We started off early in order to leave Avignon to get back to Lyon in time for our train. Honestly, after how long it took us to get down (5 hours) we decided it would make more sense to allow for more time. Thankfully, this time around the drive only took 2.5 hours (like it should have on the way down!).

Once we made it to Lyon, Andy dropped Jon, Yvonne, and myself off at the train station and made his way to return the car rental. Jon made his way to check in for assistance – Yvonne and I waited by our luggage.

We had gotten the run around on the way down to Lyon (thankfully the French woman helped translate and explain to the conductor that we weren’t scamming the system) – so Jon went to make sure there would be no issues on the way back to Paris. Naturally, nothing is ever that easy… he ended up having to pay more in order to get our ticket in the right class. And because it was the day of, the price was more than what we had originally paid. *sigh*

Travel is not easy right now – so if you’re reading this – plan accordingly. Allow extra time and pack extra patience to get you through!

The train ride was uneventful this time. We made it back to Paris and set out to take our required covid tests to get back into the USA. We had no issues with taking our tests – proctored Binax (but at the time I’m writing this, no USA no longer requires the negative test for citizens on re-entry). Although, there was quite a commotion as Jon got caught up on a pipe due to a construction zone.

As soon as we got dropped off at the hotel, we were able to see that Jon would have a hard time getting in. Little did we know, that the elevator would be too small. As we wrapped up our tests, we realized that the manager was trying to rebook Jon and Yvonne in a different hotel that was more accessible. He was able to find one half a mile away.

*Our hotel was great – and I would highly recommend it: Hotel Cambon. The manager really tried to make it right – and they were going through some major renovations. Would be fun to see it again once it’s complete!*

Due to these difficulties, we realized that Versailles was unfortunately not in the cards this trip. We got Jon and Yvonne dropped off at the hotel – and Andy and I set out to find a place to have dinner. (As Jon and Yvonne still needed to take their covid tests).

We found a place with happy hour between our two hotels. At this time we realized that Jon and Yvonne were having issues with their covid tests. So we moved on to another restaurant that had a more robust menu for dinner. Our waiter was amazing, and eventually Jon and Yvonne were able to meet up with us there. Jon even got a free beer glass to take home as a souvenir!

After dinner, we decided it was worth a try to make it to the top of Paris’ only downtown skyscraper. Jon and Yvonne had come here previously and watched the Eiffel Tower go dark. We had an early wake up call, so that wasn’t in the cards for us. However, it did provide a very cool vantage point. It was great to see it!

We snapped a few pictures on our walk home – by Place de la Concorde. And went to bed since we had an early morning pick up (6 am) – and would have to make sure we were able to pick Jon and Yvonne up on time.

Up Next:
-Return to the US