Thursday, October 11, 2012

France

We just returned from a fabulous 10 year anniversary trip to France. Well actually it was over a week ago, but it always takes me forever to do a blog post.  We planned the trip (aka booked the trip) a year ago, before we bought a lot or planned on building a house. And then even when all of that happened we still thought there would be more breathing room, but we apparently like to make things interesting. So this is the first time I have left on a trip without really having a solid plan of what we're doing and where we're going. We only knew what days we were spending in which city.... Aaaaah!

Despite that, it was an amazing trip! Once again I was proved wrong. Dustin actually had the idea to go to France. I had always wanted to do southern France, but had no desire to do Paris because I had always heard the people were rude and the city wasn't that great. Once again, I was wrong. The people could not have been nicer and the city was much better than I had expected. And in the 4 days we were there, I saw a great deal of it by foot. Because bless Dustin's heart, but I am married to the energizer bunny who doesn't stop and can go strong all day long. I had to insist on a nap in the early evening and by the 4th day in Paris, I just didn't get up and slept through the night!

Highlights in Paris: of course the Louvre is amazing. The building itself is absolutely incredible and the architecture was breathtaking. As for the art, I am probably more of a Museum D'Orsay gal. I loved the impressionist painters and preferred the art there, but it's still fantastic. The Notre Dame was beautiful. I'm not much of a stained glass window person myself, however the stained glass windows in the Notre Dame are by far the most beautiful I've ever seen. I'm sorry my pics don't do them justice. We stayed a little out of the way in Montmartre so we went up to the Sacre Coeur Basilica a few times. The church is beautiful and the view over the city is fantastic as well. Random highlights, brie for like $3-4 and patisseries (bakeries) everywhere. You couldn't go more than a block without seeing another one and sometimes even next door to each other. We did a river tour on the Seine which was a nice rest and great way to see the city after going up 43 stories on the Eiffel Tower. But we were the first ones up for the day at least for a few minutes which was kind of cool! And then the Eiffel tower at night is a must! 

Beautiful view from our river tour along the Seine

The Louvre - Pic doesn't do it justice


It really is soooo big!


Notre Dame




One of the amazing stained glass windows in the Notre Dame


The original Mouline Rouge - just like the movie, don't you think? 


Sacre Coeur Basillica - Offered the most beautiful views because it sits on a hill over the city

But as much as I really did enjoy the city, to my surprise, my favorite was our day trip to Versaille. I started reading "To Dance with Kings" on the flight out. It's a historical novel that starts during the time of King Louis XIV and goes through King Louis XVI but it's during the time that Versailles was transformed and really utilized and so although I was only halfway through the book when we went there it just came alive for me. I could envision the parties in the various rooms, and where the town folk were selling their goods, it was an amazing experience for me where my senses were heightened. Not to mention that I enjoyed the book immensely. That palace is a masterpiece of art and I highly recommend going there if you're going to Paris and to read the book too!


The GOLD gates of Versailles!

Through the gates... WOW!

Hall of Mirrors - where a lot of the parties and gatherings took place - All of the gold is either 18k or 24K - craaaazy huh?  King Louis XIV may have been over the top, but all for our enjoyment now..

Bike ride throughout the extensive grounds of Versaille - so fun and a must if you go!


The Hamlet - the peasant farm that Marie Antoinette had built





One of my favorite pics that Dustin took.  Yes, the bird is real!


Another one of my favorites a la Dustin

There are over 300 fountains on the grounds, used to be thousands

We then went down to Avignon for a few days. The train ride down made me want to stop along the way, but I loved Avignon. There's a wall around the inner part of the city and a beautiful palace. It's also a great central place for day trips. We hit Aix en Provence one day. It was expensive to get there and I wasn't that impressed so I don't think I'd go back there although many like it, which is why I wanted to go. Another day we went to Arles. Another fantastic city! Home of a mini coliseum where gladiators would fight and now bull fights take place. In fact Van Gogh who spent two years in this little town was so moved by it, he did 300 paintings in 2 years. Some of your favorites were painted there...


Ponte d'Avingon (aka Avingon Bridge)

 Van Gogh's Le Jardin de La Maison de SAnte a Arles.  This is the hospital he stayed at after cutting off his ear.  No longer a hospital, but if you're all cooped up, why not paint your surroundings.  


Coliseum in Arles

Our favorite meal was in Avignon. I don't think they get many Americans so we were even greeted at the door by the owner/chef when we arrived asking us how we heard about his restaurant. 


 Dustin's favorite pastry he found in Avignon, it was this light bready meringue with this praline cream filling... so good.  Dustin thought he'd died and gone to heaven!

 Beef Tartare with Wasabi ice cream, Braised Turkey with Tandoori Sauce, Peanut Cake with Dulce de Leche Ice Cream and my Molten Chocolate Cake with caramel and rose ice cream (not pictured) - Instagramers saw how awesome it looked though... yum!

We ended the trip in Nice which could not have been more perfect. The sound of the ocean and the view of the blue Mediterranean. One day we took a bus ride that goes right along the coast to Monaco which was picturesque the entire way. Monaco was just like in the movies. The money just in the cars in Monte Carlo is crazy! On the way back to Nice, we stopped in one of the most charming towns up on a hill called Eze. I couldn't capture the little alleyways of the town in a picture, but it was beautiful and the views were breathtaking. 

Brie on a baguette and a Coca Light sitting by the ocean... life was pretty awesome!


Monaco - the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino behind us


 Eze

We went back to Nice and ended the night with a fabulous meal of stuffed rabbit with sausage, Parmesan rissotto with scallops, fish mullet and chocolate fondant with pistachio ice-cream. Which is almost like this rich chocolate batter of sorts. Simply divine! A lot of Italian influences when you're so close to the border.

So, as if this post isn't long enough, I'm going to finish it up with just a couple pros and cons that I think anyone who has traveled to Europe can appreciate....

Pros

To all of my Diet Coke loving friends, I am sorry to say that I would pick a coca cola light over a diet come any day... Why don't they have those around here?

It is truly awe inspiring to walk down streets and visit sites that are far older than the country we live in.

Patisseries on every block and cheese stores. No wonder the French are skinny, they walk everywhere. I ate whatever I wanted and still lost weight on this trip. Although I was exhausted when I got home. I would love to know how many miles we walked.

It took only a couple of days or so removed for me to truly re-appreciate my life as a mother to my beautiful girls and wife to my husband of now 10 years of now 10 years. I get so caught up in my daily life that it takes me missing my girls and being one on one with DT to just remember how truly great my life really is. Apparently I forget that sometimes. How selfish am I?


Cons

However.... I don't want to pay 2 or 3 euros for a coca light and I much prefer it cold with a tall glass with ice and LOTS of it. 

Now that I'm home, it is so nice to see bathrooms everywhere, and to not have to pay every time I use one of them. 

I'll be happy to eat my meals without smelling smoke or just to not to smell body odor... Gross!

This next one probably goes in both categories. Pro - Dustin loved Paris. Con - He's ready to move there. I told him slow down cowboy, I'm not raising our two little kids in Paris. So I think with his current employment, we're in the clear. :)