Greece

Continuing on with the anniversary theme, C & I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary shortly.  And because he starts his masters program next week and I'll be leaving for Australia, we decided to get out of dodge and take our anniversary trip a few weeks early.

We spent a fantastic week exploring the Cyclades, a chain of islands off the coast of Greece.  Normally I enjoy trip planning, but I was in the midst of a major travel spree when we booked this trip and the though of having to plan one more itinerary - even a fun one - put me over the edge.  So we booked a trip through Promovacances that included all the transport, boats, hotels and breakfast, and I'm so glad we did.

Our trip had a great combo of culture - including two stopovers in Athens:

Day trips to several different islands, including Santorini and Mykonos:

One of my favorite day trips was to Delos, which is basically one big ancient excavated city that you can run and explore as you please (there's basically no shade on the whole island though, so bring your sunscreen and a hat!):

And then we had a day puttering around the islands on a local boat:

We just cruised around and stopped off every hour or two to swim in these gorgeous turquoise waters:

And they still left plenty of time for relaxing on the beach or just wandering the beautiful streets:

We were based on one island the whole time (Paros), which was nice since we didn't have to pack up and go each night. I'd definitely recommend staying there for future trips - it's a fairly large island with good boat connections, and it's also much more affordable both hotel and food-wise than Santorini or Mykonos.  It took about 5 hours to get there by boat from Athens (but you can also fly in), and it was about 2h by boat to Santorini and 1h to Mykonos/Delos.

I think as far as Athens goes, one day would be enough (and it's worth it to by the city pass that covers all of the sites). We walked everywhere, so we didn't use the metro at all, but it is apparently affordable easy to use.  The one thing that surprised me about Athens was how cheap it was - both hotels and food were much cheaper there than in the islands.  C and I often grab food at bakeries or grocery stores for lunch when we travel, and both days we were there, I got a large freshly blended juice and a sandwich for under 4€!  Not bad for a capital city.  Though if the number of boarded-up stores give any idea, it's just an indication of how much the mainland is still suffering after their economic crisis.  (It seemed to be pretty much business as usual out in the islands.)

Has anyone else out there been to Greece?  If so, where did you go and what did you think?

Anniversary fun, part II

The second part of our anniversary celebration was a dinner at the Ciel de Paris, at the top of the Montparnasse tower.

 

We had pre-reserved a menu that ensured us a table near the window with a view of the Eiffel Tower, and this was the view we had upon arrival:

Our menu also included unlimited champagne, so we started the evening off right with a toast.

We were there for the first seating, and I was worried they would try to rush us out so they could fit in as many people as possible, but the service was leisurely and accommodating.

The food was decent - not fantastic, but still pretty tasty - but then again, you don't go to a place like this for the food!

 We also had unlimited wine during the meal and a coffee or tea at the end. 

Three hours later and with full tummies, we took one last look at the view, took the elevator down 56 floors, and then started walking home hand-in-hand.

**As a side note, the Ciel de Paris also has a champagne bar and a Millefeuille bar that offer the same view...but be expected to pay accordingly!

Anniversary fun, part 1

This past weekend, C and I headed out of town to celebrate our anniversary.  I have class this weekend and will be leaving for the US straight after, so we wanted to spend a bit of quality time together beforehand. We had a Wonderbox to use up, and ended up selecting a fantastic little place near Epernay/Reims.

As you may or may not know, my family is of Finnish origins, so when I came across an imported Finnish hunting chalet nestled in the middle of a vineyard, I knew that was our spot. C was worried that we wouldn't be treated very well (as is sometimes the case with these sorts of "boxes"), but our hosts were absolutely lovely.

 

The entire chalet had been very thoughtfully decorated, and the whole thing was just so darn cozy.

 

There were bathrobes and slippers, an adorable little bedroom and reindeer skins on the walls. 

And then there was my favorite part - the indoor BBQ. We had a blast warming up in front of the fire and then cooking our dinner once the embers had burned down.

There was also a fully-stocked kitchen with a small fridge, coffee maker, dishes, silverware, etc. (and little raclette paddles for melting cheese during the cold months!).  We brought our own food, but they also offer a BBQ "basket" for 20€ per person. 

The next morning, we had breakfast on the little patio out back, and once again, our hosts did not skimp.  At our last B&B experience in Limoges last month, we'd paid a lot more for our room and ended up with literally a piece of toast each and a hot drink.  This place - at 60€ a night - offered up a multi-grain baguette, a delicious chocolate chip brioche, fresh croissants, yogurt, cheese, OJ & a hot beverage.

The owners also have their own vineyard, selling their champagne under two different labels.  Part of our stay included a guided tour of their exploitation and a tasting, and you could tell that the husband was just as passionate about his grapes as his wife was about decorating.  He had a very original approach for his vignoble, following the lunar calendar for planting and harvesting, and waxing on about biodynamism.  He used mainly natural remedies for his plants, as well as other elements -such as quartz - to attract the moon's energy to the roots of the vines.

Their champagne was also very tasty, and he made a few special champagnes that were "extra-dry" and "nature", ie low-sugar champagnes that are supposed to help you avoid hangovers.  He also stamps the date the champagne was bottled on the label so that consumers know how long they will be able to keep it.  The prices were reasonable too, starting at around 13.50€ for a bottle.

They also have a gite that can hold up to 20 people and a B&B with three rooms, and the chalet can be rented out just for an evening BBQ.  I'd highly recommend this place if you are looking for a weekend getaway or if you're heading to the Champagne region for some tastings - though the one downside is that you do need a car to get there.  But I left there Sunday feeling so relaxed, and it has been ages since I have been able to so thoroughly disconnect from the world and just be.

Here is their website in case anyone would like to check it out: http://www.la-boulonne.com/

Time flies when you're having fun

It's hard to believe that at this time one year ago today, I was shimmying into my wedding dress and getting ready to head over to the Mairie for our wedding. On one hand, this year has gone by in a flash, but on the other, it often seems as if we have always been married. 

To celebrate our first anniversary, we decided to go away for the weekend. We had received a Smartbox as a wedding gift and had originally planned on using that, but after calling around to five or six places all around France, everything was full.  So it was back to the drawing board.  We were looking for a place around two hours from Paris, but like with the Smartbox, most hotels were full.  Side note - what is up with so many people being on holiday the last weekend in September??

So the search continued, and I finally came across a hotel in Le Havre that had a 2-for-1 offer including spa access and 10€ in tokens for their casino.  Everything looked really nice online and even though Le Havre isn't known as a romantic destination, we were quite frankly tired of looking for something, so we booked it.

And it ended up being a great choice - our room was great and had an excellent (if slightly noisy) view. The access to the spa (jacuzzi, pool, sauna, hammam, gym) was also a plus. And Le Havre is also right in the middle of several choice tourist destinations, which is how I finally convinced C to take me to Etretat.  I've been wanting to go for years, but he grew up not too far away and got dragged there on many a family vacation, so he'd had enough. But we had such beautiful weather that even he had to admit it wasn't such a bad idea.

On the way back, we stopped off at a pick-your-own fruit & vegetable farm, and had a lot of fun picking strawberries and raspberries for our afternoon snack.  I want to link to them too since they had such a huge selection and the owners were uber friendly - so if you're ever in the area, make sure to stop by La Cueillette d'Octeville. 

The next stop was Honfleur, where we had a lovely lunch of moules-frites at one of the many restaurants surrounding the port. It really is a lovely town to wander around, especially on a sunny day. 

And then it was time for a nap on the beach, before a quick stop in Deauville on our way back home.

We didn't have the 90°F weather we had last year at this time, but there was still enough heat to get a last day of suntanning in and to enjoy our anniversary weekend.  Thank you weather gods!

**I'd also like to give a special anniversary shout-out to J&O, who are celebrating their 3rd anniversary today - it's not too often that you meet another couple who got married on the same day in the same Mairie!