Experiences

It's March 2012! That means two things: time is flying by and I suck at blogging. So far the year has been pretty good, albeit a few hiccups along the way. We recently found out we have to move in the next two months. The owners of the house we are currently renting need to move back in, thus we gotta go. We were shocked and disappointed to hear this, but such is life. It's definitely a drawback to our mobile lifestyle, but what can you do? We have already hit the ground running and are currently looking for a new place.

Although I will miss the charm of Cage Cottage, I wont miss blasts of cold water during showers, a mole that has moved into the backyard, and not having plugs in the bathroom. It was fun living in a really old house, something I will always remember, but I think we are aiming for a newer one this time around.

Other things for 2012, Matt turned 32 a couple weeks ago (old bastard!) and we spent the day at the Land Rover factory about 2.5 hours north of us near Birmingham. It was a blast! The factory is an amazing place, turning out around 4,000 cars a week. It was really cool watching a car built from the ground up. It gave me even more appreciation for the brand and how cars are made in general. After a four hour tour, we had a lovely on site lunch and then hit the trails for another few hours of off-road fun. Matt drove and I was the passenger, my favourite spot since I can sit in the back and bounce around. All in all it was a great day, some photos posted above (Thanks to Amy S. for Piscasa)

I suppose all in all 2012 is doing alright. I am very excited my dad and step mom are coming to visit in a couple weeks and then it's off to Italy for Matt and I. Granted we have to move during all of this, but we will make it. It's all part of the experience!

On Assignment - Paris 2011

Bonjour Bloggers and a Happy 2012. Matt and I wrapped up a year of huge changes with a trip to Paris. It was really nice to hop on the Eurostar and 2.5 hours later arrive in France. I have always wanted to visit Paris and the proximityfrom England makes it an easy journey.

Matt and I arrived at night, and I felt a little like Anne Hathaway in the Devil Wears Prada, being whisked through the city, all lit up and beautiful. With that being said, I think Anne had a private car and a much nicer hotel than we did. Either way though it was a good feeling. Our hotel was small and quaint. The staff were very nice and the location was excellent. The rooms were pretty spartan and the bath was tiny, but it had a lovely free breakfast and a nice view of the Arc De Triomphe.

View from Room

The first day we met up with Brian and Elizabeth, family of ours and spent the day visiting Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and several other wonderful sites. Matt and I bought locks and wrote our names on there. We attached them to a bridge on the Seine and tossed the keys in the water. We then were promptly arrested. I'm kidding, the bridge allows you to put locks and it was really neat to see hundreds of locks representing couples in love.

Locks attached to a bridge overlooking the Siene

Brian and Elizabeth were wonderful guides and we were thrilled to spend our first day with them. Throughout the trip we visited major landmarks of Paris. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, the Louvre, Napoleon' Tomb and several other neat museums and attractions.

By far, my favourite thing about Paris is the Louvre. Although it's more like an airport than museum, expansive and crowded, the art work pulls you in and I was able to see pieces from my favourite artists. The French collections circa Napoleon were probably my favourite.

All in all Paris is a wonderful walking city. We found the people to be polite and pleasant, the city was very clean and the metro not too difficult to navigate. Eating in Paris is very expensive, and I am not a huge fan of French food. With that being said, the cheese and bread are fantastic! I suppose the biggest obstacle is the language barrier, although most Parisians speak English very well. It was mainly Matt and I, who either spoke Spanish (for some reason), or my favourite, spoke English with a French accent. Either way though no one seemed to mind. We look forward to visiting Paris in the spring to catch a few things we missed (a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower) and the city in bloom.

2011 was a huge year for us. So many changes and things to learn. We have been very grateful for our time abroad and were excited to wrap up the year with a trip to France. We have more adventures lined up for 2012 and I look forward to a new year.

PS - You can see many more pictures of our adventures in Paris on Facebook. The Internet gods are not keen on me uploading photos today