Getting Country

There is so much more to France than just Paris, and while that's the first association for most people, the French countryside should not be overlooked! My dad and I decided to rent a car in Paris and drive from Paris to Bordeaux with some planned stops along the way. As soon as we got in the rental car, I was ready to get out of Paris. Not because I was sick of the city itself, but because I was scared for my life. The drivers there are absolutely insane, but it's the mopeds you really have to watch out for! All their zipping and zooming and cutting off and braking really discombobulates you and you're left hoping and praying that when you go to switch lanes (not that there are actually lanes in Paris), you won't hit a moto. Fortunately we didn't hit anyone, we just got yelled at a lot.

I made my dad pull off the road so I could
take this picture. I don't even know where
we were when I took it.

Once on the road, it was smooth sailing! Or so I thought. Anyone who has driven in Europe as a foreigner has got to have somewhat of a hilarious toll road story. Ours unfolded about 2 hours into the drive. I really needed to go to the bathroom so we had to pull off the road and pay our toll at the exit. The damage? €9. Not that bad. The machine said it took credit card, but it didn't take ours. Shit. We hit the "call" button and the woman on the other end was extremely helpful, "You're card is rejected." Thank you. It was so nice of her to point out the blatantly obvious. We tried another card and again it was rejected. Keep in mind that the entire time this is transpiring we are being honked at like crazy (a substantial line had built up behind us at the toll exit) and  we even had the pleasure of being verbally assaulted by an old French lady who was red in the face from yelling at us from her rolled down car window. Good thing I don't understand French. We had only €50 notes (our mistake), but it was our only option. The machine gave us change, in coins. There happened to be some construction workers who were working on the road and upon hearing the dropping of all the coins into the change dispenser, they looked at us, laughed, and yelled "Jackpot!" I'm actually really glad they said that because it made me laugh and up until that point tensions were seriously rising. And then, violà, the gate opened and we were free.

Aside from the toll gate experiences (yes, there were more mishaps), I really enjoyed the drive. It was quite beautiful once you were out of the city and on the highway. We rented a cottage  in the town of Les Pinsonnières for two nights. I don't even think you can call it a town, it's more like a collection of houses and a bakery. It was so charming though and exactly what we wanted. It was my first time using VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) and it was definitely a positive one. My Mom has used VRBO for plenty of vacations in the past, but I felt like a real adult when I booked it and contacted the owners myself. It was so nice to be able to buy our own food and eat at a table in the yard instead of a restaurant or cafe with hundreds of pedestrians sizing up your food choice. There was no wifi or cable, but it was nice to be disconnected for a bit and literally wake up the the sound of birds singing outside my window.

La Chapelle Blanche. A tiny town that
we passed through while searching
for Les Pinsonnières.

Our little cottage! At this point, we were just thankful we
found it. The houses don't have numbers because it's a
small town and they are all "easy" to find.

Being all domestic

So, Da Vinci had a house here. It's actually in the town of
Amboise (also adorable), but they have turned his mansion
and his gardens into a museum that displays his original writings,
drawings, paintings, inventions, etc. IT WAS AWESOME!
Le Cloce Luce is a must visit! This man was incredible.

The Loire River. All along this river is a fantastic wine region
known as the Loire Valley. Yes, we tasted wine. Yes, we
bought some bottles. Yes, I already drank them.

Chateaus literally everywhere you look

In the town of Amboise, looking up at
the city's famous Chateau.

This portion of the trip was the most unplanned, but it was really awesome. We got to play things by ear and do whatever we were in the mood for. Having a rental car made such a difference and we wouldn't have been able to explore these places in the same way if we didn't have one. Most of the things we did and saw happened by accident or random discovery, it's a way of traveling that I have really come to enjoy.

PARIS!

I think it's rare that a 22 year old can go on a 2 week European vacation with her dad and have an absolutely fantastic time, but that's exactly what I just did! As all of you (the 5 people who probably read this blog) know, I just moved to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Before settling down in my new city though, my Dad and I decided to leave 2 weeks early and travel through France and northern Spain before arriving at my final destination. These past two weeks have been an absolute blast and I am so thankful that I have parents who are cool enough to travel with me! (My Mom and I went to China in January of this year). Our trip was filled with lots of laughs, great food and wine, plenty of cultural misunderstandings, and a hell of a lot of good memories. It seems like a ridiculous task to try and recount all that we did, but I will do my best.

Standing atop the Arc de Triomphe

We started our journey in one of the world's most iconic and well known cities: Paris. There are an innumerable amount of things to see and do in the city, but since it was my first time, I stuck to the typical tourist route. That being said, I also take after my mother and made sure that we made the absolute most out of our days and saw everything that we wanted to see. I warned my dad, I was going to crack the whip in Paris, but after that we could take it easy. We were there for 4 days, and for 4 whole days we ran all over the city. We had purchased a Paris Pass in advance and it gave us access to all of the top attractions in Paris. I highly recommend getting one if it's within your budget. Aside from granting you entry into the best museums, galleries and attractions, you get to bypass all the lines! This place was worse than Disneyland, the lines were insane everywhere. I could list all of the things we saw and did, but I'll show you pictures instead :)

THE Eiffel Tower! I never really realized
how huge it was until I was an ant standing
underneath it.

Notre Dame Cathedral. The
architecture of this building
is out of control.

Inside Notre Dame. Look that that
Rose Window!

Sainte Chapelle boasts some of the
world's best stained glass. It was
breathtaking

Musee d'Orsay. The museum is housed in
a converted train station. It's
Impressionism collection is phenomenal.

Musee Rodin. The gounds of this mansion were more
interesting to me than the works inside. The sculptures in
the gardens though are very impressive.

Arc de Triomphe. The only way to
get to the top is by a narrow
spiraling staircase. We climbed
a lot of steps.

Sunset view of Paris from the 59th floor of the
Monparnasse Tower.

We ate ridiculous amounts of cheese.
But we walked it all off. Right?

The Lourve! I have never seen such an extensive art
collection. The size of the museum was
overwhelming.

Pont Alexandre III. Of all of Paris' many
bridges, this one is the most ornate, complete
with gold statues and nymphs.

River cruise along the Seine

THE CATACOMBS! Easily the most interesting
and unique of the attractions that we saw. These
are real human bones.

Luxembourg Gardens. This is such a great park right
in the heart of the city!

The Bastille, or rather, the plaza where the
famous prison once stood.

Versaille's Hall of Mirrors

Palace of Versailles. The true embodiment of the
extravagance of French Royalty.

Paris was an all around good experience. The entire city is so dang picturesque! From the cobblestone streets to the countless cafes to the fashionable people that walk the streets, it's no surprise why so many people have fallen in love with the city. I loved it too, but it was also extremely busy and chaotic. By the time our 4 days were up, I was ready to escape the hustle and bustle and dive into the French countryside.