c'est formidable!

We are back from our trip to France.
We had an amazing time, and it's hard to believe it was only a few days ago that we were wandering around the beautiful streets of Paris.
Fortunately none of the strikes, rioting & general political unrest affected us.
Though we did have several concerned emails and texts from friends and family wondering if we would make it back okay.
I think the media made it sound much worse than it really was.
But enough about that.

We went to three different areas of France that we love the most.
Starting with Champagne.
What's not to love about the birth place of the world's most effervescent and celebratory beverage?
We stayed in an adorable hotel in a small town called Troyes.
We'd been to the town on our honeymoon 10 years previous and said that if we ever came back we HAD to stay there.
It was even nicer than I had remembered.
It was so charming and the perfect way to begin our week in France.

We then kept driving south to Bourgogne.
we stayed for the weekend at a small cottage at the top of a hill in a vineyard.
What can I say?
quaint, spectacular views, private...perfect.
We really got to know the town of Beaune quite well.
We LOVED the Saturday farmers market and had a few really delicious meals there.
I was a bit disappointed as I had planned on taking a cooking class while there, but the unfortunately the timing didn't work out.
Ah well, maybe next time.

Then we headed back up north west to the Loire.
An opulent area.
So many chateau's and country estates it's mind blowing.
The french really know how to live in style.
"Let them eat cake" is an understatement.
We stayed in a family owned Chateau in the middle of the country.
It's been in the family for over seven generations.
As in pre-revolution.
very cool experience.
The owner is a woman was from France (my age) and her husband was from California.
So needless to say we had some great conversations at breakfast time.
I love the B&B experience- very unique and so informative.
we did a few tours of some old Chateaus- which was so perfect as I've been reading The Josephine B Trilogy by Sandra Gulland.
Talk about being able to get a visual for the backdrop of the story!
Bonus that we were practically the only ones visiting Maintenon that particular day.
I guess there is a big advantage to travelling off season.

We finished off our trip by heading back up to Paris for three days.
Ah...Paris....
Such a beautiful and inspiring city.
we stayed in the sixth arrondissement which was fantastic.
Our hotel was tres chic and the perfect spot to end our trip.
We walked, shopped, sat in cafes, people watched, wandered though gardens, musuems, walked some more, shopped, ate, drank some great wine, ate some more...
tres tres extraordinaire.
J'aime France!

There's more to say about the trip, my thoughts and observations but for now that's just the quick recap.
since we've been back things have been pretty hectic.
Lulu has been stuck to me like glue- which I don't mind in the least as I missed her a lot.
We had a birthday party to go to the first night we got home- happy b-day Rachel! great party btw.
Had a photo shoot at the zoo this morning with Lulu as a model in a Halloween costume- so SO cute.
stayed tuned for more details on that.
Life is busy and life is full...but most of all...

La vie est belle!