30 Things #5: French Fri(day)s

It's officially been 3 months to the day from when Mia and I hopped on a plane to begin the most beautiful magical trip ever. I've decided the only way to share this amazing experience with you (for those of you that even half-way care) in pictures is to do this in parts. Thus I am officially instituting French Fri(day)s until I feel done. I don't know how many parts...at least 3 or 4. But who knows, maybe more. Depends on how sick of me you get. But you clicked the link and came here so...your fault.

Today will be a general overview of what we got to do...a.k.a French Fri FACTS :)

May 28th--Atlanta to Paris, 6 nights in Paris:

We stayed at the cutest little flat in cute central neighborhood compliments of Air BnB. If you have never used this site and service, I highly recommend it! Great prices, easy to book, and where we stayed was true to pictures. It gave us flexibility to buy groceries and eat in sometimes, thus saving a few pennies, but also close access to the metro and all the fun places we wanted to visit!

I'd say for the time we had, we hit a LOT of things in Paris. Of course it was the highlights but wow...it was beautiful, magical, great weather, and I just fell in love with the city. It's hard to describe the feeling of entire days feeling surreal, as if it was all a dream. It was just incredible.

Highlights: Eiffel Tower. St Chapelle's stained glass. Monet's Waterlilies. The bells of Notre Dame. Versailles.

Me. Mia. Marie. Versailles.

No words for Monet.

June 4th--Train to Tours, 5 nights in Loire Valley:

We stayed in the cutest little gite (cottage?) courtesy of Homeaway.com that the French often use for vacation rentals. It was nestled in a small little town in the country about 15 minutes from the larger city of Tours, a central location around which tons of chateaus have been built by the royalty of France in centuries past (more on that in a later post). Once again we got the benefit of a full kitchen and got to slow down and enjoy the peaceful life of the countryside. It was gorgeous.


We also rented a cute little car to get us around. I hadn't driven a stick shift in quite a while but picked it back up pretty quick and Marie Claire was a rock star at getting us around. It was definitely an adventure :)

 Highlights: History at Chateau Chenonceau. The Villandry Gardens. The roses of Chateau de Rivau.  Cheese + wine every day. Our back yard.

June 9th--Train to Avignon, 2 nights

This was the social part of the trip!! We got to meet up with Tatum and Amy and have a for real girls trip in the south of FRANCE. WHAT?! Avignon and Province are have a quaint and rustic feel that make you want to wander and get lost in its streets and history. We stayed 2 nights in cheap hotel that met all our basic needs and we rented another car to get us around the rest of the trip. After so many months apart, it was so much fun to get to reconnect and experience a different part of the world with these girls.

Highlights: Roman Aqueducts. Marche in Uzes.


 June 11th--Drive to Nice, 3 nights in Historic Nice

The 5 of us crashed in another Air BnB location in the historical part of Nice. I will say that this spot was not quite as comfortable as the one we used in Paris but that was not the fault of Air BnB. It was a little loud in that particular location and a wee bit hot. BUT, it was still great to have our own space and flexibility to get our own food if needed. Our time on the Mediterranean FELT like we were in the south, at the beach, in a vacation town...but with a totally unique French/Italian meld of food, culture, and colors.

Highlights: Eze. Monaco. 2 hours in Italy. Fancy celebration meal. The Mediterranean. Flower market.

June 14--Train to Paris, 1 night

We said goodbye to Marie Claire and Tatum and Mia, Amy and I hopped a train back to Paris to enjoy one more day in the city of love before departing back to Atlanta. Due to some train delays, some of our time got cut short, BUT one of the best things about France this time of year is that the sun is out until 10 at night! Thus, we got one last day to soak in the city thanks to a hotel located right next to Notre Dame. We even had the gift of a final sunset and Eiffel Tower sparkle to say goodbye.

Highlights: Harry's New York Bar. Beautiful Sunset. Final meal complete with beef bourgeon, wine and Creme Brûlée.

I hope you have enjoyed this first installment. I have to do this for myself as much as for you so I can remember and record (and go thru my 3500 pictures). Until next French Fri!