My Friends Are Living in France so I'm FOR SURE Visiting

Aug 9-18, 2023

I was embarking on my Parisian adventure late in the summer. I had told myself I wasn't going to travel this summer because I was saving for a place, however, my friends Ari and Zach had moved to Paris for 3 months because of Zach's job. When they invited me to stay with them I just couldn't pass it up. 

^^Me on my flight. Paris here I come!

Ari and I did a lot on my first day, including visiting Galeries Lafayette, (a shopping mall with a beautiful rooftop view), lunching at an elegant cafe called Cafe de la Paix (croque monseurs and champagne of course!), strolling by the tour eifel and taking a champagne tasting sunset river cruise along The Seine. 

^^Day 2 was full of time with Augie. He was a trooper and accompanied us to the Champs E'lysee (after we had tried to make it to the top of the Eifel Tower but it was wicked busy!), played with us in the park and even ate lunch with us at a cafe. 

^We look mortified because the entire wall behind us is a collage of human faces made entirely of human hair.

^^Day 3 was full of castle tours. We traveled to The Loire Valley where we toured the Chateau de Chambord, or The Beauty and the Beast Castle. It POURED rain on us so Ari and I embraced it and ventured out onto the balconies where we reenacted the fight scene between the Beast and Gaston. 

^^Stop two on our castle tour included lots of sunshine and a wine tasting in a cellar. We enjoyed the red, white and rose wines just fine!

^^Dinner that night was at a SWANKY spot that was Oh So Paris. The food and drinks were both delicious and the bartender was delectable too ;)

^^Day 4 included another failed attempt to the top of the Eifel Tower (it was closed for maintenance), a visit to the local farmer's market and a walk along the Seine with coffee, a trip to the museum to see Van Gogh's Starry Night, a park play with Augie, and a nice dinner out with Ari and Zach at Lipp where I tried foie gras for the first time. We topped the night off with the richest hot chocolates I've ever tasted in my entire life. 

^^Day 5 was our third and final failed attempt to get to the top of the Tour Eifel. We rode the ferris wheel instead which gave us a pretty great view of the city. I also bought some sweet treats at L'aduree, a famous macaron joint that did not disappoint. We did a free walking tour of Montmartre and learned about places like Moulin Rouge, Sacre Couer and the lucky boobs of Dalida.

It was such a fun trip and I'm so incredibly thankful I got to see the sights of Paris with my college besties and their little Aug man. Although he's not pictured a lot, he did a lot with us. Some of our best times included 6am dance parties at the flat, walking three floors of Musee d'Orsay with him in my arms, taking laundry in and out of the washer, picking up cigarette butts at the park and getting priority entry at Champs E'Lysee because of our stroller :)

After saying goodbye to Paris I headed to Deauville, a beach town on the West Coast of France. I took a 2.5 hour train ride and after arriving I had three choices- take a taxi, take a bus or walk 3 miles to my beachside hotel. I attempted to take the bus but the woman behind the counter at the station assured me the bus wasn't going where I needed to go. I then waited for a taxi. After 20 minutes at the stand I figured the likelihood of one coming was slim so off I went walking with my pack. I stopped about halfway for a bite and a glass of bubbly along the beach. When I finally arrived in Deauville I was ready to ditch my pack. I spent lots of time walking in Deauville- from beach to beach, from town to town and even from cafe to cafe. I loved the slow pace of my days and enjoyed reading many books. Below are some photos of time well spent there.

Au Revoir Until Next Time, France.

Walks and Tours, Tours and Walks

 Feb 23, 2023

Today I did one of my most favorite things to do when visiting a new city. I went on a free walking tour. I always get so many fun tidbits of information otherwise never known to travelers and sometimes even locals. For instance, did you know, when the Brits were trying to create maps of Ireland the Irish folk would purposely translate their street names from Irish (Gaelic) incorrectly. Not only are there lots of duplicate streets, but anyone who knows even a bit of Irish will tell you that many of the English translations posted underneath the Irish signs are wrong. Translating maps was almost impossible. Google is still struggling because of this. Another outrageous bit of info- The English used to charge the Irish a daylight tax. It was based on the number of windows the residence had. Residences with more windows, aka homes that allowed more daylight, were taxed higher. One of the banks of Ireland protested against this ridiculous tax by being completely windowless. To this day the bank still exists and it's completely vaulted- no windows (or daylight) to speak of. Of course we talked about some of the beautiful cathedrals, (pictured below)

and about the Kings and Patron Saints. But we also talked about Darky Kelly, a prostitute who ran a brothel. She was known for keeping her women safe and if any man tried to cross them he'd usually wind up buried beneath the brothel.  Eventually Darky became pregnant and when she demanded support from the man he accused her of witchcraft and she was burnt at the stake. There's now a bar in her honor. 

Not only did I learn a lot on this tour (and make an annoying friend who asked me for photos every 4 minutes) I also got a fabulous lunch recommendation (another reason why I love these tours). I ditched my photo obsessed friend and walked until I came to Sheehan's. It had every feel of an Irish Pub and the brown bread, soup and glass was the perfect combo. 

Next it was time to visit the Book of Kells and the Library at Trinity College. Seeing the old manuscripts and learning how the monks used colored oils to transcribe them by hand made me reflect on just how far we've come since then. I was listening to a digital guided tour- someone talking through a device that was available to everyone, instantly, while these men worked 13 hour days to write one book that was the ONLY copy available. 

My day wouldn't have been complete without a street busker sighting so I stopped to enjoy the music one last time. 

That night I met a lovely German girl in my dorm. She invited me to go out with her. We started at a sports bar with live music, then made our way to Temple Bar and finally to a smaller pub up the street with a 3 man band. It was there I recognized some girls who had been in the hostel Ben and I stayed at in Cork. They joined in our fun as we continued to search for live music. Our next stop was a club so I politely bowed out and headed home for the night. 

In the morning I'd be homebound. Slaintè Ireland, for now. 🍻