Last week I had my first hair appointment and I decided to go to a hair stylist that another expat recommended.  The salon was nice and the stylist, Nicolas, is the owner of the salon so I knew I was in good hands.  Of course, he doesn’t speak any English so I had my French friend Claire tell me how to say what I wanted and I also showed him some pictures.

Getting highlights was a little different than in the US.  Instead of using foils, he basically painted some of my hair and put a few sponge-like things throughout my hair.  When he was done, he piled some plastic wrap on top of my head.  Of course I had an espresso while I waited.  After the highlights were done, a woman proceeded to give me a soin (deep conditioning treatment) and a head massage.

Next, it was time for my cut.  Nicolas and I discussed what he would do and I thought we agreed we would just cut a little this time which would be around my collar bone.  The chairs in the salon do not raise, so he had me stand at first.  As he started cutting, I realized my cut was going to be shorter than I expected.  I didn’t freak out though….he was doing a great job and I actually kind of liked my new length, I even felt a little “French”.  He had me sit down to finish my cut and style my hair and then the next thing I knew he put me in another chair and some lady started doing my makeup.  For the price I paid, it should include a makeover!

I’m so glad I received a good recommendation and my first experience went well!

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Can I just say I LOVE the markets in France?  To the point where we go every Sunday. We’ve only been to 2 different markets so far, but I’m itching to get to some of the others in nearby towns here.

There is a market literally a minute down the street from us and it has everything from  fruits and veggies, cheeses and meats, food, baked goods, clothing, furniture and of course some junk.  There’s even a food truck selling roasted chickens!  I love that you never know what you’ll find and there’s so many items with character.  So far we bought an old pair of wooden skis that we plan on hanging on the wall and a cute little wooden stand with a chalk board.  We have our eyes on an old wooden ladder that we keep seeing there which we would like to put on our balcony and hang small potted plants/herbs from it.

We also love the fact that there’s a cafe across from the market down the street that is always bustling with people sitting outside enjoying un café (espresso) or even a glass of wine!  It’ll be even more enjoyable when the weather is warmer 🙂

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We recently had some really nice weather around 60 degrees so Ryan and I decided to take advantage of it and visit Brioude which is about an hour away.  I heard they have a Saturday market so we decided to check that out.  The drive itself was beautiful and was a sweet reminder that we live in FRANCE!

When we got to the market, we noticed a lot of people lining up and later found out it was a march through the town for the recent shootings in Paris.  This market was a little different than the one in Clermont as it was mostly produce and food and they didn’t have any “yard sale” type items.

After the market we visited La Basilique Saint Julien.  This is the first cathedral we’ve seen in France; we haven’t even seen the inside of the one in Clermont yet!  It was really beautiful and had a very tiny spiral staircase to the top where you could overlook the entire church.  The ceiling had some really pretty paintings as well.

For lunch we stopped at a small crêperie.  Then we stopped at a patisserie to get a pastry and ate it outside while enjoying the sun and a cappuccino.

Before we headed home, we stopped in Lavaudieu which is a small village outside of Brioude.  It was so tiny I couldn’t imagine living there, especially as a child.  It had beautiful stone architecture, quaint homes and “hotels”, and a pretty stone bridge over a small river that runs along side the village.  It was very quiet and we didn’t see many people.

It was a great way to spend the day and just a taste of what we’ll see and do during our time here!