June 2013: France Tour Part V

The last part of the June 2013: France Tour series! This one is all about Paris! ;)

Musee du Louvre

Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

I got this at breakfast. :D I'm a kid at heart, okay?

Académie Nationale de Musique (National Academy of Music)

I think this restaurant was housed in a building that was 500 years old. Also, REALLY delicious escargot! Garlic-y and buttery. <3 And finally another place with good baguette! This restaurant was the second, and last, time we got to eat good baguette. I also had creme brûlée here... And now I can't have creme brûlée anywhere else, but in France! France spoils you with her desserts. :(

On a cold, but relaxing river boat tour along the Seine River. Love the colors of all the lights. So enchanting.

It's practically impossible to see, but there were people walking or sitting down and talking along the embankment of the Seine River. I really like the French lifestyle. Taking a couple hours for every meal in order to enjoy the food and your company. Walking about with your friends and family at night, savoring life for what it is.

La tour Eiffel at night.

The light illumination of La tour Eiffel, which only happens at midnight. Needless to say, I left myself in France (and Japan, where I traveled before high school). <3

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June 2013: France Tour Part IV

Not too sure what was going on. I think it was a scheduled march of some sort, possibly to reenact what happened back in the past at this castle... Which I forgot the name of. :/

Lunch at the restaurant on the castle grounds. What happened was so cute and warm! This man was the tour guide of an Italian tour. It was their last day of the tour, and the tour guide sang two Italian songs. It was great fun. Such a warm and inviting atmosphere! A nice change from the quiet French. I took a video of this. Haha!

So, um, you probably expect this by now, but I forgot the name of this castle too... Maybe I should go back to France in order to refresh my memory? ;) Again, a hawk or eagle flew over this castle.

Another delightful town we passed by to get to our next destination, which I think was Mont Saint Michel??? No pictures from there because it's mostly about the experience there. It honestly looked like any other church to me...

My family and I, along with several others, opted to go for an optional night tour with our tour guide. The sunset and town  at night were beautiful.

Magnificent red flowers outside of an adorable hotel.

Unfortunately, places close very early in France. I really wanted to go inside this boutique. So many pretty light fixtures!

Saint Malo: After watching the sunset and ocean waves, we walked on and saw some girls having a party in the apartment overlooking the ocean. We talked to each other by shouting back and forth. I thought it was a nice experience, one I could only have in France. (Can you guys tell I loved France?)

Check back for Part V, which will be all about Paris!

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June 2013: France Tour Part III

Cherry tree in front of the yellow building

Chateau de la Cour Grand Cru in  Saint-Emilion: The second wine tasting. The cherry tree was filled with very red, pretty, and tasty cherries. This was my favorite lunch even though it was just picnic-style fare and light. In front of me was the vast field of grapevines, to the far left a cherry tree, and above me the sun, which came out after the rain that morning. A nice wind accompanied everything. I really love the weather after a rain shower.

Not sure where this was. The tour passed by this place. I thought the roses growing along the door would make a wonderful photo-op so I snapped it! :)

My first macaron ever, and in France no less. A nice couple on our tour bought a bunch of macarons and shared it. :)

At the train station to take a train to go further up north. It was a great break for our tour bus driver. :) Also, my second-ever macaron. I don't think I can eat macarons from anywhere else now... France, you've spoiled me!

Passing by another lovely town to get to our next destination: our hotel!

I'm so glad a fellow tour member told me to come over and smell these pretty roses. They smelled exactly like rosewater! So fragrant and sweet~

My mom and her friend's room.

My dad and my room.

Beautiful red roses.

Isn't this bunny cute? I admit, I was super tired and it took me a while to realize it was a bunny...

Look how green and lush everything is!!!

The hotel we stayed at before going off somewhere the next day. For the first time on this trip, we had GOOD baguette! Shamelessly, we asked for a ton during dinner and lunch. Surprisingly, good baguette is super hard to find in France. Baguette is usually so hard here! :(

Check back for Part IV!

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

June 2013: France Tour Part II

Unfortunately, I'm not sure where this place is. The tour only stopped in this place for lunch and a break. The house is charming, no?

Amarillo ice cream in Toulouse: Toulouse was a cute college town. The night we arrived, there was a music festival. As you probably guessed, of course the college students were drinking, BUT no fights ensued! And the next day EVERYTHING was still clean and there weren't any broken windows! They're really responsible people. Over here, you can bet there'll be arrests, fights, and broken windows. :(

Another place I don't know the name of. We passed by this town on our way to our next destination. I love French towns. They look so quaint! I'd love to explore them more.

Gourdes: A town built from a mountain/cliff! There's a hawk or eagle flying above it. :)

Rocamadour: A town built onto a cliff/mountain. I think it's well-known for having this church and the resting place of a religious figure. I didn't really pay to the tour guide this day since I was more interested in taking pictures. There's another hawk or eagle flying over the monastery. (At least I think it's a monastery...)

On the way to the next destination. :)

Sarlat-la-Caneda: I think this town is known for pate and foie gras. I got one pate and foie gras from here and it was pretty good! Very expensive though. I swear this dog knew people were photographing him so he just kept posing. What a diva! :P

Check back for Part III!

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June 2013: France Tour Part I

I decided to post some choice photos from my tour of France that I took back in June 2013. I miss France! Not all cities/towns I visited will be posted. There will be several parts to this series because I took a lot of photos!

Chateau Eza in Eze: This dessert made a strong impression on me, and I remember its flavors even now. It was crisp, subtly sweet, and amazingly refreshing on an 80+ F day. 

Casino Monte Carlo in Monaco: My second time in Monaco, but I believe my first seeing the casino.

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse: Hostellerie Le Chateau was a charming restaurant overlooking a very pure river. The chef, Michel, was friendly and we found out that the old woman who took care of the money was his mother, the waitress his wife, and the waiter his son. The chef plans to pass down the restaurant to his son. The restaurant was the chef's house when he was growing up. Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is known for its extremely pure and translucent green waters. There's a "fountain of youth" here that we visited.

Chateau Mont-Redon in Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Our first wine tasting.

Nimes: Probably my favorite city/town I visited. It's so charming! It was too bad I couldn't spend more time here. :(

Check back for Part II!

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!