In celebration of my blog's 20th anniversary, I'm having guest posters every week leading up to the big day.
J lives in California with her husband Ted (who is actually an Edward, like my own Ted!) and her daughter Maya. She used to have an adorable dog named Mulder and I only bring this up because she has a controversial opinion that it's worse to pick up warm dog poop than cold dog poop and I just find this stance to be insane. Okay, back on track. J writes over at Thinking About and covers all the important topics of the day from what we should be watching on television to what summer salads we should be eating. Also, I learned from her that grapefruits grow on big trees, not small shrubs.
Let's welcome her!
When Engie asked if I would be able to participate in her 20 years of blogging celebration, of course I said yes. How could one possibly say no to Engie? Answer: One could not. I debated about what kind of list I might make. Favorite songs, favorite movies, cities I’ve been to, favorite recipes, pictures of my past dogs…but when she sent me an email telling me that my post would run today, Bastille Day, I knew my theme had to be France. Without further ado, here are 20 I have been (and loved) in France.
I have been to France 3 times (so far). My husband and I went on our honeymoon in 1993; we went back in 2018 with our daughter, to celebrate our 25th anniversary and her graduation from college; and my cousin and I went in 2022. I will happily go back as many times as they will have me. Here are some pictures and memories of the places we went.
1. Point Saint-Mathieu - Brittany
On our trip in 2018, we flew in to Paris, and then drove out to the far west coast of Brittany. My husband, Ted, wanted to meet up with his friend from graduate school, Jean-Marc, who is a college professor in Brest. It was a long drive, but it was so lovely to see the French countryside. The west coast of Brittany reminds me in some ways of California, with its rocky shoreline, and in some ways of Ireland, which makes sense as Ireland and Brittany are both Celtic nations. I have not yet actually been to Ireland, so I should really say that Brittany reminds me of what I think Ireland looks like. This pictures are of Point Saint-Mathieu (and bonus, horses!). The ruins of the Abbey are across the street from our little hotel. It is said that the abbey once held the skull of the apostle Matthew, though that was lost to the sea.
2. Locronan - Brittany
Jean-Marc (could he look any more French?) took us to the historic village of Locronan, a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”), and it is indeed a beautiful and charming village. He brought us there to see the village and have crepes, as he said that the best crepes in France are in Brittany, and the best crepes in Brittany are in Locronan. Who are we to argue? They were amazing, and I wish we had known our first stop was going to be for a meal, I would have skipped breakfast.
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3. Quimper - Brittany
From there we went on to the town of
Quimper, which is charming and lovely. The historic part of town has half-timbered houses with shops at street level selling crepes, macarons, chocolates, and pottery. They are quite famous for their pottery, called Quimper faience, which has been made there since 1690. We didn’t buy any faience in Quimper, I saved that for later in our trip. Quimper has a distinctive Celtic heritage. The street signs are in both French and Breton. There is quite a sad history of the language in Brittany, as it was
against the law to teach Breton for many years, and it is now considered an endangered language. There is a revival effort underway to educate children in Breton. I believe that Jean-Marc’s son attends a bilingual school (though it may be an immersion school, only in Breton, I don’t remember for sure.)
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4. Landerneau and Pleben - Brittany
Landerneau, is known for its inhabited bridge, above. I liked Landerneau, which has a thriving artist community, though I think I liked the busy vibe of Quimper more. I sometimes dream of retiring in Brittany, it’s so beautiful. I’m not sure I would like to get older in a country where I am not fluent in the language though, so I’d have to get serious about learning French. (I got an F in 2nd year French in college.) Another town we visited in the area was Pleben, with a
Calvary dated from 1555. Sadly I did not know what a Calvary was when we visited, so we kind of passed right by that in looking at the church. No pictures from me, but there is one on the link above.
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5. Omaha Beach – Normandy Beaches
After a few days visiting with Jean-Marc and meeting his lovely family, we drove back east toward Paris, and stopped at
Omaha Beach, one of the beaches where the Allied forces came ashore to liberate France from Nazi rule in World War II. There are museums and tours there, as well as cemeteries, you can easily make it a full day. We did not stop long, however, and merely visited the beach after our long day of driving. We were there a couple of days before the June 6th anniversary, so there were bleachers and fences set up in preparation for commemorations. The sculpture above is ‘Les Braves’, by Anilore Banon. From
NormandyWarGuide.com, it consists of three elements:
The Wings of Hope
So that the spirit which carried these men on June 6th, 1944 continues to inspire us, reminding us that together it is always possible to changing the future.
Rise, Freedom!
So that the example of those who rose against barbarity, helps us remain standing strong against all forms of inhumanity.
The Wings of Fraternity
So that this surge of brotherhood always reminds us of our responsibility towards others as well as ourselves. On June 6th, 1944 these man were more than soldiers, they were our brothers.
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6. Rouen - Normandy
Our next stop was
Rouen, where
Joan of Arc was burned as a heretic in 1431. There is now a
modern church at the site of her immolation, surrounded by more traditional buildings inhabited by restaurants and shops. The beautiful stained glass windows were rescued from the 16th century Church of St. Vincent, which was destroyed in World War II. Luckily, the windows had been removed for their safety prior to the war. We had dinner one night at
La Couronne, which was founded in 1345 and is the oldest inn in France. Julia Child ate there in 1948, where she had her first French meal, which famously changed her life. If you have seen the film Julie and Julia, the exterior of the restaurant looks nothing like the real building. It is pictured above, the brown building with all of the flags. If you’re so inclined,
read this post about a woman who traveled to France in search of the meal that Julia Child had in 1948. Spoiler alert: She loved every bite. Maya was the smart diner in our party, and ordered the Sole Meunière. She said, “If it's good enough for Julia, it’s good enough for me.” I had a bite, and it was divine. I had duck, and Ted had a steak. Both were good, but not divine. Still, it was fun to eat there. While in Rouen, I bought some
faience, a plate for Ted’s mom and a little covered dish for myself, which sits on my desk.
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7. Monet’s Gardens – Giverny
I have visited Monet’s
famous gardens in Giverny twice, in June of 2018 and again in September of 2022. The gardens are stunning, though they have the feeling of being a palette rather than a place to relax and visit. I loved seeing the many colored flowers, and his house. The purple ball shaped ones (allium) in the left lower picture look like they belong in a Doctor Seuss book to me. I’ve tried a couple of times to grow them, but I’ve not even gotten a sprout from my bulbs. I have a brown thumb.
When my cousin and I visited France in 2022, we spent a week in the Côte d'Azur, and a week outside of Paris. She had a timeshare in Mougins, so this is where we stayed.
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8. Mougins
The Côte d'Azur, also known as the French Riviera, is the French coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. It is made up of coastal towns and hillside villages.
Mougins is one such hillside village, located uphill from Cannes. This historic village has been occupied since the pre-Roman period. It is a charming village, full of artists and artisans, restaurants, homes, and a wonderful antiquities museum. I was recently daydreaming about my trip, as one does, and thought of the
Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins, and discovered that it has closed. The museum is a private collection of a very wealthy art collector, and he has decided to sell off a lot of the antiquities, and re-open with his collection art by European women, renamed
Female Artists of the Mougins Museum. If I ever find myself in the South of France again, I would love to check it out. I will always have a special place in my heart for Mougins, especially the amazing boulangerie where we bought our baguettes and croissants every morning.
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9. Cannes
Just down the hill from Mougins is Cannes, famous for the annual film festival, and for its beautiful beaches. We stopped at the beach to put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea, though we did not spend a lot of time in Cannes. We did visit the gothic style stone church, the Church of Notre-Dame-d'Espérance which dates back to the 1600s, where we lit candles for our parents. We perused the shops, had a couple of questionable meals (our worst in France, I believe) and stopped for a drink or two. Mostly we enjoyed the seaside vibe of it, and people watching, though certainly the majority of the people we were watching were tourists.
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10. Nice
We spent one day in Nice, where we visited
Cathedrale Orthodoxe Russe St. Nicolas, a beautiful Russian Orthodox church, which is said to be the finest outside of Russia. It is very much an active church. When we arrived, a bride and groom and their family were leaving the church, and while we were there we were unceremoniously asked to move out of the main area so they could baptize a couple of babies. We also visited the
Musee Marc Chagall, which houses
12 large paintings dedicated to the books of Genesis and Exodus. Truly stunning. From there we walked through the main square, the
Place Masséna, to the
Promenade des Anglais, where we enjoyed an ice cream cone and watched parasailors taking off and landing.
11. Grasse
Grasse is up the hill from Mougins and Cannes, and is known for their perfume industry. The historic village there reminded me a lot of Mougins, with its narrow winding roads, though the shops were different. Mougins was artists and artisans, whereas Grasse was more clothing shops and perfumeries. We had a lovely day there, looking through the shops and sampling perfume. While in Grasse, we came across a statue of the
Comte de Grasse, a French Admiral whose fleet was instrumental in helping the United States win the Revolutionary War.
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12. Saint-Tropez
On our last day in the South of France, we took a boat ride from Cannes to
Saint-Tropez. Neither of us had a strong desire to visit Saint-Tropez itself, but we wanted to go out on a boat and see the coastline from the water, and this was a lovely way to do it. Saint-Tropez has a port full of yachts, and is full of high end shops and restaurants. We walked around for a little while, then found a café to enjoy lunch and a glass of wine. The stores were too expensive for my blood, though I did buy postcard stamps and a small hairbrush (it was VERY windy on the boat, and my hair was full of tangles when we got there.)
After our time in the South, we took the train to Paris. One of my few regrets from this trip is that we did not get sandwiches from the boulangerie in Mougins to eat on the train. It never occurred to me that we could bring our own food, until one of our seat mates did so. The food in the dining car was definitely questionable, and how much better would it have been to enjoy a sandwich and a bottle of wine? C’est la vie. Next time.
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13. Mont St. Michel
One trip we made from Paris was to visit
Mont St. Michel, a Benadictine abbey off the north coast of France, where the provinces of Normandy and Brittany meet. This was a bucket list item for my cousin, who used to have a poster of
Mont St. Michel on her bedroom wall. From Paris, you can take an all day bus tour, or you can drive. We chose to drive, so we could also visit Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, and Rouen. Especially if you are making stops to other destinations, it’s a pretty long drive, so we spent the night in a nearby Air BnB. The Abbey was beautiful, and we enjoyed our visit, though this was easily the busiest, most touristy place we visited in France. That’s saying a lot.
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14. Vincennes
Vincennes is just to the east of Paris, and is separated from Paris by the perifique. Vincennes is known for its castle, the
Château de Vincennes, and its large park, the
Bois de Vincennes (which is technically part of Paris). The castle was built between 1361 and 1369, and was a residence for French kings. Later it became known as a prison and military headquarters. The prison housed such notables as King Henry IV, the
Marquis de Sade, Marie Antionette, and German spy
Mata Hari. The
Bois de Vincennes is the largest public park in Paris, and includes an English landscape garden with four lakes, a zoo, a botanical garden, and a horse-racing track. My cousin’s timeshare was located in Vincennes, so we began and ended our days here. We visited the Château and saw some horse races, but sadly did not see any more of the park. I enjoyed Vincennes, the shops and restaurants were lovely. It was less bustling than the touristy areas of Paris, and it felt more like a place for locals. Would I leave my hotel in the center of Paris to come to Vincennes? Sure, if I were there for a couple of weeks or a month, it might be worth a day trip. If I were in Paris for a week or 10 days, I think I would probably skip it. You can read about things to do in Vincennes,
here.
PARIS!
Of course, PARIS, my favorite city in the world. I don’t think any of the things we did on any of my trips would be considered ‘hidden gems’. Maybe if I go a few more times I will get to that phase. For now, here are the places we went in Paris. Coincidentally, we were in Paris on Bastille Day in 1993, as Paris was the 3rd leg of our Honeymoon, after London and Amsterdam. I remember being suddenly very worried about my horrible French when we first arrived, but everyone was lovely, though brusque in that big city way. I fell in love with France, and specifically with Paris. There are so many wonderful neighborhoods, museums, parks, and restaurants, it would be easy to spend years there just soaking it all in. This is my impression at least, I’ve never been there for more than a week at a time.
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15. Montmartre
While in Paris, it is fun to visit the beautiful church, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur in the Montmartre neighborhood. The church is truly lovely to tour, and the neighborhood is vibrant and busy with artists, restaurants, and nightclubs. In the heart of Montmartre is the Place du Tertre, where artists set up tables and umbrellas and sell their works. This area is very touristy and very crowded. We must have gone earlier in the day when I was there in 1993, but it was much more crowded when I went in 2022.
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16. Notre Dame Paris
We went to
Notre Dame in 2018, even though we had been to several gothic cathedrals in Brittany and Rouen, because Maya had studied Notre Dame in an art class in college. The fire was the following year, so I’m really glad that we got to see it when we did.
St. Denis, the saint above carrying his head, was bishop of Paris in the 3rd century. After he was decapitated for his faith, he picked up his head and walked several miles preaching a sermon of repentance. He is the patron saint of France and Paris. The suburb north of Paris, St. Denis, is named for him. Notre Dame is scheduled to reopen on December 8, 2024. [Note from NGS: I was not expecting "he picked up his head and walked several miles" from this post.]
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17. Sainte-Chappelle, Palais Garnier, and Musée de l’Orangerie
On my trip in 2022, my cousin and I visited the beautiful
Palais Garnier, the
Musée de l’Orangerie, and the stunning stained glass windows at
Sainte-Chappelle. The Palais Garnier is known as the Paris Opera House, and while it sometimes has operas, most of the Operas are now held at the newer Bastille Opera, while the Palais is used for ballet performances. The
Musée de l’Orangerie is known for the amazing paintings by Claude Monet of his water lilies pond in Giverny, his gift to Paris after World War I. It also houses other impressionist and post-impressionist works, and is well worth a couple of hours of your Paris itinerary.
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18. Musée d'Orsay, Musée de Cluny, Jardin du Luxembourg, Batobus Seine River
Other very touristy and wonderfully worthwhile things we did in Paris included the
Musée d’Orsay, which I had seen when I was in Paris in 2018, and houses a wonderful collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art.
The Musée de Cluny is in the Latin Quarter, and is a museum of the Middle Ages, with its most famous pieces being the beautiful tapestries, the
Lady and the unicorn. Nearby is the beautiful
Jardin du Luxembourg, a beautiful, relaxing, serene park. We also took a ride on the
Batobus, which is a hop-on, hop-off boat that travels the Seine from the Eiffel tower to the
Jardin des Plantes and back. There are definitely fancier boats you can take, but I liked the low key vibe of this one. It dropped us at the foot of the Eiffel tower, which was very crowded but fun. We walked across the river and found a place for dinner, and watched as the sun set and the lights came on.
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19. Food, Glorious Food!
One cannot mention France without mentioning the food. The French take their food very seriously, and meals there are to be savored and enjoyed, not rushed. On our honeymoon, we mostly ate at inexpensive restaurants near our hotel. We had some amazing Chinese food at a little deli around the corner. We picked up roast duck, fruit, and wine from nearby shops, and brought it back to our hotel. We had one amazing meal (which everyone should do if possible, one amazing meal in Paris!) at
Lapérouse (the website makes it look like a brothel or something. I don’t think it is that, but it was certainly a memorable meal!) We’ve had wonderful crepes, baguettes, croissants, fish, cheese, souffle, quiche, salads, wine, on and on and on. We’ve had some less than stellar meals – weird steak in Brittany, tasteless mussels in Nice, soggy vegetables (also Nice). Not every bite is amazing. But so many are. France is a foodie's paradise, especially Paris.
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20. Dreaming of Next Time
This picture is of our Bastille Day dinner a few years ago, which seems an appropriate time to dream of possible future trips to France. There are a couple of things I would still like to do in Paris. I would love to stay for a week or three, and not be quite so go-go-go. I struggle with this, there is
so much to see, and I want to see it all! Between my three trips to Paris, though, I do feel like I have seen a lot, and would like to spend quieter days, sitting on the banks of the Seine or in the shadow of the Eiffel tower with a nice picnic. I would like to walk the
Promenade Plantée, and peruse the shops and restaurants of
Le Marais, the neighborhood where we honeymooned. I would like to visit the
Musée Marmottan Monet. I have seen the Louvre, and while it is spectacular, I found it a bit overwhelming. Perhaps I would go again if I could find a quiet time. Is there such a thing? Outside of Paris, I would like to drive through the Loire valley and taste some wine, maybe visit Champagne. I would be open to Province, to revisiting the South or the West.
Thank you, Engie, for giving me this chance to dream of my trips to France. I hope to go back someday! What should I see, do you think?
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Who's dreaming of a fresh baguette now? Have you been to France? What do you most want to see there?
I've never been to France, and as you know my current hobby is local tourism. BUT BUT BUT....reading this I just want to drop everything and get on a plane. Maybe someday!
ReplyDeleteBut enough about France, let's talk about Mulder! He's come up in conversation more than once when I've met up with Cool Bloggers IRL. No one wore a tie better than Mulder. I hate to pick sides, but I'm Team Warm Dog Poop.
I feel like I almost don't have to go to France - I feel like I've been there through these photos and descriptions!
DeleteMulder was such a handsome boy. The world is a better place for him having been here.
Thanks you guys! I miss my puppy boy so much. Sigh. I met most of the cool bloggers after his diagnosis (Engie, Nance, and Ally are probably the only exceptions) and he was in chemo, and I had newly gotten Fridays off from work, so I spent a lot of time with him walking around and taking pictures and worrying about him. If you had come to my blog earlier there would not have been quite as many posts about my boy. Sigh.
DeleteThe thing about warm dog poop is that it feels so very much like it JUST came out of someone's ass, whereas when it's cold (and hopefully firm) you can pretend it's something else. To be clear, the majority of dog poop I picked up was warm, as it was 'laid down' during walks. But if it was in our back yard, I would generally wait a bit.
What a travelogue! It made me hungry for good bread and excellent nibblies in a picturesque setting. And it made me want to see some Monet again, which I can, right in my own back yard since the Cleveland Art Museum has some of his work safely in its grasp. Not the same, but still Monet.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you've been able to get to France as often as you have despite your poor grade in the language (LOL). I took 6 years of French, did very well, and never went there. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS SCENARIO?!
(And in my experience with Zydrunas, Warm Dog Poop is best left to cool before attempting a pickup.)
I feel like with six years of French, you should have automatically been granted a week in France just for your efforts!!
DeleteI guess because I walk my dog and pick up her poop right away, I'm used to it. I think cold poop is really gross. LOL.
YES, Nance should get a free trip to France! I will happily be her guide, and she can be my translator. Anyone else want to join us?
DeleteI've been to Paris and saw quite a bit of the city- but did not travel anywhere else in France. This post is making me realize how much there is to see- Normandy, Giverny, Nice... this was quite a thorough tour! And I like all the Mulder mentions here- his memory definitely lives on!
ReplyDeleteI can see how if you had limited time you'd just pick one place like Paris or Nice and explore it thoroughly, rather than go from place to place. But there's so much to see and do!
DeleteI think if it had been only up to me, I would have kept all of my time in Paris both trips, but my husband wanted to go see his friend, and my cousin wanted to go to the South, so we did. I'm so glad that we did, because France is so beautiful and is much more than just Paris. However, you do spend a lot of time in the car or on the train getting from point A to point B, which is a valid argument for sticking to Paris if your time is limited. This last trip I guess we had 4 1/2 days in Paris, though it seemed like more when we were planning it out. I'd like to spend at least a week and not leave the city I think, and then another week somewhere else.
DeleteMulder's memory living on makes me so happy.
I love Paris. I've only been once, but definitely hope to return. My favourite was Sacre Couer, actually. We visited first thing in the morning and it was gorgeous and sunny and EMPTY! We arrived before it opened (we walked to the top, highly recommend for an incredible view of the city), and ended up having the more memorable breakfast of my life in a nearby cobbled street.
ReplyDeleteTell us more about this memorable breakfast!! Why was it so good?
DeleteI think maybe when my husband and I were there in 93, it was earlier in the day because it wasn't very crowded. When I went with my cousin it was closer to lunch time and SO CROWDED. We did have a lovely lunch in a little restaurant on those cobbled streets as well. Sigh. Time to go back, I guess.
DeleteIsn't this lovely! I have never been to France but it's definitely on my list! I was Top Student in French when I was in grade eight or nine, but my skills have definitely deteriorated to the point where I find it tricky to even converse in the most basic way!
ReplyDeleteI've never taken French and I'm a little intimidated by it. Maybe J and I should take French classes together!
DeleteI suck at foreign languages. That part of my brain is interested in other things. And French really doesn't sit well in my mouth. I practiced with Duo Lingo before my trip in 2022, and sometimes you had to say a word and the app would guide you to getting it right. I never could say the French word for 'airport' (which is VERY similar to 'airport', but my mouth couldn't get around the vowels) so that the app recognized it. LOL.
DeleteMonet's gardens, omg. And an inhabited bridge? Like, people live on the bridge? SO COOL. I've only been to Lyon and a little place called St. Etienne - Paris is on my list, although like Nicole, I've lost all my French vocab.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dog poop? You are right and Engie is wrong. Point finale.
Such strong opinions on dog poop. Wrong opinions. ;)
DeleteExactly, people live on the bridge, and there are shops as well. If I remember correctly, they were mostly art stores selling paintings and drawings by local artists. SO COOL.
DeleteWhat a lovely post, J! Mont St. Michel is on my bucket list of places to visit as well - there is something so romantic about it. I've only ever been to Paris (three times), and would love to see the other parts of France.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that sometimes it is hard to decide whether to go go go and see all the amazing sights, or to slow down and take a little more time and travel at a quieter pace, but see fewer things.
If only we had all the time in the world to travel at a quiet pace AND see all the things. I guess when my university starts handing out unlimited time off, I'll be able to do that!
DeleteEngie, I worked somewhere with 'unlimited time off' and it's no good. No one takes enough time, and when you leave a company you don't get that big check of accrued PTO. I love the IDEA of it though. When I was there with my cousin, we were gone for 2 1/2 weeks, which felt like a LOT of time when we were planning it, but somehow we were busy every day. I think the correct time to go would be a month. But I was missing home by the end, too.
DeleteI love France too! We spent a few weeks there in 2018 with my daughter and I'm looking forward to my stay on my own in Paris later this year. I'll get to please myself with what I do rather than being the tour organiser and worrying about what everyone else wants to do. I would love to get to Brittany and Normandy at some stage, we had a trip planned many years ago but had to cancel it at the last minute.
ReplyDeleteI love traveling by myself. It's so fun to be able to spend two hours in some small, independent bookstore and skip the important museum and not have to defend your position!
DeleteI've never traveled alone, and it sounds heavenly to me. Not that I don't enjoy the company of my family, but every time I've been, there's always that dumb 'compromise' thing that I would like to skip.
DeleteHi J! This was such a delight to read! I adore France. I have been there a few times -- twice with my mother, once with my high school French club, once with my husband for our honeymoon. We plan to take our daughter next year! I love Paris so much. Of the places you listed, I have been to Paris, of course, Mont St. Michel, Nice, Normandy, and Giverny. I would LOVE to take my daughter to Mont St. Michel -- what a unique place (although I was reading about it recently, and it's not so unique?! There are several island abbeys around the world?!
ReplyDeleteI have never been anywhere in Brittany, but you make it sound so lovely!
New bucket list item: See an island abbey.
DeleteI loved Brittany, so beautiful! Not as touristy as the other areas, this was the only place where not speaking French was an issue. We managed though. If you took your daughter to Mont St. Michele, perhaps you could also visit St. Malo, another walled city not too far away. Didn't occur to us.
DeleteFrance is on my bucket list! This is such a beautiful love letter to this country. <3
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? The photographs make it look so pretty!!
DeleteFrance is so beautiful. I'm sure there are blah areas, but we didn't really see any.
DeleteHi Julie, so nice to see you on NGS' blog! Loved reading about France.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I went with the kids for 10 days to Paris and they loved it- my youngest keeps talking about how he wants to go back! At 4 years old!
I now have an idea... Next summer rent a house in either Provence (Aix/Avignon/or even smaller village)or closer to the shore: Hyerès commune, and use it as a base to see the coast and Provence. Wouldn't that be wonderful?? Agh, god give me the courage and the money to do that LOL
Oh, we should do a blogger vacation in France! Or Nova Scotia! I don't know. These travel lists are making me think I should leave my state more often.
DeleteWhat a perfect idea! The Mediterranean area is very different than Paris. I loved it though, and hope to go back. My daughter really wants to see it.
DeleteGreat guest post, J. This makes me want to go to France while also feeling distraught that I will probably never get to see all there is to see. . if that makes sense. I was in Paris while studying abroad but it was the last stop for my brother and I. We were tired after traveling for weeks on a tight budget. Mini plans to study in Florence 2nd semester. I hope we can visit her. So many places to visit in Europe. So little time and money. I love the idea of visiting little towns with fewer tourists.
ReplyDeleteThe best part about Europe is how little it is and how easy travel is between countries, right?
DeleteMy BFF's son is spending a year in Ireland right now, and she has used that as an excuse to go several times now. The flights to Paris from Ireland are pretty cheap (though I don't think the same can be said for the hotels...)
DeleteI am laughing so hard at the Miss France meme. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go and see the Monet Gardens in person: SWOON!
That cartoon is pretty hilarious. I love a good play on words!
DeleteThey really are beautiful, and the surrounding area is lovely as well. The French countryside is so beautiful, I really enjoyed the drive outside of Paris.
DeleteI am a fellow Francophile although that is hard to tell from my blog as I haven't been to France since 2013 and I don't see myself going back for years as we are not "bring young kids to Europe" people. I've also been 3 times but have seen a tiny fraction of what Julie has seen. My first trip as for a 2 week grad school program in Lyon. I tacked on about 5 days in Paris before that program started and then 2 more at the tail end so I was there for 3 full weeks. Then my next trip was to Paris for my 30th birthday. I did a day trip to the beaches of Normandy but otherwise stayed in Paris proper. And then my final trip was a shorter 5-day trip to Paris over Thanksgiving in 2013. That was the year I had been relocated to Paris and I was so miserable that I needed a pick-me-up. Once again that whole trip was spent in Paris proper. So I have REALLY seen the city of Paris and I've seen a bit of Lyon, but nothing else! So there is lots more for me to do in that country but I think I would need to be retired before I could go back and really do the country justice.
ReplyDeleteSince you've spent so much time in Paris, what are your favorite things to do there? Is there something I haven't done yet that I need to add to my 'next time' list? Did you take the train from Lyon to Paris? I loved the countryside, though I will admit that I liked it more going north, so likely you saw that on your way to the Normandy beaches. I have some artwork in my bathroom that belonged to my Great-Great Aunt Julia, pastoral scenes of farm life. They could be anywhere, but in my mind, they are definitely France.
DeleteI need to apologize to Nice. I defamed it by saying we had soggy vegetables and tasteless mussels there. Untrue. We had that meal in Cannes, where we also had some less than stellar onion soup. In Nice, I had a salade nicoise that was not dressed, and my cousin had a burger that she could not get them to cook to her liking (she's a medium well beef eater, they are a rare to medium rare beef country, from what we saw.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for clearing up the record. I'm pretty sure some fact checker out there was going to arrest you!
DeleteFrance is is such a charming place, rich in history and all the architecture and cathedrals are really amazing. I've been to Paris twice. Once as an exchange student in grade 9. We lived with a family so I got to see a lot of none touristy places. Back then I walked the stairs up Eifel Tour which was a great experience. And then later when my sister lived in Paris for 6 month. She showed us aome local restaurants and bars and we also went to see the touristy spots.
ReplyDeleteBrittany looks like I might enjoy it. But I fear its rather low on our to-travel-list right now.
Thank you for charing Julie
Julie, what a wonderful virtual travel through France. I know you love and adore everything 'French'... and I always love to hear your stories. I grew up "next door", but have definitely not seen enough of France. Hopefully I'll get to visit again :)
ReplyDelete