had weird allergies while we were there. Sneezing galore! But again, it's a balance because the apartment was spacious and comfortable and we were able to spread out and relax which is important on a vacation! We were lucky enough to find apartments in both Amsterdam and Paris that had only a 3 night minimum - in big cities that's often available but in the more resort or touristy areas that isn't. (Not to say that Paris and Amsterdam aren't touristy!)
So now back to life and reality... and dreaming about our next destination.
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