My day in Honfleur

This is not a picture of Honfleur. Weird, right? Yeah.

Let me tell you a story...

I decided to have one last adventure before heading back to the U.S. I had some trouble getting myself out the door, but I got on the bus to Honfleur yesterday morning and things started looking up. The weather was great and I got to see so much more of the countryside because I didn't take the express bus. I was really enjoying myself - looking out the window and having a little time for reflection. But, alas, that came to an abrupt end when the bus stopped in Deauville... and didn't start again.

Bayeux and Ouistreham

Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you don't like my writing), I'm writing these posts at more or less the same time so my feelings are pretty much the same. Maybe it's a good thing - they're like a matching set. And I guess I have the excuse that it's been a week or two since these trips, so they're not exactly fresh. 

Anyways... These are pictures from last Friday and Saturday. I spent Friday afternoon in Bayeux with Meirina. We saw the famous tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of England and the cathedral and just had a nice day all around. On Saturday, Tiffany and I hiked to Ouistreham, a town on the coast. There are great paths for cyclists and pedestrians that follow the waterway from Caen to Ouistreham. It was a long walk, but totally worth it (even if the weather wasn't ideal for the beach).

Other spring break wanderings

I've been having some problems getting pictures loaded for these last posts, otherwise they would have been up sooner. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I had to load the pictures one or two at a time so there aren't as many as there could be.

For this and other reasons, I don't feel much like writing right now. But since we'll have to get together so I can show off my other pictures, I can say more about my visits to these places later. 

The day of the bees

The day's sightseeing started out well enough. I visited l'église Saint-Sauveur, which was very nice and had a little informative brochure. My next stop was Saint-Sauveur du Marché and I was disappointed to find I couldn't go inside (or, I wasn't able to find the way in). Whatever the problem, be it inaccessibility on the part of the building or incompetence on my end, I didn't go in. I then walked in circles because I made the mistake of following street signs to Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux, rather than following my map. Finally having found Saint-Etienne, I was delighted with the look of the old church and stopped to take some pictures. At which point I was assaulted by a bunch of bees. 

Bits and bobs

A few things I'm looking forward to...

Hair conditioner that actually works.

Having my knives, and really all of my kitchen stuff.

Cream cheese and crackers days with my mama.

Walking outside barefoot.

Kitties that I can pet and cuddle.

Putting pictures of the pretty places I've seen in a pretty photo album to show you.

Worst blogger ever

When I went to write my last post, I noticed that I never posted pictures from my trip to Switzerland and Germany! I couldn't believe I'd forgotten and actually had to double check, not wanting to look like even more of a jerk by posting the same thing twice. 

I'm sorry there aren't many captions or anything with these pictures... and that the pictures are three months late in being posted... but here they are: long overdue pictures from my trip in January to visit my cousin Sheryl in Switzerland and my lovely friend Magda in Germany.

Go for a walk with me?

These are pictures from the walk I've been taking almost every weekend this semester. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit and this walk is my favorite. Plus, trees and other plants have been blooming like mad so it's especially pretty and green now. I'm actually a little late in getting these posted, so for those of you who like to know about plants and trees (you know who you are :), some roses and clematis are now blooming. Like, a lot.

Anyways, I wanted to get these up now because I'm on spring break and will, hopefully, have many more pictures to share with you soon...

Short and, more importantly, sweet

As the end of the semester approaches, its pace definitely seems to be getting quicker. And I can't help but find myself listing all of the things I can hardly wait to have or see again when I get back. That's not my only list, though. The list of things that I'll be sad to leave behind is getting longer.

One of the nicest things - something I think will be one of my fondest memories of living in France - is going to my nearby boulangerie-pâtisserie on weekend mornings and hearing, "Bonjour, madame!" An exclamation point isn't the correct punctuation because it doesn't really describe the tone of the petite, friendly salutation of the lady behind the counter. There's nothing falsely exuberant about the way she greets you when you enter her business. Aunt Dede described it best when she said it's like they're singing to you. 

Making sense of things

So here's the thing: I'm not good about keeping up this blog. And after talking about it, Colleen and I identified the main reason for this. It's not an earth-shattering revelation, but it is worth explaining because I think it's a pretty significant aspect of my time in France.

Christmas in Paris

Jardin de Luxembourg

Germany

The S Bahn station in Feucht, the Nuremberg suburb where Lucinda lives.

Glühwein is very popular at the Christmas markets... and very delicious.

Prague

View of the Vlatava from our hotel room.

Breakfast at a café in Old Town Square on the first morning.
(Behind me is our waiter, wearing a parka.)