Posts tagged France
7 Steps to Ensure The Best 24 hours In Saint Émilion!

Saint Émilion is a delightful medieval city in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its red wine, charming scenery, and Romanesque religious architecture. Its history of winemaking dates as far back as the 2nd century Saint Émilion is a delightful medieval city in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its red wine, charming scenery, and Romanesque religious architecture. Its history of winemaking dates as far back as the 2nd century when the Romans planted grapes in the area. Today, the town and the surrounding vineyards are UNESCO world heritage sites and continue to produce world renowned wine. Ever since I took an intense Wines and Spirits course in college, I had wanted to visit this region of France. I couldn't believe almost 20 years later, here I was experiencing it in real life! Follow our (obviously very important) steps below to ensure an amazing visit to Saint Émilion.

Read More
Photo Dump: Saint Jean De Luz, France

On one of our last days with Chip's parents, we decided to sneak twenty minutes south of Biarritz, along the Basque Coast, to a charming fishing town called Saint Jean De Luz. With only one day here, we narrowed down the best of the best...an incredible restaurant called Pil Pil Enea, a unique underwater winery tour at EgiaTegia, a walk around the main town, and a nap (for me and Chip) and paddle ball at the Grande Plage (beach). Below is our photo dump of our day in St Jean De Luz!

Read More
Bummerland, Here I am (in Carcassonne!)

It felt wild to be saying goodbye to our time in Biarritz. It was hard to put a finger on exactly what, but it was just one of those places. One that you could effortlessly slip right into and never look back on your previous life. But, ultimately we were excited to continue on and discover more of France. During this portion of the trip it would be just me and the boys. Chip’s 'month of pause' was up and he had to fly back to the U.S. to work. So on me and the boys traveled, our next stop being a visit to a fairytale city in the South of France: Carcassonne!

Read More
Basking Along the Basque Coast - Biarritz, France

I actually just muttered to Chip out loud "how will I ever write about Biarritz?" As usual, summing up our time seemed like an impossible task. With a history as royalty’s summer resort destination and Europe's birthplace of surfing, Biarritz perfectly marries grandeur with laid back. In the three weeks that we spent here, we found ourselves slipping into sweet European beach life effortlessly. On several different occasions Chip and I would catch ourselves eyeing the real estate brochures in windowfronts and discussing what life might look like if we moved to Biarritz. Now looking back, it almost felt like we spent a whole year there with the amount we did and saw. Perhaps it was because my eyes, body, and mind hadn’t been in a place of such stark contrast to the U.S. in quite a few years. Flashbacks of silly moments with the boys as waves pummel our bodies, strolling through the cheerful Halles de Biarritz food market (almost daily), grandparent visits, sunset runs along the coastline, the colorful culture, people, and food all come flooding back like it was yesterday. I can’t quite put my finger on what was so special about Biarritz, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. As well as go and see for yourself.

Read More