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Yesterday we took a day trip to Le Puy en Velay, which is a town about an hour and a half from us.  It’s known for it’s cathedral, lentils and lace-making.  They have a weekly market on Saturdays so we walked around and, of course, bought some lentils.  Then we stopped at La Table du Plot for lunch where we had an appetizer of lentils with pigs feet (for the record I probably wouldn’t order that again…but we had to try it).

After lunch we checked out some of the lace shops near the cathedral and watched a shop owner making lace outside.  Then we went to the cathedral where we had to walk up 60 steps to the entrance.  While taking some pictures, we noticed a man laying down on a slab of stone in the front of the church and had no idea what he was doing. After reading more about it, this is a stone slab where people can lay upon it in hopes to receive healing.

We then went to Saint Michel d’Aiguilhe, a small chapel built on a volcanic extrusion.  We had to climb 268 steps carved into the rock to get to the chapel so it was a good workout getting up there but definitely worth it!  The chapel was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but really interesting to see.  There was a walkway built around the chapel so you could walk around it and see views of the city from all directions. We  were able to see the Statue of Notre Dame as well.

We were pretty tired after that climb so we headed home and had to stop at McDonald’s on the way after I saw a sign that they had McFlurries with Speculoos cookies.  Let me tell you, this was delicioussss!  And while I was in McDonald’s I noticed they were selling cans of Heineken…ahhh you just gotta love Europe!

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Last night we went on our first date night in Clermont Ferrand!  We’ve only gone out 2 other times sans bébé over the 7 months we’ve been here, but last night was the first time it was just Ryan and I.

After leaving Makenna with her Grammy, we headed to La Gourmandine for dinner which is one of the many small restaurants in the center of town.  Since the French eat a late dinner, we were the first ones at the restaurant for our 7:30 reservation.  We started our meal with an aperitif called a Kir which is white wine with black currant liqueur.  We each chose from the menu which included an appetizer, entree and dessert.  The food was delicious!  Then we stopped at an Irish pub for a drink.

On our way home we stopped at an outdoor concert, the Warmup Festival, which was a couple blocks down the street from our apartment.  I had to go to the bathroom when we got there and was expecting a nasty port-o-potty but was pleasantly surprised with actual bathroom stalls that were pretty clean.  My standards for bathrooms here have been lowered since many of them either don’t have a seat on the toilet, don’t have toilet paper or soap, are really small/dirty etc.  We then headed for the beer tent and immediately felt a little out of place since most of the people there were a little younger and more “hippie-ish”, but it was a lot of fun!  There were a list of bands playing throughout the night but the band that was playing when we were there was actually singing in English.  They finished their set and then 2 DJs started playing music on another stage while the next band was getting ready to come on.

We are really loving summer in France so far!

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My mom is visiting for 3 weeks so last week we took a trip to Barcelona.  It was about a 6 hour drive and the views were beautiful!  Driving on the highways here are nothing like driving on the long, boring highways in the US.  Unfortunately, the rest stops are not always the greatest and I found out the hard way that sometimes the bathrooms literally only have a hole in the floor and you have to squat!

We arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon so we decided to have a relaxing day at the pool after the long drive.  The hotel pool was on the rooftop and had ocean views which was really neat.  The water was pretty chilly but Makenna loved it anyway, and she really enjoyed her pool float!  After some time at the pool, we took a walk to see the nearby beach and then headed to the hotel’s outdoor lounge.  We sat outside and had some drinks and carpaccio until the hotel restaurant opened at 8.  We usually don’t go out to dinner here since restaurants open late and it’s hard with a baby, but Makenna did well and was happy chewing on some bread.  My first course was a vichyssoise soup with octopus.  That was my first time eating octopus and I liked it!

The next day we started our day with breakfast at the hotel and were pleasantly surprised at the selection they had.  There were meats, cheeses, fruit, eggs, pastries, saucisson (dried sausage), a chocolate fountain, champagne, espresso etc.  Of course Ryan and I had to have a few mimosas before we left!  We took a hop-on hop-off bus to the Sagrada Familia and spent quite awhile admiring the architecture and stained glass and then walked to a cafe for a coffee break.  Then we walked to see Casa Mila (another building along with Sagrada Familia and others that were designed by Gaudi) and headed to Santa Gula for lunch.  This restaurant was recommended to us and we loved the tapas there!  After lunch we got back on the tour bus and went to Park Guell which I was very excited about after seeing pictures online.  The park is so big that we only had time to see a portion of it but it was beautiful and had really great views overlooking the city.  We even got to listen to a guy playing the saxophone in one area.  I was hoping to see some statues made with mosaic tiles that I saw pictures of but we couldn’t find them….I guess we just need to plan another trip there!

We spent the following day checking out the Las Ramblas area which is a popular street full of shops, souvenirs, street performers etc.  When we rode past it the day before on the tour bus it was overflowing with people, so we decided to get there earlier in the day when it wouldn’t be as crowded.  We only saw 1 street performer which was a guy dressed like some kind of creature so we weren’t impressed; I guess we were there too early!  I spotted a Starbucks and had to stop for coffee…I really love my café in France, but I still miss my Starbucks!  Next we went to the La Boqueria market which was AWESOME.  There were booths with fresh smoothies and juices, candy, candied nuts, fruit, meats, empanadas, fish, oils, and more.  There were even some mini cafes set up where people could sit at the bar and eat.  We stopped at a wine store next to the market and got a few bottles of Spanish wine including Tempranillo (which was necessary since we failed to bring wine home from Italy!).  Next we checked out El Corte Inglès which is a big department store that sells pretty much everything you can think of.  We finished our day with some time at the pool and  a little shopping at the nearby mall.

Our last day in Barcelona was spent at our favorite place- the beach!  It was Father’s Day and Ryan got a nice gift of seeing some topless ladies at the beach (you’re welcome hunny)…although the majority of them were not something you’d want to see.  Makenna enjoyed playing in the water even though it was a little cold.  The only downside was there were people walking around trying to sell drinks, beach blankets and massages.  Which reminds me…there were signs in the Las Ramblas area with a picture depicting you will basically get the plague if you buy drinks from a street vendor.  For lunch we went to Can Manel near the beach and got paella- YUM!  Then we walked along the marina and checked out the yachts while drinking sangria.  After putting Makenna to bed that night, we ordered dinner to be delivered by Uber Eats.  Apparently the Uber taxi service was banned in Barcelona so they now operate Uber Eats where they pick up food from local restaurants and deliver it to you.  The menu changes each day and the food comes from a few select restaurants.  The food was great and it was so quick and easy to get our food!  Then Ryan and I went out for drinks (delicious mojitos) for our first date night in probably at least 9 months!  Thanks mom!

We heard and read so much about pickpockets in Barcelona but we never had a problem nor did we see anything shady.  I think if you’re smart about how you handle your belongings and you avoid the metro and certain areas at night it’s not too bad.

This was another great vacation and I’m so thankful we’re living in France and have the opportunity to travel to these places!

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I am wayyy behind on my blog posts!  In the beginning of May I went with some of the  other expat ladies to Vichy for a spa weekend.  We took the train which was fun in itself for me as it was only the 2nd time I’ve been on a train and we got to sit on these little couches and chat which was nice.  Vichy is only about 40 minutes away and the train ride took about the same time as it would by car.

The main idea behind taking this spa trip was for our friend Tracy to have a relaxing weekend before she is due with her 4th baby!  When we arrived in Vichy we went to a cafe for lunch and Tracy had a fancy mocktail while a few of us enjoyed flavored iced teas since you don’t see iced tea on many French menus.  We then checked into our hotel which had a spa and “Vichy Institute” for skin treatments etc.  We all booked different spa treatments and in between our appointments we relaxed in the pool filled with Vichy thermal water, the sauna and the hammam.  There was also a selection of herbal teas that we took full advantage of!

I decided to get a full body massage while I was there and that was definitely a different experience than what I had in the US.  The massage started off nice and relaxing and the next thing I knew she was karate chopping me, or at least that’s what it felt like!  Then, I had to turn and lay on my back which was normal until she took off the sheet and my whole torso was exposed.  She proceeded to massage above, below and in between my boobs.  That was a little awkward!  Overall it was nice and relaxing.

That night we went to dinner at a nice restaurant on the lake called La Rotande.  The menu was amazing and very different.  One of the things I love about being in France is trying foods that I normally wouldn’t/couldn’t eat back home.  I also find it hilarious that restaurants are 100% dog friendly and that in this pretty fancy restaurant someone brought in their dog the size of a bear, that laid by their feet the entire meal.  For my appetizer I ordered some kind of escargot dish that had green sauce…I can’t even remember what exactly I ate, nor did I really know what the description was in French but it was delicious!  My main course was pork cooked 4 different ways which again was very interesting.  We all had dessert and then the waiter came over with a cart full of candies, cookies and chocolates.  We couldn’t believe that on top of our dessert we were being served more sugary goodies!  There’s no limit as to how many candies you can choose, but I somewhat contained my inner fat kid and chose 3 things.  It was one of the best meals I’ve had in France so far and of course took about 3 hours like all French dinners.  I must admit, we’ve adjusted pretty well to the later dinner time and the amount of time it takes to eat out at a restaurant!

We spent the night in the hotel and took the train back the next morning.

I had a great time with the ladies and it was wonderful to have break from baby duty! But of course I couldn’t wait to get back to my loves 🙂