This is me (Laura) and my mom (Beth). Join us as we explore Paris & the Heart of France with Rick Steves!
My mom and I had been on three Rick Steves tours before and knew we loved them - so, when it came time to pick a fourth, the only question was: where to? We settled on Paris and Heart of France in 11 Days. To the City of Lights (and beyond!) we would go.
Mom had never been to France before and was dying to get there. As for me? I've visited Paris several times (and even lived there for four months for work), but I am always thrilled to go back. And that's the great thing about a Rick Steves tour: whether you're a newer traveler or a more seasoned one, you'll always find plenty to enjoy and learn.
Led by our fabulous guide, Virginie, and accompanied by 26 tour members (and new friends) we explored the best of France. We admired Paris in the springtime, we felt like royalty as we visited stately chateaux in the Loire, and we paid our respects on the beaches of Normandy.
For better or worse, depending on your perspective, I am a millennial. And, yes, that means I use social media . . . a lot. On vacation, my goal is to strike a good balance: I don't disconnect from the virtual world entirely, but I try to take plenty of time to pause and appreciate places, too. With this website, I want to show that social media can be used to document travels in a fun, thoughtful way - and on the right sidebar, I've tried to do just that. Here, you'll find:
Rick Steves' Paris & the Heart of France
Rick Steves' Paris & the Heart of France
Le Social Media
Daily 'Gram
Instagram is by far my favorite social media tool - I love being able to easily share photos with friends and family back at home while traveling. For each day of our tour, I've selected one of my favorite Instagrams for that day.
Daily Snap
Snapchat is a great way to send fun, more casual images to your friends. I had so much fun using Snapchat in France: finding different filters for each city we visited, doodling on my photos, and generally sharing silly little snippets.
Daily #Hashtag
Each day of our tour, Virginie shared with us a Word of the Day in French. I've turned each of these words or phrases into a #DailyHashtag. And if you're not quite sure what a hashtag is, take a look at this article.
Helpful Hyperlinks
Though I always use Rick Steves books, I supplement them with online planning too. Before and while traveling, I buy tickets, find opening times, and plan routes online. I've included links here to some of the sites I used to plan our trip.
Ready to get traveling? Click on the arrows in the bottom righthand corner of each page to move onto the next one. Allons-y!