I spend a lot of time dreaming about where I want to travel next. A relentless sense of wanderlust buried itself deep inside of my soul many years ago, and rather than ease up with time, it seems to feed upon every new adventure. It just so happens I lucked out and married a man who was also born with a traveling spirit. So it was probably inevitable that we turned a simple gift card for a nice dinner into an excuse for a mini-moon weekend adventure. In December, I bid on and won a Relais & Chateaux gift card for a fancy dinner at our office Christmas party charity auction. So we thought... what better place to head than to the gastronomic capital of France?? You might assume like I did that Paris would hold such a title. But in fact, many consider France's second largest city, Lyon, to be the foodie capital of the country. Off to Lyon!
This place is no joke, and served one of the best meals I have ever eaten. I couldn't help taking pictures of most of the dishes - they were so beautiful! And the service was amazing. It was waaaay worth the trip, and was a really special date night with my handsome guy that I will remember forever. In total, we were in Lyon for three days. But because of the miserable weather, we ended up spending a lot of time in the museums included on the Lyon City Card (definitely worth it if you ever go). One of my favorite things that we did was to attend a traditional Lyonnaise puppet show at the Théâtre la Maison de Guignol, which is mostly geared towards children, but is equally entertaining for adults. Even though we couldn't really understand much of what they were saying, it was hilarious - I mean, how can you not enjoy a show about samurai bunnies?!? On our last day, we hiked up the Fourvière hill to check out the views of the city and the Basilique de Notre Dame de Fourvière. The pollution has hit Lyon just as bad as it's hit Paris lately, so the views came with a nice layer of smog. If you're interested in learning more about the city, Anthony Bourdain recently featured Lyon in an episode of his show on CNN, Parts Unknown. It's worth a watch.
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It's a bit tough to find the Eiffel Tower these days amid the serious pollution in Paris.
Apparently, Paris had the world's dirtiest air yesterday... and that is saying a lot (looking at you, Beijing and Cairo). We don't always get to see the effects of man-made pollution like this, but it's a stark reminder that we are living in a world that is suffering the consequences of our actions. A good colleague and friend of mine at the OECD (who in fact hired me!) is from Ireland, but has lived in Paris for the past 30 years or so. On St. Patrick's Day, she invited a few of us to the Irish Cultural Center in Paris for a bit of live music and Guinness. It was immediately clear we were in the right place. The place was packed, and the music turned out to be an eclectic mix of traditional Irish music and rock.
The Irish dudes in the band tried to speak French most of the evening with varying degrees of success, which just felt wrong. I mean, on St Patrick's day at the Irish Center, can't we at least hear your lovely Irish accents? Trust me, I doubt the French understand a word of what you're saying ;) One of the best parts about living in Paris is its proximity to the French countryside. Sure, Paris is a beautiful city. But like all big cities, it can become a bit suffocating after a while at the grind. And because most people here live in apartments in fairly tight quarters, a solid majority of Parisians who can afford it own homes in the country, where they can spread out, slow down, keep a garden, and breathe fresh country air - if only for a weekend. It also helps that property in France is significantly less expensive once you get about 1.5 hours outside of Paris. While Michael and I don't own any property to speak of, like so many Parisians before us, we sometimes need to get the hell out of Dodge and explore the quieter corners of the country. Last weekend, we rented a car and drove to a lesser-known department called Mayenne, which is in the Pay-de-la-Loire region. We stayed in a super-charming Bed & Breakfast run by a British couple who have converted an old barn and have a gaggle of chickens running around the property. I had never actually seen a chicken run before... it does not disappoint. One of our favorite towns in the area is called Chailland, which is everything I ever dreamed a French country village would be. It wasn't in full glory as the trees are still dormant awaiting springtime, but you get the picture. If you ever find yourself passing through, I would also highly recommend the restaurant in town at the Hotel des Voyageurs. We had a delicious four-course dinner with wine for under 50 Euro.
On Sunday, we drove over to a town called Fourgères, which is technically just across the border into Brittany, and is home to one of the largest medieval castles in Europe; the Chateau de Fourgeres. While there isn't much left of the castle interior like there is in some of the beautiful chateaux of the Loire Valley, this one is impressive for its sheer size and age, parts of which date from the 12th century. |
AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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