Our Adventures...

We're just about ready to head home...

2007-09-21T10:42:00.000-05:00

It's our last day in Nice. The beach was rocky and the water cold but we had a good time. We're heading to Paris tomorrow and then back home. We've taken more than a few pictures to show ya too! (400ish?)

See you soon! Sunday afternoon really...

C&C

Bonjour from Nice...

2007-09-19T02:48:00.000-05:00

Hey there!

We just got in last night. Man did Carmen ever hit me with a nasty little germ! I'm suffering. Popping Contact C's like candy. Hopefully it goes away in a day or so. Buggers!

Nice reminds me of Beverly Hills - palm trees, funky architecture and sandy colour tones. We haven't been down to the beach yet, but I'm sure that'll be remedied very shortly. :-)

The weather's been perfect so far. We're half way through our last week in France... we'll see you guys soon.

See ya!
C&C

One week down, one more to go...

2007-09-16T03:59:00.000-05:00

We took the train from Paris to Bordeaux and arrived yesterday afternoon. A short 3 hour ride on the TGV. I think it's supposed to be the highspeed train but it didn't seem all that fast.

Bordeaux is kinda not Paris. Which is not to say there aren't things to see here, but well, our first full day in Bordeaux we're heading off to the train station to rent a car and get outta dodge! :-p

Our first meal here was kinda dicey. We'll put pictures up when we get home, but all I have to say is raw beef anyone? (Beef Tartar! Who knew?! Clearly not me.) Carmen didn't come out completely unscathed... her salad/spray bottles were something special too.

Ah well, we're settled and heading out. See ya soon!

C&C

Our last day in Paris...

2007-09-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

What a busy week!

Our first stop on Monday was the Louvre. After elbowing our way through hordes of tourists to see the Mona Lisa, we make the executive decision that the museum was like every other we'd ever seen and left. Next we strolled over to the Eiffel Tower and climbed almost 700 steps to the top huffing and puffing along the way. Did I mention there were still more throngs of annoying tourists?! We were rewarded with a spectacular view of Paris for our trouble so I guess it was worth it. A short hop skip and jump away - after a chocolate/banana crepe - we found the Arc de Triomphe and yet another 200 stairs. :-( (Paris's most infamous roundabout...)

Tuesday was Normandy, Thursday the Loire Valley and today the Palace Versaille. We'll write more about these guys later. (With pictures.)

So today's our last day in Paris. :-( We've seen and done pretty much everything we set out to. Next stop... Bordeaux!

Hello from France!

2007-09-11T15:36:00.001-05:00

We haven't really had much chance to write anything up until now... and sadly this isn't going to be much of a post since there's a clown smoking a cigarette right beside me... but here goes!

We got into Charles de Gaul airport around Sunday midday Paris time. Nothing like Pearson, this was... quaint. But I did feel completely out of place - I couldn't speak the language - still can't - and had no idea where to go. Carmen's command of the language Francais was of very little help as you can imagine. (She did find our driver I suppose.)

Monday was kinda fun. We had no plan to speak of. What was our first stop in Paris you ask? A patisserie! The French certainly love their pastries. After that we walked over to the Sacred Heart church and took in my most breath taking view of Paris yet.

Well... the cigarette's finally getting to me. Until tomorrow!

I'm off to find another crepe! :-)

Bon Voyage!

2007-09-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

Finally, we're leaving for France in a few hours!!! I've never been to Europe so this is going to be a very exciting trip for me. Scary too... here's hoping I'm in good hands though - rumour has it Carmen's done this kind of thing before.

We'll be spending the first week in Paris where we have a few day trips planned: one to Normandy, one to Versailles and another to a random castle Carmen spotted in one of her brochures. :-)

Then it's off to Bordeaux and Nice for week 2. Yaay!

Apricot Jam

2007-07-01T18:45:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable! An entire Sunday afternoon spent turning apricots into jam - umm... Martha Stewart I am not - but there you have it. Turns out making jam isn't all that hard but waiting for it to set is killer. Are the damn jars even going to seal? How's it going to taste? (No less than 2 full bags of sugar were emptied in the process!) All questions will be answered tomorrow I guess. Well the jam certainly looks great:

As God is my witness...

2007-07-01T18:41:00.001-05:00

... I'll never leave Carmen alone in the kitchen again!!

...

"How did that happen?"

Here's to 6 wonderful months!

2007-06-29T07:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary! I can't begin to tell you how special you are to me. The past 6 months have been some of the happiest of my life. I love every minute we spend together. When I’m not with you I smile just thinking about you. It seems like I spend my days counting down until I next time I get to see you. Who knew Tuesday's could be so much fun?!?!

We shared many wonderful LATE nights together over MSN but I think our third date at Joe Badali’s was the night I knew that I was well on my way to falling in love with you! I will never forget the first night we met, the first hot chocolate we shared, the first time you told me you loved me or the first time you made me watch Star Trek!! We’ve already shared so many wonderful memories and laughs together...Sunday brunch, chattering teeth, Lake Placid, cooking disasters & successes, tickle wars, and pastries - we can't forget the pastries!! I can only imagine all the happy times we’ll share in our lives together. Just think, France is only a few months away!

You make me soooo happy. All I ever wanted was someone to share my dreams with and now I get to do that everyday with you. You are an amazing person Christian. I love you so much! Thank you for being you. Thank you for sending me that first smile! I’m soooo glad I smiled back!

Love, Your Little Twerp xoxoxo

Anna's Bakery...

2007-06-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we didn't really end up in St. Catherines by chance. We were looking for someone in particular...

We found Anna's bakery nestled in between an ice cream store and gift shop. When we walked in, the final touches were being put on a beautiful wedding cake which, I have no doubt, some lucky young couple out there will remember fondly for the rest of their lives. We were unconsciously drawn to a glass case filled with sinfully sugary little treats. It all tempted: cakes, tarts, cookies and squares - but what to choose?! We ended up leaving with a lemon cookie, a raspberry square, and a lemon square.

The cookie was to die for, light and very lemony. The squares were just as satisfying but much heavier. :-)

mmmMMMmmm...

Amazingly nothing went over the top with the sugar either! So important. We'll be heading back for more in the very near future I'm sure... :-p

Saturday in St. Catherines...

2007-06-03T20:59:00.001-05:00

june_2007_st_catherines 002, originally uploaded by angryfraggle.

We rolled into the cute little town of St. Catherines just outside Niagara Falls yesterday afternoon. Hiding from a blisteringly hot sun under the wide canopy of a gnarled oak enjoying pastries from Anna Olson's bakery took up most of our time I freely admit. (That would be *the* Anna Olson from the food network!!) Very nice.

Any idea what this industrious fisherman was planning to do with all those rods?! I've never seen anything like it.