life's a beach

Snuck out this afternoon during low tide to snap some photos on the beach...

 

 

 

 



planes, trains, and automobiles

...plus a bus

I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since we "hopped on a plane at IAH" - cue Miley Cyrus.
A lot have been asking how the trip went so here's a little play-by-play!

january 2, 2012

plane - l'avion

 Champagne to start the flight? Don't mind if I do!

Business class for my first international flight was either a really good or a REALLY bad idea. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about my next trip home... 

 

Thanks France for such a warm, beautiful welcome!

It felt like we were descending for an hour, but it never seemed like we were getting any closer to landing! It was so foggy, we didn't even see the ground until the wheels touched. I thought about rating the landing by habit - Evan and I used to do it for my mom - but I decided anyone who could get that large of a plane on the ground in fog without popping the wheels deserved a thumbs up!

 

THEY ALL MADE IT!

One of our bags, of course the one will all the important stuff in it, was one of the last to come through. It's safe to say we both gave a sigh of relief when we saw it.

 

 

bus - l'autobus

 

We took Bus No. 4 for an hour ride to the train station. Unfortunately (or really fortunately), we missed it by a few minutes and had to wait for the next one, but the fresh air felt nice after the 9 hours in flight. I'd love to say I took in the sites of Paris and enjoyed the ride, but I'm pretty sure my eyes were only completely open for 10 minutes when Mark would try to point something out to me. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open - but I was in full 'head bob' mode!

train - train

Next stop - Hogwarts! Or Lorient.

Thankfully, Mark had done this before! After figuring out how to validate our tickets, we gathered around patiently watching for our train assignment. They post which train you will be riding 15 minutes before departure on the board. With four bags, two computers, and a camera, that means you've got to get a move on when it's posted so you can have a place for your luggage! As we boarded the train, a woman was trying to tell us where to store our bags because most of the spots were full... in French! We had absolutely no idea what she was saying, but we found some space and made ourselves comfortable for the 4 hour ride.

WE MADE IT!

 

After arriving at the Lorient train station, we may have taken a wrong turn or two and carried our bags a very long way in the wrong direction! After some wandering, Mark got us back on track and we took a taxi to hotel. Good thing we didn't have any more luggage because it was a tight squeeze! We had just enough time to take our bags to our room before we had to go pick up our apartment keys. Took a quick stroll around the city, grabbed a non-traditional French, very quick dinner and it was lights out for the night! The next morning we rented the city's ONLY automatic car - la voiture, crammed our bags in and moved into our apartment! After our stuff arrives, I'll post photos.

 



au revoir America!

Happy New Year!

We spent the last few days of 2012 preparing for and anxiously awaiting our move to France! The days were filled with a lot of organized piles, stress, phone calls, anticipation, goodbyes and a final visit to one of Houston's classiest establishments to ring in the new year!

Happy 2013 from Darkhorse!



The reality of the move didn't really hit me until we left the house keys on the counter and we hopped into a car to the airport... but Mark got the touch of reality a little early when he said goodbye to his first true love, Nance! I don't think the saleswoman knew how special she was to him because a few words out of her mouth included...
"You know they don't make a Dodge Stratus anymore, right? And when they did... they didn't sell well."

Nance had a hard time letting go and wouldn't eject the Bob Seager CD

 

After all the trash bags were thrown, we found two American flags from our Olympic party in the garage and decided it was only appropriate to snap a photo! It was a sad, but tear-free goodbye to Unit 22 - our first house together!





 

And for those of you who were asking - YES, our house SOLD a week before Christmas!

a picnic for two, please

11/27... grandparents
11/28... teachers
11/29... time with family
11/30... great neighbors

12/1... air conditioning - TX decided to welcome December with an 80 degree day! Yikes!

Another month challenge done! December to do... learn French. I'll spare you the boredom and skip sharing my progress! Wish me luck!


When you're bundled up to go outside in Iowa, it's finally comfortable to spend some quality time outdoors in Texas... and have a picnic!

with champagne... why not?!?

out of a plastic cup - we keep it classy!

gobble, gobble

Somehow, I let 10 days go by. I think it had something to do with a trip home!

11/16... snail mail

11/17... airplanes

11/18... picnics

11/19... pets

11/20... a place to call home

11/21... electricity

11/22... holidays

11/23... sunsets over open IA land

11/24... IA Hawkeye football - even this season

11/25... books

11/26... trash collectors - they don't receive enough appreciation!





cup o' jo

11/12... coffee
11/13... the roof over my head
11/14... my education
11/15... photos - a link to special memories

 



This doesn't seem like a special picture, but it's a special memory for me. It was a crisp, fall Iowa morning before a marathon of wedding planning! And what kicks that off better than a cup of strong coffee at Java House, included with a spot at the window? Nothing! Meeting at the church, tasting food and wine, pictures by the river... all leading to the most important Iowa Hawkeye game of the year - vs. Michigan! GO HAWKS!

sunset or moon?

 

I'll take both!

 

11/8... friends
11/9... good health
11/10... whatchamacallit. is there a better candy bar for a road trip?
11/11... FREEDOM! Happy Veteran's Day! THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who serve!