Edd:  We’d read lots of articles about how fabulous Versailles is, and devoted a full day to go check it out during our stay in Paris.

Cynthia:  A 45-minute train ride took us directly into Versailles. Since the Palace gets all the attention, we knew nothing about the town itself. As soon as we arrived, we were impressed with the lovely architecture and cobbled lanes.

E:  And zero graffiti. Yay! We found ourselves in the midst of a cute Saturday farmer’s market and an irresistible bakery. Believe everything you’ve heard about French pastries, folks. They are the best!

C:  From town the Palace is only a short walk away. According to our research we chose the absolute worst time to visit—a summer weekend. But honestly, the crowds weren’t that bad.

E:  Inside the Palace I had to constantly remind myself this was an actual residence where people once lived. Everything—the size of the rooms—the ceilings,...

Cynthia:  Where do we even start talking about our 2 weeks in Paris?

Edd:  Maybe by briefly explaining how we can afford to stay 2 weeks in Paris, as well as Lisbon, Madrid, and Bordeaux on a Social Security budget. One big money saver is generally booking private rooms with shared common facilities through Airbnb.

C:  When you think about it, what you just described is not that different from renting a hotel room, except we also have access to a full kitchen.

E:  Many times our hosts have been valuable resources for “insider intel” about the area that you don’t find online. Another money saving strategy is to book a short distance outside the central tourist area and take inexpensive rides on public transportation.

C:  Being in the ‘burbs can come with other perks like a bigger room and laundry facilities. At our place in Paris we enjoyed our morning coffee on a lovely private patio.

E:  Shortly after our arrival we jumped...

Cynthia:  Since Bordeaux was a late addition to our European travel itinerary, we arrived not knowing much about the place beyond the fact that a lot of great wine is produced there.

Edd:  And as reported in our last blog, we did extensive “field research” on that subject with numerous tours and tastings. During our 2-week visit we discovered some really cool, non-wine related things to do in Bordeaux as well.

C:  Including one of the most astonishing things we’ve ever seen or done. “Cool” is the appropriate word for something we stumbled upon when the temps unexpectedly rose to over 100.

E:  Wow, during those few days it was brutal to be outside. Looking for an air-conditioned, indoor activity we saw that Top Gun: Maverick was playing at a local cinema. We were delighted that our Airbnb host told us U.S. movies in France are always in English with French subtitles. So…

C:  Off to the movies we went!

E:  The cinema...

Edd:  Bordeaux, France was the wildcard of our European Magical Mystery Tour. It wasn’t even on our original travel itinerary.

Cynthia:  Right. After Madrid we planned to go to Barcelona, but the accommodations there weren’t within our budget.

E:  The next stop was going to be Paris, so I literally looked at a map to see where else in that general direction we could go. And voila—Bordeaux!

C:  All we knew about Bordeaux was the famous wine produced there, but online pics of the city and surrounding area were beautiful and the price was right so we said, “Let’s do it!”

E:  Turns out we picked a winner. Bordeaux is drop-dead gorgeous.

C:  Locals told us visitors often say, “This looks like a little Paris.” To which they smugly reply, “No, Paris is like a big Bordeaux.”

E:  As expected, the wines from nearby vineyards were terrific and quite affordable. Especially at Bar à Vin, a...