Paris: Crepes! French onion soup! Baguettes! We made it to Paris!

Bryce and I took Elise to Paris when she was five or six, and we hit it hard when we were there. I probably believed at the time I would never make it to France again. Returning for a couple of days was high on Elise’s list, but we skipped most of the main tourist attractions. We focused more on soaking in the culture.

We almost fell for a scam by a guy pretending to work for the metro. Apparently, this one is gaining in popularity. Not all machines in the Paris metro station accept American credit cards, but if that happens, you should only buy tickets from an employee at the desk behind the glass. Luckily, we grew suspicious in time, and in fact, we think he ate $70 the way it played out. So we scammed the scammer. Still, I was upset with myself, because I felt like I had done my research on scams and yet almost experienced one that in retrospect seems pretty obvious.

The rest of our time in Paris was great: highlights included Saint-Chapelle, the Catacombs, Montmartre, the Orangerie Museum, Musée d’Orsay and dessert on the Champs-Elysées. It turns out, Elise studied many of the paintings in the Musée d’Orsay in her Paris Modernity and the Avant Garde class – she enjoyed seeing them in person, and it was fun for me to be her student for the afternoon. 

Side note: what is up with all of these people who snap photos of all of the paintings they (barely) look at?

While it was sad to see the damage to Notre Dame from last spring’s fire, it was also incredible to see the fast and furious pace already underway to fix it.

Although we are traveling on a serious budget, with lots of picnic meals, it seemed wrong not to experience at least one good meal while in Paris. We ate at Chartier, a 123 year-old institution established under the philosophy of providing inexpensive, authentic French food. It was a fantastic, memorable meal. Possibly my favorite moment in Paris was watching Elise at Chartier, turning one way to order our dinner in French, then turning the other way to continue her conversation in Japanese with the couple sitting next to us.

Avignon: And then we were off to Avignon, our base in Provence. The Mistral is fierce here – much more powerful than Colorado winds. 

We discovered that our visit coincided with a Roman Festival in nearby Orange – it was amazing! Legions of soldiers marched around town and reenacted military drills/demonstrated ballistics in the impressively intact amphitheatre. It seemed like the whole town came out to participate – there were dozens of stations set up, each specializing in one area of Roman life (toys, blacksmithing, terracotta oil lamps, leatherwork, etc.).

We were also able to experience a virtual reality tour of the amphitheatre’s construction and appearance during Roman times. The whole event was impressive, and Elise kindly translated everything for me. We geeked out all day!

Avignon itself is a lovely town, and a great base for exploring Provence. In many ways, the typical style of travel here didn’t align with our trip – we have a limited food budget, no room for souvenirs, and I was too nervous about driving in a foreign country to rent a car. I also tend to gravitate towards more “active” travel anymore. But I do understand its appeal.

Another highlight was kayaking along the Gardon River, which was really pretty – much tamer than Colorado rivers, but with beautiful, clear water. It was a nice change of pace from our other activities, and kayaking under the Pont du Gard was a special treat.

Annecy: After Provence, we went to the alpine town of Annecy, which is absolutely gorgeous! It’s situated on the beautiful Thiou River, which is lined with quaint restaurants painted in pastel colors. Floral arrangements exploding with color were everywhere around town. Lake Annecy was equally impressive, with its pristine, aqua blue water and views of Mont Blanc. My pictures don’t do it justice. It’s just unreal here, and it definitely attracts residents and tourists who love to play outside (including beaches, bike/running paths, paragliding, and apparently skiing in the winter). Seriously, Google it, and put it on your bucket list. It’s close to my idea of paradise.

While in Annecy, Elise and I biked around the perimeter of the lake – 40 kilometers total. The views were gorgeous. And then we were off to a new country. Any guesses where (clue below)? I’ll just say Colorado, you’ve got some competition.