The Joy of Seeing Snow for the First Time
We spent nearly a week in the Alps, however for the first 3 days there was a blizzard and so we couldn’t take the kids up to the top of the mountain to see the snow. We chose to stay near Les Deux Alpes as it is one of the few ski resorts in France that runs through the summer. Scott and I have skiied quite a few times in the past, but we haven’t done so since the kids were born. As we aren’t planning on staying in Europe for the winter, we thought this might be a great opportunity...
Read MoreThe Alps are even Better when they are Green!
We left Aubusson and headed up to the Alps. The drive up there was varied and so pretty. Filled with fields, valleys and plains and finally spectacular mountains! I have been to the French Alps before but only when they were covered in Snow. I thought they were beautiful the first time all dressed in white, but hands down they are so much better when they are green! Every corner offered a new view and a new perspective and as much as I had been trying to cut down on taking too many photos (to help with culling and editing)...
Read MoreCountry Living in France
Out of the blue an online friend who I had met through a family travel Facebook group offered her house up for housesitting in the middle of France. We hadn’t planned our trip beyond the first 5 days in Paris and when our dates aligned it was a bit of a no brainer! We weren’t really sure what we were up for as it was all very quick and easy, but we were keen to try as many different lifestyles as possible … so off we went! Another online friend Ruth from Exploramum and her son Louis were housesitting...
Read MoreFood Glorious Food; The French Markets
France has some of the best food markets in the world. They are full of fresh and local produce and it seems to be pretty hard to get through without spending a fortune and still eating your weight in cheese, meat, wine and delicious goods! Whilst down in Aubusson we went to a few different markets, all were fantastic. The first was a fresh food market that seem to focus on sausages, fresh (as in live) poultry, lots of beautiful deserts and yummy things to eat. I am not a fan of caged animals, so it will come as no...
Read MoreExploring the French Countryside
After five days in Paris we picked up a hire car and headed into the French Countryside. Getting out of Paris was a bit of a nightmare, but thanks to the world’s best GPS it didn’t take too long. The open French roads are wonderful. They have lots of large toll-roads that are perfectly maintained and allow you to easily and quickly (130km per hour speed limit) travel between two places. Of course it is more interesting and pleasant to take the slow, winding, pretty back roads, but sometimes you just need to get somewhere on time. We planned...
Read MoreThe Best Parks in the World
Paris is a city made for children. There are gorgeous little parks for all ages EVERYWHERE. They are usually lined with bench seats that actually face the play equipment and are fenced and clean. London needs to take a trip to Paris and learn how to do this! Our kids are little (2 and 6) so they needed to have some fun, burn energy and let their little bodies run around at least twice a day in order to keep them happy while we wandered through the streets. This was easy in Paris. Everywhere you go there is a...
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