marseille

France is on holiday so last week I took a train with two girls who teach English here south in search of some warmer temps. We didn't find much warmer temps, but we did find water, mountains and some good wine!

Our destination was Marseille and after we arrived we headed straight for the old port. I was hoping the weather day one would set precedent for the rest of the week, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Other than the surrounding mountains, this place reminded me a lot of Larmor-Plage; all the shops were shut down for the noon hour, the air felt fresh and smelled a bit like fish, and most of the sounds on the hidden streets were of water and seagulls.

The area is well known for it's soap; lavender specifically. I didn't buy any but we popped into a few shops to check it out. The shops smelled clean, that's for sure! Soap on a rope, bouquets, you name it... they had it all!

We were really wanting to travel outside the city and hike the Les Calanques, just a hilly area with coves and great views of the sea. On day two, we thought the rain would hold off so we bought tickets to for the metro to catch the bus and headed out. By the time we went two metro stops and got out of the underground to catch the bus, a cold front came through and it was raining so we decided to put it off for another day. Coastal weather, you can't predict it!

Instead we ate the sandwiches we made for the hike in a park and then walked to the highest hill in the city to see Basilica Notre-Dame of the Garde. Atop it all, you could see the city of Marseille and on a clear day, I'm sure even further.



breakfast in america

It seems strange but it's easy to fall into a comfort zone in Paris. It's a large city with an abundance of cuisine from all countries. Lately, we've been migrating toward some of our favorite American choices. But after savoring a fantastic brunch on Sunday, we've decided we are going to try to get back into our Frenchie roots.

The restaurant really was called Breakfast in America...and just like any popular American brunch spot, we had to wait our turn! The drip coffee, fluffy pancakes, and runny eggs really did hit the spot! Even the French wait in line for this kind of goodness!

Au revoir to hamburgers and chicken wings for now... 



bein' parisien

A few weeks ago, I trekked through the streets of Paris with a box full of flowers that would live in French winter conditions... so far, so good! Just trying to fit in!

yodelayheehoo

When in France, when it's winter, go skiing in the Alps is what we thought so we took a train from Paris last Friday morning and arrived in Méribel by mid-afternoon. It was a windy, snowy bus ride up the mountain but I forgot how beautiful mountains were! We hit the slopes Saturday and Sunday.

It snowed every day that we were there and by each afternoon it was pretty sunny which made the views pretty great!

Three days was long enough for our leg muscles, but at the same time not long enough! It was a lot of fun and makes me wish we lived a little closer to mountains.

takes the tea and crumpet

Mark got last minute notice that he'd be working in London last Friday so I hopped on the Eurostar train (which means I survived the chunnel) on Thursday morning. I met a friend for lunch and then made my way to St. Paul's Cathedral; somewhere we didn't explore last time we visited.

My list of visited churches is getting quite lengthy, but this one may take the cake tea and crumpet. It ranks as high as the Vatican in my book. Unfortunately, they did not allow photos inside, but the ceiling domes were illustrated with glass mosaics and the black and white marble floor was different than others. So beautiful! I also decided to climb the dome. The first stop was the Whispering Gallery, where someone standing on the opposite side (100 feet away) could clearly hear a whisper from the other side. Since it was a Thursday, crowds were very slim and I was traveling alone so I didn't have anyone to test it with! I continued to the Stone Gallery and then braved a total of 528 steps to the Golden Gallery to view the city of London.

 

On Friday morning, I made my way to the day-of theater performance ticket booth and bought us tickets to Billy Elliot for the evening and then wandered around Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly. I also popped into the National Gallery and to view the van Gogh Sunflower exhibit. It was the first time in 65 years that London hosted two of the paintings together. I walked through a couple of the halls to see more van Gogh and Monet paintings.

I was lucky to walk the streets of Chinatown - very ready to ring in the Chinese New Year! The parade and celebration was on Sunday, after we left, so we didn't see it, but we learned that London actually hosts the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside Asia.

Our hotel was close to the Tower of London and London bridge. Saturday, we walked the South Bank and stopped in the Tate Modern museum. We viewed some very interesting modern art - and warmed our ears!

After making our way all the way to Westminster, we warmed up again with a pint and pie and a nearby pub before visiting the Churchill War Rooms. We spent Saturday night in a local pub watching the second match of 6 Nations; a rugby tournament. The match was actually between France and England. Not knowing much about rugby, we enjoyed the match. France actually won in the last few minutes! We might try to catch a match next time France hosts.

Sunday was another sunny day! Before we left, we walked down to the bridge again. Until next time London; you're still one of my favorites!



life lately

We have a view of the Invalides dome from our kitchen window. We took a stroll up there the other day and it was especially pretty! It's being added to my "VIST THIS" list. On this same stroll, we realized that the Eifel Tower is in full view at the end of our street. We can actually see the light show reflection on our across-the-street neighbors' windows at night.

I started my French lessons back up and my teacher is not speaking ONE. WORD. of English. That's a complete 180 from my lessons in Lorient, but I am not complaining. I'm not even sure she knows English. It's hard but I'm hopeful for learning it better! However, I went to the flower shop across the street in search for some kitchen herb plants last night. My green thumb is getting itchy! I couldn't see any so I asked Do you have herbs? (Vous avez des herbes?) in French and she told me what time it was. Better keep practicing. I left with tulips instead.

I'm especially proud of some new art on the wall... taken by the talented photographer Valérie (said in a French accent). And if you were wondering how we Mark got our Christmas tree out of the apartment, he had to saw off some limbs. I'm pretty thankful I missed that adventure. It was really fun to be here during the Christmas season. It's actually kind of strange without markets and holiday bustling.

In order to fit in around here and make some friends, we've signed ourselves up to an online make some friends website, meetup. An acquaintance of ours told us about it and said it was great. We've joined a Franco-American group and are heading to an event tonight with hundreds of other newbies in the city. I also joined a 20s & 30s girls group and am sipping tea while nibbling scones with the new members next week. We will see how it all goes, but it's fun to have the opportunities to try!

christmas & new year all in one

Merry Christmas & Happy 2014... only a few weeks late! We safely returned to the USA and back again since my last check-in. I think this was my favorite Christmas so far. Why? I'm not so sure... But maybe because looking back on 2013 and the whirlwind it was made me a appreciate sitting by the Christmas tree in my pajamas with a hot cup of coffee with everyone I hold tightest in my heart just a little more than years past. I felt pretty blessed. Cliché, but true. I can't believe we will top 2013 but we are going to try our hardest!

I was emptying the camera for the new year and came across this...

it reminds me that living simple isn't too bad.

I'm not big on resolutions but a few things I'm going work on this year:

- don't be wasteful.

- be healthy. Not healthy by eating, exercising, etc. - even though those should probably be on my list. I'm currently eating dry Frosted Flakes out of a coffee mug... - but by just enjoying every day!

- cook one new meal every week.

- keep up with the U.S. better... family, friends and news.

- make this place homey. We officially got our names on the mailbox so all the boxes need to be unpacked, things need to have homes and curtains need to be hung! I'm over this "moving" phase and sheets covering the bedroom windows. 

AND, just for you, blog a little more frequently. I've kind of fallen off the horse lately!