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commit 596cf08bf789eb5b92448d4cfb0aef68a720c36b
Author: James Morris <morisja@gmail.com>
Date:   Sun Sep 21 14:29:56 2025 -0400

    france

diff --git a/france.md b/france.md
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index 0000000..07ed81d
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+# New York to the South of France
+
+For our honeymoon we travelled from New York to the South of France.
+Here is a log of the trip.
+
+## JFK to Barcelona
+Why Barcelona ? I thought you were travelling to France ?
+
+We chose Barcelona as:
+- the flight was fairly short
+- is close to the south of france by train (more on that later)
+- a good place to burn through jetlag before going on the main trip.
+
+We flew overnight with AA, landing around 6:30am. I had intended to take the train from the airport but walked outside and found a bus waiting so took that; I think they are every 30 minutes.
+
+The journey to the centre of Barcelona (steps from Las Ramblas) took around 40 minutes and was less than 10 euro.
+
+Our hotel (Casa Luz Hotel Plaça Universitat - Sonder) did allow early check in, but not until 2pm. We dropped bags and took a city tourbus to burn some time.
+
+Barcelona was great, clean, walkable, could rent Lime bicycles with the Uber app, and was suprisingly cheap for the quality.
+
+If we had not secured 2pm check in, I would have used the DayUse app and booked a hotel for the day. I had looked into this before arriving but was a little put off by how far the available properties were from our actual hotel. Looking back this was not a concern as the place is so walkable with good transport options.
+
+## Barcelona to Perpignan
+
+A TGV runs from Barcelona to Paris daily around 9:30am. We took a taxi from our hotel to the main station (9 Euros) and 1.5h later were in Perpignan, followed by a quick taxi to the Europcar office near the airport.
+
+We took a one way rental from Perpignan to Nice which cost about 650 Euro. I used my Amex to pay and enjoy the rental insurance benefits.
+
+We got an MG3 EV Hybrid which was excellent. Cost us around $80 in gas for the entire trip. I would not hesitate to rent one again.
+
+For the first couple of nights we stayed at  https://www.hotel-lesmouettes.com/ which was great. We visited Colliore one evening.
+
+Tips:
+- buy water in 6x1L packages - we needed it
+- Buy an umbrella and beach items at the beginning of the trip, it makes random beach stops much easier.
+
+## Perpignan to Sete
+
+Sete was very nice, with long beautiful sand beaches
+
+We stayed here - which was nice but probably the smallest Airbnb we have ever been to
+https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1207176217262235119
+
+Spent a day here, which for 13 Euro beach lounger rental was exceptional value
+https://www.facebook.com/La.Praia.Bar.Restaurant/
+
+## Sete to Saint Marie de-la-mer
+
+SMDLR is a beachfront town with a number of outdoor activities. We rented electric bikes for a day and cycled the coast and wetlands.
+https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1208493447409625343
+
+## Sainte Marie de-la-mer to Provence
+
+Provence was the most city location we stayed at. It was ok, but very touristy and not as local as the rest of the trip.
+
+## Provence to La Ciotat
+
+La Ciotat was the hidden gem of the entire trip. We stayed here in the centre of the town
+
+https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1138299275126195188
+
+Took advantage of the boat tour recommended by the owners and enjoyed the relaxed vibe of the entire town.
+
+Of all the locations, we would have stayed here the longest
+
+## La Ciotat to Frejus
+
+Frejus is classic seaside town. Our Airbnb was a couple of streets from the beach.
+https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1043339232424205727
+
+## Frejus to Nice
+
+In Nice we had a beautiful Airbnb, on the second floor of a busy street with big doors permitting evening wine drinking and people watching.
+
+https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1446460929164988106
+
+## Leaving France
+
+We left to continue the trip via Sicily for a wedding, but Nice Airport had many options to return (direct flights to NY with Delta for example)
+
+## Other resources
+
+The website "Flights From" https://www.flightsfrom.com/ was invaluable for understanding airport options and schedules.
+
+
+
diff --git a/index.md b/index.md
index 3665a3f..8d7a2ad 100644
--- a/index.md
+++ b/index.md
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # morisja home

+## south of france
+A write up of our recent [trip](france)
+
 ## debian
 [packaging](debian-packages) with with gbp and cowbuilder