Nos premières vacances Français, tout simplement incroyable! - Our First French Vacation, Simply Incredible!

We've gotten pretty behind on our blog entries, partly because I have been wanting to write about our first trip to France and just didn't know how to put it into words...C'était magnifique (IT WAS MAGNIFICENT) is all I want to say, but I know that's not enough. I've dreamed about visiting France since I was a little girl, what little girl doesn't day dream about the Eiffel Tower? We've not yet made a trip to Paris, but if it comes anywhere close to the beauty of Southern France then my childhood dreams about it will be true!

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.

         

The next day we visited Cordes-sur-ciel (literally "ropes in the sky"), another fortified city at the top of a mountain. The views were amazing!

 

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.

 

On the third day of our trip we toured Toulouse.  We got to meet several of Lucy and Hélène's friends in the city, do some shopping and enjoy the beautiful architecture and churches of the city. This evening we had the priviledge of meeting Hélène's family and having an authentic home cooked French meal, cassoulet with duck confit. This was by far the best meal we had in France and comes close to one of the my favorite dishes of all times! The food and company made for a great evening.

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 fourth day of our trip was Sunday, the market day in Toulouse. We ventured out in the rain to take in our first French market. Well worth getting a little wet!

 

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!