After exploring Bayonne, Espelette and the biggest sand dune in Europe, our next little outing was to the beautiful city of Bordeaux! In 2008 I had lived in Bordeaux for about a month or so and I sort of got to know my way around. I just had to go back to this charming French city […]
travel photography
Hiking to the Passerelle d’Horzarte
I saw a photo of this beautiful gorge and cool-looking suspension bridge in a travel book, and thought “I’ve got to go there!” And we did! Finding the Passerelle d’Horzarte wasn’t easy. Horzarte is a strange word, and not very French sounding. That’s because it comes from the Basque meaning for “between walls”, holtze arte (referring the […]
A Quaint Basque Town, Espelette
After a day trip to Bayonne, we decided to venture onwards to check out more southerly places like Espelette. If you read my Bayonne post, you’ll know that a paste made form the peppers is used in the curing of delicious Bayonne ham! This is a foodie adventure. A little Espelette history You […]
Bayonne, Enter Basque Country
After leaving Paris and stopping over in Tours for an aimless wander around, we camped over in the town of Dax. From there we took a 40 minute drive south to check out Bayonne. This is pretty much Basque Country. I had been to Bayonne years before and remembered it as being a cool […]
Tours, Where the Real French Accent Comes From
Tours is a strange name for English-speakers because, well, its English meaning is just the plural of tour (as in, “I went on a tour of France”.). Although to be understood in France you have to pronounce it with an “oo” sound rather than the natural English pronunciation. There we go. Now you also have a […]
Sunset at Sacré-Coeur
The full name of this well-known landmark is… The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris (the Sacred Heart part of it refers to Jesus’ heart). A little further out of the way than most of the central attractions in Paris, this popular Catholic church is situated at the highest point of Montmarte in the 18th arrondissement. Receiving millions […]
Musée de l’Armée, Paris
I love learning about the world by examining the fascinating history of intricate objects from different eras. However, when I’m just visiting a city like Paris for a few days , I prefer to be ambling around outside or exploring green spaces. The only reason I ended up in this museum is because my husband really […]
Jardin Des Plantes, Paris
If you’re a lover of nature, greenery, foliage, flowers and all the other wild plants out there, the Jardin des Plantes is definitely for you. Situated near the Latin Quarter in Paris, the original name of the garden gives us a clue as to its function: Jardin royal des plantes médicinales (the royal medicinal garden). The garden was founded […]
Navigating Rive Droite, Paris
The locals call the right or northern bank of the river Seine in Paris the Rive Droite. The area is saturated with famous attractions. You’ll find the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, L’Arc de Triomphe, La Place de la Concorde, Les Jardins de Tuileries and Le Louvre on this side of the river. They’re all conveniently placed almost parallel to the river. Walking […]
Bridges over La Seine, Paris
Unless you’re familiar with Paris, you might not know that the river that runs through the famous city is called La Seine. You pronounce it with an ay sound: Sayn. The Seine snakes through Paris diving the city into two, much like the Thames cuts through London. In Paris, the north bank is called the right bank, River Droite. Face west, […]