France!

Hello everyone and sorry if there are typos- I äm typing from a German Keyboard and it's verz confusing!!

It's been awhile: Daniel and I have been biking, Walking, driving and wine/cheese tasting all through France and Computers have been scarce!

After a very interesting drive through San Sebastian on the Spanish/French border (hail, torrential rain and 2 degree weather), we arrived in Bordeaux. Immediately after crossing the border (with NO Police or anything) we realiyed we were definitely not in Spain anymore! Bordeaux is beautiful, very quaint and cute on a river, but with enough of a student Population to keep things interesting. I would probably get dirty Looks from Frenchies for saying this, but Bordeaux felt like a mini Paris. We indulged in our first tastes of French wine, multiple types of cheese (tomme de montagne, delices de gorgogne and many MANY yummy types of chevre) and of course amazing fresh and warm Baguette. We were pretty happy, little did we know that the cheese would get even better...

Daniel enjoying fine cheese and Baguette in Bordeaux

On to the Loire valley, where we rented bikes for two days to explore the many incredible chateaus from the 15th-18th centuries. The guy we rented from in Amboise ambitiously thought we could bike 85km in 2 days and said it was 'very nice and flat'. False on both counts. After biking uphill in the rain for about 40 mins we decided to revise the plan and stay overnight in a tiny town called Montrichard. The Loire is beautiful: hills and farmlands and sheep and basically makes you realize why Catan exists. We saw Chenanceau, a beautiful Castle on a river, and tasted some local crepes and wine (in a cave).

 

Daniel in a field

Tasting some local wine in a cave

 

After the Loire was Paris, where my cousin was nice enough to put us up for a week, and my friend Sophia as well for a few days! Paris is amazing at any time and in any weather (luckily, because we haven't had a day of sun in 3 weeks). The locals even suffered through my French and we felt very much like we could fit into this lifestyle. Mary-Jane (my cousin) took us out for a typical Parisian meal and showed us where to buy good groceries: 'this boulangerie, not that one, that one's no good. this one!' We happily followed her advice and bought cheese from the fromagerie, meat from the bucherie, bread and multiple pastries from the good boulangerie and fresh vegetables from the ... vegetablerie(?). All were amazingly delicious and we ate like kings. We also saw the sights, climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, met up with Sophia in Montmartre, drank cider and lazed around the Luxembourg gardens and ate Falafel in the Jewish quarter (and bought lots of cool clothes).

 

Me and Mary Jane in a typical Parisian brasserie

 

Then, we met up with our friends Jean-Charles and Jordan in Chablis. We had met them in Barcelona and became fast friends and they invited us to see their town and sample some of the local 'vine'. We had an awesome day of sampling wine, eating local delicacies and more sampling of wine (in a huge Underground cave!). They are the nicest and most generous People, and even bought me a bottle of very fine cremont (champagne not from Champagne) as a present. I hope when they come to Canada I can return the favour somehow!

 

Our friends in the Chablisieng winery

 

After Paris was Metz and Strasbourg to visit my friend Franziska but People want to get on this Computer so those tales will have to wait!

 

Anyways, we're doing well. We LOVED France and it's definitely a place to come back to one day to see more of and spend more time in. I totally am down with the culture and lifestyle and my French improved so much over only two weeks! We're in Germany now, I will try to update again soon! Miss everyone!! Cant wait to see my mom in 4 days in Prague!

 

xo