November 24, 2010

Uncharted


Uncharted- Sara Bareilles 

I'm baaack! France was a gorgeous, inspiring whirlwind of a trip. I ended up being completely spontaneous and just went wherever felt right, I got horribly lost (but felt pretty awesome when I figured things out!), ate waaay too much delicious bread and whiled away many perfect moments in cafes. 

I started off in London and then went across to Calais, hoping to catch a train to Rouen to see Claude Monet's garden at Giverny.... hmph. Good plan, not well executed! Having the French vocabulary of a middle schooler didn't make figuring out the train schedule any easier! But after ending up on a train going the wrong way and finding myself in the middle of nowhere France I decided that Giverny wasn't going to happen... so on to Tours in the Loire Valley! 

This was the best decision ever; as soon as I arrived I felt at home. The city is gorgeous, with the most amazing old architecture and winding cobblestone streets. It was hard to leave, but I wanted to head south, so my next stop was Bordeaux. I went to outdoor markets here and stumbled on a pretty amazing fashion shoot. My last stop before Paris was Toulouse... way further south than I was intending to go! It's such a vibrant city and I loved people watching from cafes here. 

My last few days were spent strolling around Paris. I don't know what it is about that city, but it gives me butterflies! My first glimpse of the Eiffel tower from across the Seine had me so excited that I had to stop a passerby and ask her to take my photo! I went to museums, wandered around Montmartre, figured out the Metro (wooo!), looked at a million books at Shakespeare and Co. and hunted down the perfect macarons. Traveling by yourself is exhilarating, slightly lonely, but so worth it. When it finally dawned on me that I could do whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted I felt reckless and independent. 

Chunky Knit Circle Scarf and Black Jeans: Gap, Stripe Top: H & M, Camel Boots: Liz Claiborne via Winners, Purple Belt: American Apparel, Turquoise Ring: Aldo, Heart Pendant: Le Chateau, Black Watch: Guess

Statues outside the Louvre

Macaron display at a Maison Fondee in Bordeaux 

Best fountain ever in Bordeaux
Eeek! First glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!



Sorry about the incredibly long post! Editing down the hundreds of photos was tough. It was such an amazing trip, I can't wait to go back!
I hope you've all been having a lovely time as well!
Au Revoir!
love
xxx

17 comments:

  1. So glad you are back, lady! Happy to hear you had such a great trip!! The photo of the fountain is gorgeous! And I love you little parisan outfit! So cute!

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  2. gosh, what an amazing trip! your photos are gorgeous!!!!

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  3. Welcome Home! And check out your awesome parisian inspired striped shirt.. smart move! Don't even think to apologize about the long post, I can't wait to hear/see more. Happy Thanksgiving xx

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  4. ooh, sounds like you had an awesome trip! I hope that you post some more pictures too, because the ones you did post are great!
    Oh, and I think that the hipstamatic app is only for the iPhone, but its always worth checking right?

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  5. Oh you have to put more photos up! I spent two months wandering around every nook and cranny of the UK. It is so amazing to not know what your going to do tomorrow or where your going to be! And all the little mis-haps are wonderful stories and you never forget them! I miss it! I'm so jealous!

    Shy

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  6. Welcome back!
    So glad to hear you had a great trip!! I'm insanely jealous!!

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  7. Wow, that looks like an amazing trip. And you look very french on your return, in your striped shirt.

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  8. Love love the black jeans white the striped top :). So chic!

    I hope you will get a chance to enter my holiday giveaway worth $200 in prizes.
    Visit Petite Gorgeous for more details.

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  9. omg!!!!! please post more photos!!!! i love this post!! glad to hear you had a grand time! :D

    i bet you were quite surprised with the snow accumulation here in the province since you've been away. teehee!

    Animated Confessions

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  10. YAY!!! WELCOME HOME Louise!!

    Your trip looks FAB!!!! The fountain at Bordeau and the last pic of the Eiffle tower are UNREAL. They are sooo good!

    I'm so happy to hear you had SUCH a great trip (despite getting lost and having a bit of a time with the French - oh well! :) What an experience to now have under your belt!! AMAZING!! :D

    A.Co @ A.Co est. 1984

    PS - I'm SO GLAD you asked someone to take YOUR picture. SO special to document those moments!! :D

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  11. Hey, I also tagged you in a post. You now have 7 secrets to share.

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  12. Welcome back! Your trip sounds marvelous! Please post more photographs! Language barriers be damned, it sounds like you had an absolute blast. And hey, travel adventures are always great, even if they don't go as planned. :)

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  13. Aw, we definitely missed you! I'm glad you had such an amazing trip; I am just a little jealous you got to spend so much time in France :) And of course, love your outfit!

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  14. Anonymous25.11.10

    Eeek! Gorgeous pictures. I'm so happy that you finally got to go on your dream trip and I think it's great that you went it alone. I haven't traveled by myself in so many years that I think it would be so intimidating yet so rewarding. Everyone needs to be pushed out of their comfort zone from time to time.
    There's nothing like a macaron display to give me the travel bug. But since I have no money perhaps I'll make my own and watch Chocolat or something ha!
    By the way, your scarf is GORGEOUS!!
    xx

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  15. Ahhh, so glad you had a wonderful time in Paris, and glad you're back! I must say that these pictures are just beautiful and very magical. Ah, the romance Paris has is so inspiring in itself. And I must say that your outfit is very parisian chic! You look marvelous my dear...

    P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  16. aww glad you had a great time hun! love your knitted snood :) xo

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  17. It looks (and sounds) like you had a wonderful adventure in France! You obviously brought some Parisian chic back with you, I love your striped top and skinny pants. And those boots are so cute! The Eiffel Tower statuette is the perfect accessory :) Lovely blog!
    xox,
    Cee
    http://cocoandvera.blogspot.com

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Thanks for all your lovely comments, they never fail to make my day! xx

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