Sunday, April 10, 2011

Paris and the French.

finally a review of our trip to France.  needless to say it was amazing, there are 500 + pictures here, that i'm still reviewing and adding descriptions. so i'll give you a cliff notes version of our trip. the group shot above is myself and PJ, along with Alaine, Maryline and Emmanuel Podaire.  Emmanuel was our exchange student from last summer and his parents hosted us for a few days in Toulouse.  a truly wonderful and charming family whom we hope to be able to continue the friendship through correspondence, and who knows another trip in the not too distant future. now the review-

~the weather was awesome. jeans, t-shirt, and a jacket (in the morning) was all that was required, and the french were easy to identify since they still had on their jackets and scarfs even when it hit 77 in Paris.
~the food-AMAZING-bread, macarons, cheese, etc. i tried duck breast and duck terrine for the first time (i'm shamefully addicted), i had foi gras at a restaurant which i've had before, but am glad that i tried it in france to have an authentic point of reference.  i also had country terrine when PJ and I had our meat and cheese dinner which was made from pork, that's all i'll say about that except that it was good-you don't need more details.
~new love-crepes! both savory and sweet-i so want a crepe pan now
~all the french wear wristwatches-men and women-i've gotten so used to using my phone as a watch i found this strangely amusing.
~scarfs-men and women both wear these with flourish
~french women wear very fashionable shoes-although they look painfully uncomfortable, but i learned in france as far as fashion, anything goes, as long as it fits. that seems to be the really fashion miss among many americans.
~french men are gorgeous and know how to dress
~the french were very friendly-always willing to help out, and there were only a couple snotty folks.
~flowers-while it was a bit early for the gardens to be in full bloom there were a few colorful parcs.  the french love their flowers, and i was surprised to see how many plants in france are also in the us such as-hydrangeas, azaleas, pansies, and coneflowers.
~the city sites-there is so much to see in Paris, and since the weather was so good, we did a LOT of walking. we visited- the louvre, musee d'orsay, musee caranvalet, the eiffel tower (day and night), the arch d'triumph, pere lachaise, sacre coure, champs elysee, used the batobus to get around on the seine, notre dame cathedral, st. germain des pres, and MANY other churches. paris is truly a beautiful city
~the architecture is so awesome to look at, i couldn't get over the iron work and the buildings.
my only question is when do i get to go back?

4 comments:

Mary said...

i looked through the photos with sara yesterday - you guys definitely made good use of your time there! and you were a lot more adventurous with your food than I was... yay you! ...wish we could go back together. I love paris!!

Sara said...

I loved all your door photos - really interesting how creative people can get with their paint colors. Sounds and looks like your trip was fabulous, ad I can't wait to hear about it in person (especially the food)!

Nancy McCarroll said...

Glad you had a great trip!

Beth said...

Your trip sounds so wonderful!