Bonjour, Les Amis!

Hello Friends!

Peter and I spent 12 PERFECT days in France earlier this year and I am SO EXCITED to share our itinerary with you all for your future trips abroad to France. You may be thinking "But MC, we don't have a trip to France planned yet?"... No worries, I think scrolling through these pics may just have you googling "next cheap flight to Paris".

Our trip outline: 4 days in Paris, 3 Days in Loire Valley and 4 days in the French Riviera

***the absolute hands down favorite part of our trip was the three days we spent in Loire Valley***

We spent the first leg of our trip in Paris for four days. And sheesh those four days in Paris were BLISS. We stayed in an adorable airbnb in St.Germain. (After reading reviews that this was a great neighborhood to stay in). (link here)

We HIGHLY recommend Airbnb experiences! We booked two in Paris and absolutely loved them. They were some of our favorite memories of the entire trip. The first experience we booked was a cooking class with a french lady named Anne in her quaint 4 floor apartment overlooking the Sacre Coeur. It was one of the best meals of our trip. (LINK HERE for this experience).

The second Airbnb experience we book was "Bike and Bite" (link here)! It was the PERFECT way to explore the city with locals who have great personalities and clearly love life! We were entertained the entire experience and learned so much!

Along with these two experiences, some of our favorite memories in Paris include(in no order):

1) Walking through Montmartre(my absolute favorite neighborhood) and visiting the Sacre Coeur

2) Panifica boulangerie* BEST PASTERIES EVER

3) Walking by the Seine River

4) Exploring St. Germain

5) Place Des Vosges (and the secret garden near this quaint little neighborhood.) We spent a couple hours just sitting in this square drinking wine and eating pastries.

6) Exploring Le Marais

6) The Eiffel tower (our favorite view was at the Place du Trocadéro.)

7) The Louvre (stop for hot chocolate at Angelina's cafe in the louvre)

8)Drinking wine on the lawn of Jardin du Luxembourg

The next part of our trip was HANDS DOWN the ABSOLUTE most memorable thing we have ever done!

We rented a car and drove down to Loire Valley--a beautiful french countryside speckled with magnificent castles every which way you look. We stayed in a spectacular castle (with interior design that was right up my alley) for three days and felt like absolute royalty. (CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO OUR CASTLE). The best part is that it was the cheapest part of our trip. Isn't it funny how it works out that way sometimes? This family run castle-hotel is peaceful, quaint and aw inspiring all at the same time. We ate the best meals of our life at their four star restaurant each night. I CANNOT recommend this place enough!

While in Loire valley we visited three Chateaus that did not disappoint.

1) Chateau d'Amboise (amazing castle built in the middle of a perfect little french town that will transport you back in time). Also the burial site of Leonardo da Vinci

2) Chateau de Villandry (known for its magnificent gardens)

3) Château de Chenonceau (a cinderella-like castle built over a river)

*Chateau de Chambord (we didnt have time to visit this one in person but I wish we could have!)

*We also love the Tours Cathedral!

Last but certainly not least, we flew to the French Riviera and spent 4 days in Eze (a spectacular town built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean sea)

We stayed HERE, at arguably the worlds most beautiful hotel. Our time in the French riviera was pretty relaxed. We spent a day in Cannes and a day in Monaco. Aside from that, we spent the rest of our time eating baguettes and cheese on the cliffs of the riviera.

PHEW, now for the fun part...keep scrolling for just a few little snaps from our trip! As always, questions are welcome!