06.2024 - 1 of 2
i tried my best to put these photos in order, but not sure how well i did. took several rolls of film on both my nikon fe2 and the olympus pen-ee2.
first time in france — bienvenue! admittedly, i wish this trip would’ve been different; and by that, i wish there had been a smaller group of us. i also didn’t plan much of it so it was a bit chaotic. but, i still look forward to returning… on my terms and very likely alone haha.
landing in CDG was absolute chaos. customs took an insane amount of time because folks from all over the world were flying in ahead of roland garros and the olympics. i was so jet lagged and sleep deprived. it was one of the first times i had been on a flight where i couldn’t fall asleep. after dropping off my bags at the airbnb, i was rewarded with the beauty of Paris.
unfortunately, the day after i landed, we picked up our rental car and drove out to the loire valley to enjoy the country side and vineyards.
it was also my first experience coming across a baguette vending machine. i learned recently, from my French teacher (justine), that these types of vending machines are found all over france. justine said she grew up with oyster vending machines!
the first vineyard we went to had some of the best wine i’ve had, but the owner and tour guide did not know what he was doing. we all laughed about it later.
we only stayed at the first house for a day. we packed up for the next house, still within the loire valley. i don’t think a lot of us were too thrilled with this decision. the second home was gorgeous and also a historic property.
this trip was for us to celebrate your uncle’s dirty 30, and for one of the nights we had a murder mystery party. we all got really into it with decorations and a full spread for dinner. it was just comical when the airbnb host showed up to help with something. we all froze and were so shocked and embarrassed all at the same time.
we soon discovered this home was also haunted ha! we all heard someone walking down the hallway trying to open our doors… we looked it up and learned about the drownings in the loire river during the French revolution, where a series of mass executions took place. in brittany’s dreams, it was a woman who walked out of the home and went to drown herself in the river. weird, i know.
the last few days were spent back in paris. a lot historical sites were fenced off because of the olympics, so more of a reason to return in the future! lots of walking, croissants, awful coffees, and delicious food. learned exactly how much i love escargot.
so, there’s a whole story behind why we never made it to roland garros, which is on me. ask me about it sometime, but i’ll just say that i’m happy we didn’t get tickets because the day we had planned on got rained out — whew.
i also learned on this trip that i don’t care for blatant luxury goods, and the desire to buy them doesn’t really exist. but, i do appreciate what i view as more “quiet luxury” fashion, which you see in paris fashion everywhere. you don’t see blatant labels, but high quality items selectively selected. i admit, though it’s not at the level of a louis or fendi, that i’d love to buy a bag from demellier, celine, or polène as part of my capsule wardrobe.
arc de triomphe was very cool, and had so many stairs. definitely got dizzy.
the opera house, palais garnier, was one of the most stunning buildings i’ve stepped foot into
the louvre is amazing but i did not care for the crowds
only three of us took the train to visit the palace of versailles, home of king louis xiv. this was one of my favorite parts of the trip for several reasons: 1) got time to get to know one of your uncles and his brother, 2) it was a slower day, 3) i learned that i enjoy audio tours, and 4) we had such a delicious lunch with an impulsive decision to share a few desserts together :)
