Our first French vacation took us to Toulouse, France to
visit Chip's sister Lucy and Hélène.
There hospitality was wonderful and it was so nice to get to visit with them
both. They welcomed us into their home and showed us their beautiful country.
Bringing a crazy little 2 year old boy into anyone's home is scary, but they
made us all feel at home. Both their friends and Hélène's family were very welcoming.
Getting to be immersed into their French life for a few days made the trip so
much more interesting than just your typical hotel vacation. So, before we even begin to share the
wonderful places we saw we must take time to say, Merci à Lucy et Hélène de nous accueillir dans
votre maison et nous montrer votre beau pays de France, nous ne pouvons pas attendre
pour le faire à nouveau! (Thank you to Lucy and Hélène for welcoming us into
your home and showing us your beautiful country of France, we cannot wait to do
it again!)
Peyton, Chip, Lucy
Hélène, Brittany
We started our
trip with a flight from London into Carcassone, France. Then it was time to get
our rental car and drive on the RIGHT side of the road again for a change! We
spent our first day touring a fortified city from the 13th century in Carcassone.
Outside the walls of the city. Breathtaking!
Peyton getting a ride from Aunt Lucy, watching
a reenactment of a medieval sword fight.
Leaving the fortified city.
Breathtaking views from the city which is situated at the top of
mountain. The drive up was interesting to say the least on tiny roads!
The streets of the city are lined with wonderful little shops and
restaurants. The signs pictured are advertising Foie Gras, Duck. We had
a marvelous lunch at a little restaurant in the city where Chip ate Foie Gras and
I had Guinea Fowl, both were exceptional! Sadly we were too busy enjoying
the food to take pictures of it.
Peyton
and Daddy enjoying the carousel from the 18th Century.
Capital building
in the Town Centre of Toulouse
Notre
Dame de Taur, "our lady of the bull," A small,
but beautiful church
in downtown Toulouse.
Saint
Sernin Basilica Toulouse
The
BEST hot chocolate I've ever had in my life and Chip's cappuccino.
Loved the French
cafes and shopping in downtown Toulouse.
Our happy family
in front of St. Etienne.
Notice all the shopping bags, love it!
The last full day
of our trip was spent in Albi. We actually visited Albi twice so we could take
in St. Cecile in the daytime, it is the most amazing cathedral I have even been
in. I'm very grateful that we got to spend so much time at this cathedral, we even
got to take the audio tour. Thankful for Aunt Lucy keeping Peyton occupied. :)
Albi at night.
Entrance to St. Cecile. I can't
possibly show
enoughpictures here to justify the beauty.
The entire inside of the
building is painted. It was painted over 500 years ago and has NOT been touched
up or restored. The colors are amazing for that time frame!!! The painting you
can see at the bottom here originally covered across this entire wall, there
was no arch/doorway. Before the arch was cut out this was the largest painting
of the Last Judgement in the World. The massive organ sits above this painting,
but only 10% of the pipes are visible. As you can see here even the ceiling is
covered in amazing paintings.
Love this Man!
Our trip came to
an end far too quickly! We are excited for our next opportunity to go to
Southern France and see more. This was truly a trip of a lifetime, all I could
have ever asked for. After the trip I have only 3 regrets: that we didn't stay
longer, that I couldn't enjoy tasting more French wine (Baby Bryce was on his
way, even though not many people knew it!), and that I neglected to take food
pictures. Anxiously waiting to plan our next trip, so I can make up for these
few regrets!