France with Parents!

France with Parents! What worked, and... 😵

What worked:

1. Wheelchair - Mom was recovering from a compressed vertebra, which meant that too much standing or walking was painful. We arranged for wheelchairs at the airports, and found that most museums lend wheelchairs for the visit. Even better, our local medical supply place let us rent one by the week! We ended up using it for 3 weeks (16€ per week, plus a returnable check for a security deposit), and even took it to Paris! The fun bonus - we got to take turns "pushing Mom around" LOL
2. Jetlag recovery - we spent a couple of days relaxing in Barcelona (where we landed). We had no set schedule, but had a list of possibilities for sightseeing, most of which we did by cab/Uber.
3. Different cities, Flying in and out of Europe - We flew direct to Barcelona, and Mom and Dad returned home direct from Paris. This (combined with wheelchair-help) meant low-to-no problems navigating airports, running for connections, and manipulating baggage. We didn't have any anxiety about missing a flight due to a late train. We got to have a taste of two different cities that we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
4. Flexibility - we had a long list of things we thought would be interesting to see and do. We built in some low-key days, and had a few long days. Almost everything could be done on a different day if needed. In fact, we were all pretty tired on a day that we had planned for a long trip, so we did a short one instead. The long trip was delayed, and on a day when a lot of places were closed, but we still went - and saw plenty!
5. Car rental - this was a little more complicated than normal, but it worked well! We checked credit cards for included rental car insurance (Visa), and Mom (a USA resident) rented the car, and added me (French resident) as an extra driver. We got a fairly large car (Peugeot 2008, which is big for France!), and could fit the wheelchair in the trunk for all our day-trips. A quick initial calculation showed that we still got roughly 30 mpg. Even though Mom used to be a professional driver (and I think would have liked to drive at least once), between the different road signs and aaaaalll those roundabouts, I ended up doing the driving. It had been nearly a year and a half since I had last driven in France, so it was fun for me :-). The bonus was that the rental car had a few features that are now on our must-have list. And Peugeot is off our car list...
6. USA chip-and-sign credit card - these are getting to be more useful in Europe! There were only a few cases where they didn't work (one ATM in Barcelona, and a couple of restaurants). Pretty much everywhere else (groceries, gas, "other" restaurants), they worked. We even used them for tolls!
7. Uber - we tried several taxi options, and it turned out that Uber was the only one that actually worked! I could order one from my phone - if we were out, all I had to do was turn on cell data (normally off for me) and wait a few minutes. I could confirm the total by email later. And! In Barcelona, we used the multi-stop feature to sightsee! The only not-great thing was that in Barcelona, I couldn't order a van (for the train) - either that option is not available there, or I just didn't see it until we were in Paris.

What could have worked better:

1. Sim chip - we had a lot of misfires trying to make sure we could call each other if needed. Part of it is just how things are, but part was just not researching well enough. I thought Mom's phone was a dual SIM (it's not), so we had planned on her keeping her USA number and just adding a French one. My phone can't call a USA mobile number, and their apartment didn't have a phone :-\ (pretty much par for the course these days). We drove to a place that sells chips - but then we didn't know which size! And then couldn't open the phone to find out! Well, we ended up buying a micro, then looking up everything when we got home. It needed (1) a paperclip to open the chip tray, which was (2) a nano size... Nothing to lose at this point, so I cut the chip down and tried it - voila! Now we can call each other! But now Mom's USA number is out of commission for the duration. Fortunately, there's email and WhatsApp.
2. Train timing Barcelona - we had intended to go straight from the train station in Sète to the car rental agent. But, the train didn't know the plan! We had quite a delay, and didn't arrive until after the rental place was closed. We took the bus, and returned the next day - we got lucky, and they had a car for us.
3. Train timing Paris - yet another delay... Rick and I returned from Paris by train; this time the delay caused us to miss our connection to Sète. And it was the last train of the night! Monique came to our rescue - she came and got us (including the wheelchair)! Some day, I'll have the chance to pay back all this good karma!
4. MyTaxi and Cabify - these were two taxi apps that we couldn't get to work. Cabify required an ID number in order to finalize my account, and it wouldn't take my non-Spanish ID as valid. I'm still getting email from them... MyTaxi worked just fine until the end of the ride - then it wouldn't charge my account! We scrambled for cash...
5. Local bus pass - I didn't think to get a multi-use bus pass for Mom and Dad until too late. I should have had a 10-time card from day one. As it was, we got one near the end of their stay, and it had a few trips still on it when they left.

~~~
It's been a while, but I wanted to record the good, the bad, and the ugly...