From the beginning, part of the plan was to use Munich as a homebase. A place to live and work in between hops and bops around Europe. And so, we went to France for 10 days; it was fantastic.

Less than a day after buying and registering our van, we packed up the big Grey Goose for her first roadtrip, and headed out to the Loire Valley, where we spent the weekend with incredibly gracious hosts: Dave's old boss, Loic, and his family. While in San Francisco, Loic always talked about his hometown, and now we understand why his American wife wanted to raise their kids in France. We stayed in their beautiful, very old, and very French, made-with-stone-and-must-have-been-built-in-like-the-1400s, home in Bouchemaine, a village within the Loire Valley. We arrived late at night and couldn't see much, so when we woke up in the morning it was especially dramatic. And old, historic, and storied. And OLD! I really didn't believe places like this still existed. I thought they were torn down long ago, parking lots paved, and new homes raised. But no, these villages are cobblestoned, with narrow streets, original architecture, and patisseries that could have baked for our great grandmothers.

Dave and I woke up to fresh croissants that our hosts picked up that morning, we then went for a long run along the Loire River, up through a creek and around some wineries that were. just. breathtaking. Loic took us into the nearby city of Angers for a lunchtime souffle (amaze), followed by people watching and beer drinking on the town square (adorbs). For Saturday evening Loic and his wife hosted a little dinner party with two other expats from their village. As the empty bottles of wine from the nearby vineyards piled up, we ate homemade raclette, talked about the loves and heartaches of living abroad, art festivals, politics (American and local), raising children, raising dogs. It just couldn't get any better. Until it did with Sunday lunch at L'Abri Des Bateliers, a short walk from our hosts' house in the middle of La Pointe (did we mention this was a UNESCO world heritage site?). Another run and some wine tasting for the ladies (Dave and Loic mountain biked, got two flats, and had a great time themselves), and we were off ...

... To PARIS! We drove in Sunday night so Dave could head to his company's HQ Monday morning. Bright and early he was off to the metro, so I went running with Truff. First stop: the Eiffel Tower! Only a few hundred yards from our hotel, I hadn't even warmed up yet when she came into full view, right there, in all her glory. Not gonna lie - I totally got goosebumps as we got closer. I don't have a good explanation for why, other than because it's a landmark of ultimate stature. Somewhere that, growing up, always felt so far away and so sophisticated. The intention (and work) to make my life what it is, that effort materialized into this, any Monday morning run through Paris. Maybe that's why - because I just felt deeply excited to be there, and greatful for the moment.

I worked Monday and Tuesday, so didn't have too much time to explore, but managed to check off a few croissants from THIS list (thanks to Rachel for the brilliant find) while walking around the 8th and 9th arrondissements. But I took Wednesday and Thursday as VACATION days, to play tourist in the city. Since it was my first time, I wanted to hit a few major sights (aside from the Eiffel of course). Wednesday, I made it to the Musee Rodin (for all you Conn College folks out there, this is where Rachel did her CISLA internship in 2002). It was special to visualize my friend working here as an eager student during a college summer, while I did my CISLA internship in a national park in Costa Rica, and where our lives have taken us fifteen years later. Anyways, the museum was just my speed: it wasn't particularly crowded, and I liked that (some of) it's most renowned pieces are outside in the property gardens (The Thinker, Gates of Hell). And I liked that Rodin was such a rebel of his time. The next day, I hit up the Louvre. Which I found to be majestic, but overwhelming. Tourists are aggressive (a woman literally elbowed me out of the way and then proceeded to cut me in line). Easily most notable were the Islamic Art galleries, Psyche and Cupid, and Venus de Milo. The Mona Lisa was of course, a scene, and I couldn't help but have images of The Da Vinci Code run through my mind :)

Aside from Museums and my self-guided croissant tour, I walked around, along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe (which felt like Union Square in San Francisco) and quickly moved on to other pretty, hip neighborhoods. But no matter where I was, there were Americans everywhere. And everywhere, everyone was smoking. The Parisians were easy to identify, though, because they were in heels and strutted the streets with attitude.

For our last night in Paris, we had Date Night! Proper champagne and holy-crazy-delicious dinner at Monsieur Blue, a treat for our engagementiversary, and then a view of the city from the tippity top of the Eiffel Tower. Which, is way bigger and higher than you'd think. And if I hadn't mentioned it before, majestic.

Friday morning, we packed the Goose back up and headed to skiing mecca Chamonix. For years I've been dying to go to Cham, but Dave said it wasn't the right mountain for me. Turns out, it was indeed everything I hoped it would be: a picturesque mountain town (eh, more like city) nestled in a valley as perfect as you could ever imagine. And the views while skiing take your breath away. We had no trouble parking our grey bird each of the three evenings to bunk up for night - and even better, there was a brewery 300 feet from where we parked. Spring conditions on Saturday, blue skies, and great corn snow. Classic cloudy cover and firmer conditions for Sunday - a good day to practice the transition from boards to skis.

But as I write this, we're stuck in traffic worse than I-80, paying our dues.

We'll let you know about those 3 nights sleeping in a converted car on the side of the road in a post to come.

In sum, after 10 days in France, here's what we've learned:

Locals REALLY do eat croissants every day, and each bike basket literally has a baguette inside.
Street style is different in France and Germany. I expected one unified "European" look, but I was mistaken. Two countries, two distinct styles.
The stereotype of rude service is... so, so true.
Americans tourists are everywhere, but all tourists use a selfie stick.
We wonder the influence or impact of the oldness of Paris, and France in general. On style, on aesthetic, on cultural mindset.
[From Dave] German's like their privacy. The French let everyone knew their dirty secrets. Evidence: German offices (both employer and customer's office) are closed off with no open floor plans/space and windowless office doors. Paris offices (at Dave's company's example) has an open floor plan and glass offices.
Wine is cheaper than beer... half price or so.
How are there so many pastry shops with so many local customers, and everyone's still so darn skinny?
France has way fewer solar panels than Germany.
We'll go back, soon I hope.*

*At the very least, for the La Roche Bluegrass Festival this summer where our friends Front Country are playing!!! It's a 6.5 hour drive from Munich in the middle of the French Alps, so if you're looking for a vacation, come join us!