merci, vayable

"Mommy and Deanna are here!" I thought as I jumped out of bed on Friday morning... late. Oops. I showered, ate breakfast, and got ready as quickly as I could, and by 10:20am, I was out the door, running down 6 flights of stairs (carefully, kind of) to meet them at my metro station. 

They hadn't gotten all the way there on their own though. Anne, a designer, Vayable guide, and blogger at Prêt à Voyager had met them at their hotel. For the next three hours she introduced my mom and little sister to, in essence, what Paris really is. And to the concept that it is indeed "most beautiful in the rain."

We stumbled upon a brocante in the Northermost Marais,

took a stroll through le Marché des Enfants Rouge,

came across a familiar face,

  and explored more of Galerie Perrotin,

being sure to amuse ourselves with quite a few photos.

 Then we ventured to merci for shopping and design inspiration...

I truly could've moved in.

But for the sake of my lovely guests, we continued on

first to BONTON for laughs in its photobooth, next to Chocolaterie Joséphine Vannier.

From there we headed to Place des Vosges and caught the bus to the Left Bank.

Anne pointed out more than a couple of sites along the way, of course.

But once we'd made it to the Latin Quarter, we wandered by foot once more,

past Shakespeare and Company and into Notre-Dame.

By the time the clock struck one, I was so beyond impressed with Anne and her "Navigate Paris" tour. And then she dropped us off at Crêperie des Pêcheurs to enjoy the ideal rainy day lunch I'd previously only had the chance to tell my mom and sister about. I don't believe any of us could've loved Paris more.

Thank you, Anne for helping me make it so sweetly so at the weekend's beginning... to be continued...

fall break in bretagne, part 3

As the sun set in Plagasnou (please read part 2 if you haven't yet), Marie and Amy took one last hike along the water while I stayed inside with a migraine. It's a shame they let those through customs, by the way; I would've preferred to leave them in the U.S. Thankfully it lifted after napping for a short while. By the time they were back and showered at 8pm, I too was ready for dinner. Marie wanted crab. 

We drove all the way to Corncarneau to appease her and answer my oyster craving. As we had the night before, we split a bottle of white wine and each ordered off the prix-fixed menu. Entrée: oysters & snails; Plat: catch of the day; Dessert: red fruit tart.

We slept in the next morning. Then, we had breakfast, cleaned up our cottage, packed up the car, and headed south to Morlaix for the Sunday morning market.

The entire town was out and about buying fresh produce, fish, breads, flowers, homemade honey, vintage books, and even clothes. Click here for more photos.

But, within two hours of our wandering, it started to rain. When I'd told any French person I was going to Brittany over break, they'd told me two things: it's beautiful, bring an umbrella. A few additionally suggested I enjoy as many crêpes as possible. So, in perfect crêpe-feasting weather, we went to La Crêpe Enchantée.

Like many crêperies I'd been to in the past, they offered an economical lunch menu: local cider, a savory galette, and a sweet crêpe.

I enjoyed a spin on a traditional galette complet by having goat cheese instead of gruyere or emmental. And for dessert, um... do you see that crêpe above?! Divine. In addition to butter cookies, this region of France is famous for salted caramel and sweet butter; two main ingredients which paired delectably with baked apple.

I left Morlaix with the biggest smile on my face. I'd eaten extremely well, seen some beautiful places, spent time with two of my favorite people, and oh my how those days of relaxation were necessary. And the final amazing part? Feeling like I was on my way home as we drove back to Paris.

fall break in bretagne, part 1

As a result of more pressing (and, let's be serious, important) matters like the American presidential election and Hurricane relief in New York, I've failed to update you on the adventures of this past weekend. Not to worry, the time has come. I'd intended to visit Marie for my fall break, but when she instead suggested a getaway to Brittany, a northwest region of France, I couldn't refuse; crêpes originated there.

On Wednesday evening, Marie picked up Amy, a fellow grad student and I from the corner of Paris. Our first destinatinon: Rennes, the capital of the region and the hometown of Marie's former flatmate (who'd also come along for the ride). Upon arrival we went straight to bed, but on Thursday morning, despite the fact that mostly everything was closed for the holiday, we explored.

 

By noon though, we were on the road again. There was a very beautiful rocky island with a monestary on the agenda...

Behold, Le Mont Saint-Michel.

Climbing towards the absolutely stunning monestary for which the tiny island is known, we stopped into one of the many restaurants for omelettes and cider. I had mine with house-smoked salmon. Service may have sucked (kind of a lot) but it was pretty darn tasty, and so with full, happy bellies we continued up.

The view was incredible and the inside architecture wasn't too shabby either.



Following our lovely and free (I love being a student) visit, Marie and I couldn't resist investing in the quintessential Mont Saint-Michel souvenir: les galettes de la Mère Poulard. This biscuits, otherwise known as butter cookies, carry on "the ancestral tradition" of the famous cook and her "traitional sugar crust biscuits." And afterwards, we were treated to views of the island at sunset:

It was 6ish by the time we got back to the car, but thanks to our late lunch, we were satiated enough to directly continue on our way. Stay tuned for our stay in Plagasnous! And please, if can, try to pronounce it. It was literally as cute as it sounds.