We're going to Nantes for a French Vacation

Sooooo, our tickets have been bought. Poor Mr FS (or, should I say, pauvre M FS?) has been toiling away communicating with our hosts and dealing with transportation and hotel issues. When we met, I found his knowledge of French swoon-worthy. As it turns out, that knowledge has a pragmatic element as well.

To wit:

Bonjour,

Nous sommes très contents de faire bientôt votre connaissance.
Pour nous, il n’y a aucun problème quel que soit le moment où vous arriverez, voyez ce qui est le mieux pour vous. Vous nous direz quand vous aurez décidé.

Je vous donne tout de suite notre numéro de téléphone, ainsi vous pourrez nous appeler de Paris s’il y a un retard ou changement.


Now I can read that, but it would take me ages to produce the email that elicited that response.

As for the French vacation. I picked up (at Goodwill, natch) one of those "inner French girl" books, a veritable genre. There was a section on French vacations. The American vacation is short and very intense. The quintessential American vacation would be a few days at Disney, with all the trimmings. Very expensive too.

The French vacation is five to six weeks. It can't be intense or super-expensive, at least not for most people. The quintessential French vacation takes place at some family house in the middle of nowhere. Daily activities consist of walks, lounging about, reading, cooking, and so on. So said my book (which unfortunately I misplaced). My French friend confirms the accuracy of the picture.

Although Mr. FS and I are teachers and have long breaks akin to those available to everyone in France, we have tended to be pretty intense. This will be our first conscious effort at a European-style vacation.

Ah ha! This is the book. Not a great purchase, but an OK library acquisition.

Have you ever had a French-style vacation?

Summer Budgeting

The other day, I wore my new boots. I received many compliments, and, since my reputation precedes me, some questions: Did you get those at a thrift store? Uh no, from a fancy catalog, over $100, even on sale.

One of my students was shocked. How come you brought us recycled folders so we could save 25 cents, and then you spend $100? That doesn't quite make sense, since I didn't save the quarter: each of my students did. But it does make karmic sense: how come I'm so obsessed with recycling folders (even taking discards from other teachers) and then am willing to buy the occasional pricey item? I guess my thrift is both karmic and pragmatic. I just have all these pennywise habits and it would be too much work to change them.

Unlike many bloggers, who exhort us to attend to the big expenses and not to the little ones, I believe that all the little stuff adds up. The big expenses are often ones over which we have little control.

When I think about my summer expenses, I am relieved that I've been practicing the little frugalities.

ITEM: Each summer, we spend about $6000.00 visiting parents, one on the west coast, one on the east coast. These are not fancy vacations: we have 4 plane fares plus car rentals on each end. We will continue to pay for our children's tickets even after they finish college.

ITEM: This summer, we plan a trip to Nantes, which will probably cost around $5000.00

Those last two are built into our yearly budget, though we haven't been to Europe for a few years. $11,000 on teaching salaries necessitates taking a pennywise approach for the rest of the year.

ITEM: This summer Miss Em wants to go to Italy to study art history. Cost is $4300 plus airfare. She will get $2000 from the scholarship she got as a freshman. Still, very expensive.

When I set out these numbers, I am shocked. In truth, I can hardly see how we do it. Many people assume we receive handouts from our families. I suppose our parents would help out if we asked, but we don't.

When I set out the numbers, I am also happy. Isn't it amazing how all the little frugalities add up to big treats?

In fact, I already have my Walgreens shop for tomorrow all planned: I will be buying peanut butter, honey, and eggs. Check your paper tomorrow. All those items will be verrrrry cheap.

Have you saved for anything big with little frugalities?

Anticipation: Nantes?

A while back I wrote about the possibility of going to Nantes and staying in the home of Frugal Son's favorite teacher, who travels during her summers. Well! It is starting to shape up.

Vous êtes donc les bienvenus à Rezé l’été prochain si vous le souhaitez. Et qui sait ? La Louisiane nous attirera peut-être un jour ….

So happy! We assumed we would rent, but D. said "non." Even so, this will be an expensive proposition: tickets for 2 are, at this writing, $3000.

Does anyone know how one would budget for the rest of the trip? Also, what kind of gift would be a good one for super-generous hosts?

à bientôt

Anticipation and Happiness: Nantes

Recently, I read something--somewhere--about happiness. (Have you noticed the burgeoning HAPPINESS INDUSTRY? or all the grant opportunities for HAPPINESS STUDIES?)

Of course, I want to be happy as much as the next person. Whatever I read had to do with ANTICIPATION as an enhancement to whatever the anticipated experience or object is. I suppose, then, that this theory would mean that a killer deal on a last minute trip to Paris would not be as happiness-inducing as a long-anticipated trip. I don't know about that. But the theory does seem to suggest that saving up for something promotes happiness more than putting it on a credit card and paying for it later.

So, I will share with you what we've been anticipating. Some of you may remember that Frugal Son spent last year in Nantes. Well, his favorite teacher, Danielle, liked him too. He told her about his France-loving parents and she said we could stay in her house during the summer. She teaches French in China every summer.

So...EVERYONE...that is the plan for next summer.

ANTICPATION
NANTES-ICIPATION.

Hope it happens.

Our Summer Vacation: Money Out, Money In

Poor Mr. FS: he is in charge of travel reservations, which make my head spin. Each summer, we visit our remaining two parents--one on the west coast, one on the east coast. Like last year, the plans of our children limit our travel dates, so, again like last year, we will travel in a triangle: Louisiana to Massachusetts to California and home. We will be gone almost three weeks. The bill for plane fare plus car rentals in both places: $3000.00. Everything has gone up this year.

Yes, it is time for our annual scary credit card bill. Our upcoming credit card bill will be $4000.00! About half of that is plane fare for 4 people. Plus Mr. FS is rebuilding our garage, so lots of lumber yard bills.

I love reading extreme frugality blogs, with the writers living (very well) on $1000.00 a month or so. I guess I don't qualify.

Lest you feel sorry for us (and please don't), let me point out that our parents live in places people spend big bucks to visit. To visit my mother in Massachusetts, we get to visit a cottage on a lake near Tanglewood, Tanglewood is where the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays in the summers. (The link to the cottage on the lake is to a much fancier one I found on the internet. But even our modest house is wonderful.) The area is full of nature AND culture, with the great Clark Museum nearby, not to mention Edith Wharton's home, Herman Melville's home. Oh, I could go on forever.

The original owner of our house was my mother's uncle, Viktor Polatschek, who was with the Vienna Philharmonic and then, luckily for our family, with the Boston Symphony. When my mother and her parents came to the United States from Vienna in 1938, they lived with my great-Aunt and Uncle in Boston. Eventually, the house came to be owned by my grandparents and parents. Today it is owned by my mother. This is a place with tremendous emotional resonance for me; it is also a fantastic to visit.

We do not lack for things to do there. Still, that's a lot of money out in a single month. Wait! There is some money coming in. My mother's uncle, the first owner of the house, played the clarinet and wrote some exercises, which, I recently learned, are still in print.

My mother told me that she gets part of the royalties from Polatschek's work*: She said it's around $25.00/year and "Someday it will all be yours."

*If you buy through the Amazon link, my mother will get a few cents and so will I! Only if you play the clarinet, of course.

Frugal Scholar on Vacation: Things Seen and Overheard

I had a whole slew of apercus apropos things seen and overheard, but then was interrupted by family meltdown. And now I can only remember one.

Wellesley MA: Walking around waiting for mother's reunion to end. Walked by a store with riding stuff in one window. Other window had "Fox Hunting" equipment! As we walked by the door, the door opened. From behind we heard, "Of course, she winters in Gstaad."

I swiveled around and saw what appeared to be a mother-daughter duo, dressed in high prep. Nothing special. Wow.

Stockbridge MA: I just accompanied my mother to the town dump to drop off our trash. Massachusetts is so into recycling! It's great. My favorite feature was a little "Free Shop," where you could bring your too-good -to throw out stuff. There I saw some very snazzy clothing. The nice ladies offered me a Doncaster jacket, but I said my suitcases were too full.

That's it: New England high and low.

Frugalslacker? On vacation

The above nom de plume is what I almost typed as I signed in: yes, unlike responsible bloggers, I did not give a vacation alert. That is because I fully expected to be sending missives from New England and California. Maybe I will. But if I don't, I am having a good time.

Here's a frugal tip: if you are going to have to plan for yearly expensive trips to visit Aged P's (that's from Great Expectations, in case you're hoping for some literary content), at least have said P's live in places that are good to visit. We always say that we are going places that people actually choose for vacations.

So right now we are in western Massachusetts, in a little cottage on a lake, and we've already visited Tanglewood a few times and seen a wonderful Georgia O'Keeffe/Arthur Dove exhibit at the wonderful Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA.

Of course, frugal shopping opps are few and far between, so we have had a blessed respite from the lure of my wonderful local thrifts.

We did go to Wellesley for an afternoon. The four of us served as entourage for my mother as she went to her first high school reunion ever: Brookline High School, class of 1948. Aside from the usual stress of seeing how old everyone is (including yourself), my mother had the stress of seeing the fellow she almost married.

So we wandered through the wealthy town of Wellesley, where Miss Em and I broke off from the guys and entered a resale shop. They were having a sale of up to 80% off. So Miss Em acquired two Nanette Lepore items, 2 dresses, and one other thing I can't remember. I got some Eileen Fisher (the time has come) pants. Total was about $70.00! The owner told me that area women hit all the church and charity sales to find pricy stuff to consign. Wow!

Definitely an afternoon of prophylactic shopping, as we head to the temptations of San Francisco and environs.