Fond Memories of France

Want to escape for awhile? I was looking through some photos I took in France and thought I would share. 

About a month ago I emailed my husband while we were at work and told him that I wanted to be living in a little flat in Paris RIGHT NOW. Not much we could do about it, but a girl can dream. What about you?  Where would you go if you could hop on a plane right now?

I'd head to Paris and visit the Louvre to enjoy some art,

and see Saint Chapelle again (which we liked better than Notre Dame) and stare at the stars on the ceiling

and try to count how many different painted patterns there are on the walls.

I'd have a picnic lunch at the Eiffel Tower.

I'd stay in a flat downtown 

so I could wander around all day long exploring different areas and enjoying the atmosphere.

And every evening I would admire the sunset,

and the city lights.

Sigh! Wouldn't it be lovely.  Where would you go?

To see some more of my France posts, check here for Étretat, Honfleur, and others here and here.

6 Tips for Enjoying Paris

Last summer my husband, Jonathan, and I enjoyed a fantastic two-week holiday in France.  We spent some time with friends in Normandy visiting various places that I wrote about here and here.  We also spent three days by ourselves in Paris.  I know - how romantic, eh!


I thought I would share a few tips of things that worked for us and helped us enjoy Paris.  There are about a million things to do and see in Paris and everyone has their own tastes and agenda when they visit so these are just things that I thought were interesting or worked for us.  


1.  Plan your visit to the Eiffel Tower for late afternoon/early evening.  It was so much fun watching the colour of the metal change as the setting sun bathed it in different shades of orange and gold and to watch as the lights come on as day turned to night.  By the time we left the Eiffel Tower was all lit up against an indigo blue sky.

2.  My tip for a great evening's entertainment is to find a quiet place to stroll.  I've already mentioned one place that is great, but I'm going to tell you about two others that we enjoyed.   There is nothing better than going for a quiet, peaceful, and if you are with the right person - romantic walk.  You can saunter along and watch the setting sun and do some people-watching and chat about the day.
One of the walks we took was along the Seine.  We started at Pont de Sully and then walked along beside the island that Notre Dame is on and finally went across Pont Neuf.  There were people out enjoying the weather, playing their guitars, talking, and drinking wine.  I loved having the view of Notre Dame from across the river and watching as the lights came on.  From Pont Neuf you have a view down the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.

These next photos were from another evening when we enjoyed the Jardin des Tuileries. This garden is right beside the Louvre and is a classic formal French garden with gravel walkways through avenues of trees, sculptures, ponds that reflected the setting sun, and chairs everywhere so you can stop and soak in different views as you walk along.

3.   Go early to the Louvres as line-ups are crazy later in the day.  You can also buy your ticket in advance online although we didn't do this and had no trouble getting in.  We were in line at 8:30 and the doors opened at 9:00 and the line-up was only a fraction of what we had seen the day before mid-afternoon when it snaked around both courtyards and out along the street.

4.  Visit Sainte-Chapelle.  It could well be that I'm the only one who had never heard of this beautiful chapel, but it is definitely worth a visit.  Sainte-Chapelle is like Notre Dame's beautiful, but shy cousin.  Everyone visits Notre Dame, but if you walk just a short distance across the island you can visit this little gem.  It was built in 1248 and has the most extensive collection of 13th century stained glass windows anywhere in the world - and believe me they are amazing.  I loved all the painted designs on the wall which you can see in the photos below.  Every panel and pillar is painted in a different intricate pattern and the ceiling is covered in stars.  Gorgeous!

5.  Decide on what the most important things you want to see are and then book your hotel near there - that way you are sure to see it.  Jonathan's number one thing to see in Paris was the Louvre and mine was to see the Eiffel Tower at dusk.  So we found a hotel that was right near the Louvre so it was no problem getting into the line-up early as it was only a 5 minute walk away.  The hotel was also very near the subway so we could easily get to the Eiffel Tower.  In case you are interested we stayed at the Timhotel Palais Royal and would recommend it if you are looking for a small very quiet hotel.  Our room was comfortable, had an ensuite bathroom, and included breakfast.

6.  Pack clothing that is both comfortable and looks good - especially your shoes and purse.   I only took two pairs of shoes with me - a pair of comfortable walking sandals and some athletic shoes.  We weren't planning on doing anything fancy so I knew that what I was taking would be enough and my feet were comfortable the entire time.  Nothing can make a trip worse than having uncomfortable footwear.  As for a purse - I swear by using a small sized bag so it isn't too heavy and I made sure it was a cross-body style so that your hands are free, you can keep it safe, and it takes the pressure off your shoulders.

Yes folks I sat in the Jardin des Tuileries and took a picture of my feet   

I wish I was going back to Paris this year, but we can't have amazing trips every year now can we?  Maybe next year though.  A girl can dream.

Linked to Inspiration Friday At the Picket Fence

Day Trips Around Normandy France - Honfleur

France is so gorgeous that you can literally take a different day trip every single day of the week and always find something amazing to see.  Recently I showed you the the day we spent at gorgeous Étretat and today I wanted to show you Honfleur.  


Honfleur is a quaint historic coastal town located on the estuary of the River Siene.  We visited it on a lovely warm summer day - one of those days when the sky is so blue it almost hurts your eyes and it brings all the colours to life.  

Our French friends took us to Honfleur via a small town called Vieux-Port which is part of la Route des Chaumières (which translates as Route of Thatched Houses).   Vieux-Port is about a 45 minute drive from Honfleur and well worth stopping at on your way.   It is a postcard-pretty town along the River Seine famous for its tudor-style homes with thatched roofs and holly hedges.

  

I have never seen plants grown along the seam on thatched roofs, but they did that quite often here - on both gates and homes.  It apparently helps strengthen the seam.

When you finally do arrive at Honfleur after enjoying the gorgeous homes in Vieux-Port, you will not be disappointed.  Honfleur is the kind of quaint town where you find yourself spending the day ambling along pretty streets, climbing narrow stairs, poking your head down alleyways, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the harbour, and just generally soaking up the atmosphere.  Whenever my husband and I visit places like this we always wonder why we live where we do.  

At the heart of Honfleur is the picturesque harbour.

If you are thinking of visiting Honfleur with children - you might want to take a ride on the vintage merry-go-round near the harbour.

Sainte-Catherine Church in Honfleur is the largest wooden church in France.  I loved the patterns made in the wood shingles down the front side of the church.

It has a ceiling that was built to look like a ship's hull,

The town is full of lovely touches like this beautiful door, the chimney pots, the mermaid inset into the wall, and the window boxes full of flowers.

Of special significance for Canadians - well really for any history buff - is knowing that this is where Samuel de Champlain set sail from in 1608 to establish Quebec City.  They installed a plaque on a wall dedicated to him.

Writing this brings back such fond memories for me.  

Day Trips Around Normandy France - Étretat

I've decided to do a new series highlighting some of our favourite places we visited around Normandy France last summer.  It was a fantastic vacation - one well worth spending some time remembering.  If you happen to be one of the lucky ones and are visiting Normandy this summer then be sure and take notes, and if France isn't in the cards for you ... well then how about a little armchair travel.  It's good for the soul.  


I'm going to start with my favourite day trip because I just can't wait to share it with you.   It was such a blast and including everything I love - a little adventure, a hike in some beautiful scenery, the ocean, old houses, and good food.

Most people get to Étretat  by driving to the pretty coastal town, but we stopped a few kilometres outside of town and took a different mode of transportation.  We were staying with our friend's in Normandy and going to Étretat by Velo-rail was recommended to them as a fun way to get into town (you can get more details from their website here).  Velo-rail is like a pump car that can be pedaled.  Five people can sit on the cars and, at any one time, two can pedal.

You ride down the hill through the countryside.  I'll let you in on a little secret though, it isn't exactly difficult cycling as gravity does a lot of the work for you so you are free to soak up the scenery. And just to put your mind at rest - you don't have to cycle up the hill as there is a train that takes you back up to your car at the end of the day.

Then as you get close to Étretat, the famous cliffs begin to appear behind the town .

Once you reach the station you walk down through the town to the beach.  The walk is lovely too as Étretat  is full of beautiful homes and gardens.

Love the shells decorating the front of this house

And a pretty Norman church

with a huge shell for holding holy water.

There are plenty of places to have lunch in town. We had a lovely sunny day so sat outside. I had some mussels which are traditional food for the area (they were delicious although a bit messy to eat).

After getting a bite to eat we headed down to the beach and walked up a trail to the top of the cliffs.  It was amazing, breath-taking, gorgeous...

We weren't the only ones to love Étretat - here is one of many pictures Monet painted there.