From St Tropez Back to St Barth

After several hours of time in transit between flights, layovers and airport hotels stays, on top of multiple moves this summer, as I did not know how long I would be staying in the south of France, my angel baby dogs and I are back on the ground and at home in St Barth. While I was on the ground in mainland France I renewed my residency and I am grateful that mission is officially complete and accomplished. While this time the past 10 weeks was a lot mentally and emotionally, I have so many incredible takeaways and I wouldn't trade this time for the world. I've changed as a person for the better. Significantly expanded in multiple ways. I will share more details once I'm grounded and have had a little time to reflect.

The entire transit back to St Barth from the south of France was quick, seamless and full of angels. The airport hotel in Nice couldn't have been much better for what it was. The name of the hotel I stayed at is called OKKO. It's a true 4-star hotel. Super clean, lovely interiors in the room, great shower, great breakfast, expansive courtyard out the back which is ideal for letting dogs roam and run off leash, and so much more. If you need to stay in Nice and are flying out, I would recommend this hotel. Great staff, too, and the location is actually pretty ideal. We walked to the center of Nice and it took about 90 minutes, this would take 15 minutes by car. I say we, I mean my dogs and I, and I carried them 90% of the way! Round trip our walk was about 5 hours. It was a workout for me, by the end of it. I believe it was 25,000 steps, according to my phone.

The flights. When travelling internationally and with two dogs, flight options are definitely different and there isn't necessarily a clear shot at the most logical flight path or with your preferred airline. Air France, the logical choice from Nice to Saint Martin (then to St Barth), was not an option because with Air France you cannot travel one person with two dogs, even in the same carrier and with Air France, unlike many other airlines, they will not let you buy two tickets to allow you to bring two dogs. United would have been an option (United, JetBlue and Alaska all let you buy two tickets to fly with two dogs), but I booked very last minute and flying United just wasn't in the cards. Fortunately, Turkish Airlines came through and they were fantastic about the dogs. The flights, albeit hauntingly long, seemed much shorter in reality, and all things considered, everything was as seamless, comfortable and as pleasant as I could have wished. Both dogs did so well. The food on Turkish Airlines was actually quite good, too.

Also to mention, Moroccan Airlines also lets you travel two dogs one carrier, one ticket, they just weren't flying dogs into North America at this time for some reason. PS, the CDC in America has new rules when it comes to bringing dogs into the country, as does Saint Martin (SXM Juliana). Be prepared to submit some basic documents online for approval prior to landing, and also prior to having your dogs approved to be on flights, in some cases. This is all quite easy, you just need to be organized. By the way, the best carrier for dogs when travelling commercial is the Sherpa, no questions asked. You may find a prettier carrier somewhere - but I'm telling you, the dimensions are probably out of whack. This seems like the one dog carrier for air travel that actually nails it. 

The path with Turkish Airways was from Nice to Miami with a stop in Istanbul (Istanbul is insanely gorgeous to fly into at night). Entire flight time was just over 15 hours in-air plus connection time. Door to door (Nice airport hotel to Miami airport hotel) we were in transit for about 22 hours. We left Nice at 7pm CET and landed in Miami at 7am EST, and ended up staying for one day in Miami because the flight to Saint Martin with American Airlines only flew the next day. Our stay in Miami was short, sweet and perfect to rest and refresh before getting on the plane for the final flights home. American Airlines, was also amazing with the dogs, and the flight was a short and easy one. St Barth Commuter was the choice this time to St Barth; Winair is also an option from SXM. My normal flight path from Miami is JetBlue to San Juan and Tradewinds to St Barth (love Tradewinds so much). But again, booking last minute, this wasn't an option for time of day, two dogs and things lining up. 

My point in sharing this with you: even if your first choices don't work out, there are always other choices and paths that will lead you to the same place and work out better than expected. 

Another life hack: ship your luggage, don't be a gypsy. I've done this way too many times and never again. More on the topic of letting things go, because I left SO MUCH behind in St Tropez that I just could not bring myself to bring back to the island with me. Good stuff I didn't anticipate parting with, but stuff is stuff and I guarantee it's all replaceable and I'll forget about it soon anyway. Although I like and appreciate things, I'm not attached to them. A note on shipping luggage, I have recently used Luggage Free as a service and they were top notch. 

Now that we are back on the ground, it's time to acclimate and get grounded because - a new season and a new season of life is upon us. Thank you God for getting us everywhere we need to go safely, comfortably and in better than we could have ever imagined fashion; I would never want to do life without you. To be continued....the best is now and always to come! There's no place like home.