July 2018 - France
Before I start writing properly about my upcoming trips, I thought it might be a good idea to start my blog with a few short posts about of what I got up to last year (and also just to ease myself into this blogging lark).
2018 was an amazing year. I am blessed to have a family, boyfriend and friends who are just as passionate as me when it comes to travel and I was able to visit a total of 6 different countries throughout 2018 with them!
2018 was an amazing year. I am blessed to have a family, boyfriend and friends who are just as passionate as me when it comes to travel and I was able to visit a total of 6 different countries throughout 2018 with them!
➣
July 2018 - France
I'm really really lucky to have family all over the world, especially France. I brought Aidan last summer to meet my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the south-west of France for the first time (poor guy, but he did really well 😅).
While catching up with the family was our main priority it was lovely to spend a few days drinking my Grandfather's wine and just walking in the sun through the medieval cobbled streets of Perigueux and Bergerac, in a region known as the Périgord.
This region is best known for its stunning unspoiled landscapes, vineyards and castles, many of which you can visit such as Link: Chateau de Hautefort and Chateau de Monbazillac, the latter being very famous for its wine.
The food that comes from this region is just unreal. I could probably do a whole blog post on the traditional food and drink in this region alone, and, I probably will at some stage to be honest! The most noted cuisine here are its duck and goose products such as Confit de Canard and Foie Gras. Le Périgord is also France's center for Truffles (not the chocolate kind!). You honestly haven't lived until you've tried truffled pate on real french bread!
If you've brought the car with you to France, make sure the boot is empty and stock up! Great bottles of wine & Champagne are usually less than half the price they are in Ireland in all the big supermarkets in France. We normally take the ferry every 3-4 years to fill our 'wine cellar' (basically the cupboard under the stairs - but dad likes to sound fancy!) and then we might literally never need to buy wine in Ireland as that'll do us for the next 4 years!!
Ok, I have to stop talking about the food & drink now 'cause I'm making myself starving 😅
The whole trip was very nostalgic for me as I spent the majority of my childhood holidays here so I loved showing Aidan around and what we used to get up to as kids such as canoeing, which I would really recommend doing in this part of France. Some of the routes you can take are stunning, taking you past amazing castles overlooking the Dordogne river, just make sure to bring mosquito spray!
This region is best known for its stunning unspoiled landscapes, vineyards and castles, many of which you can visit such as Link: Chateau de Hautefort and Chateau de Monbazillac, the latter being very famous for its wine.
The food that comes from this region is just unreal. I could probably do a whole blog post on the traditional food and drink in this region alone, and, I probably will at some stage to be honest! The most noted cuisine here are its duck and goose products such as Confit de Canard and Foie Gras. Le Périgord is also France's center for Truffles (not the chocolate kind!). You honestly haven't lived until you've tried truffled pate on real french bread!
If you've brought the car with you to France, make sure the boot is empty and stock up! Great bottles of wine & Champagne are usually less than half the price they are in Ireland in all the big supermarkets in France. We normally take the ferry every 3-4 years to fill our 'wine cellar' (basically the cupboard under the stairs - but dad likes to sound fancy!) and then we might literally never need to buy wine in Ireland as that'll do us for the next 4 years!!
Ok, I have to stop talking about the food & drink now 'cause I'm making myself starving 😅
The whole trip was very nostalgic for me as I spent the majority of my childhood holidays here so I loved showing Aidan around and what we used to get up to as kids such as canoeing, which I would really recommend doing in this part of France. Some of the routes you can take are stunning, taking you past amazing castles overlooking the Dordogne river, just make sure to bring mosquito spray!
We rounded off our trip by taking the train from Perigueux to Paris for 3 days before flying home. The single ticket was about €50, and the journey roughly 4 and a half hours, but definitely worth it if you've never been. The flights from Paris back to Cork were also cheaper than from the airport we flew into, Bordeaux, making us able to justify extending our holiday 😅
Aidan had never been to Paris, and kept telling me he wasn't going to France if he doesn't get to see the Eiffel Tower! We stayed in a small boutique hotel, Link: Hotel Le Cardinal, within walking distance of Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, Le Sacre Coeur and the Opera so it was ideal and still really reasonable for Paris.
We did most of the usual touristy stuff, Notre Dame Cathedral, Tuilerie Gardens and walking the whole way up the Eiffel Tower (the best workout you'll ever do!). If you're not able for the stairs and don't fancy queuing 3 hours for the lifts, go to the top of the Arc de Triomph instead, the views are just as lovely, including a fab view of the Eiffel Tower itself, and far less steps/waiting times!
Instead of doing one of the usually jam-packed 'Bateaux Mouche' river cruises, we went for a smaller, night time one that included dinner and wine. It was really lovely to see the city all lit up at night from the river after walking around it all day. This was around €45 each including a 3 course meal and bottle of wine. Paris ain't cheap! To be honest you would probably pay around the same price for a normal 3 course meal, unless you really know where to go/avoid, so you might as well do it on the Seine!
A nice district with good food cheaper than the more touristy areas is Le Quartier Latin.
We also wanted to visit the Louvre for a day, but sadly the day we picked to do it, Tuesday (and our last day) it was closed. I didn't know this before now but its always closed on a Tuesday so its important to keep that in mind!
Another thing that not a lot of people might realize about the Louvre (I certainly didn't until I went with my parents in 2015) is that it is completely free for all children, students, teachers, pensioners & those on social welfare, so please don't fall for any scammers or websites trying to sell you tickets if you are eligible for free entry, they'll even try to sell them to you right outside the Louvre!
While very expensive at times, Paris is such a beautiful city with so much to do that should be on every bodies bucket list, and I already cant wait to go back there! X
'
We did most of the usual touristy stuff, Notre Dame Cathedral, Tuilerie Gardens and walking the whole way up the Eiffel Tower (the best workout you'll ever do!). If you're not able for the stairs and don't fancy queuing 3 hours for the lifts, go to the top of the Arc de Triomph instead, the views are just as lovely, including a fab view of the Eiffel Tower itself, and far less steps/waiting times!
Instead of doing one of the usually jam-packed 'Bateaux Mouche' river cruises, we went for a smaller, night time one that included dinner and wine. It was really lovely to see the city all lit up at night from the river after walking around it all day. This was around €45 each including a 3 course meal and bottle of wine. Paris ain't cheap! To be honest you would probably pay around the same price for a normal 3 course meal, unless you really know where to go/avoid, so you might as well do it on the Seine!
A nice district with good food cheaper than the more touristy areas is Le Quartier Latin.
We also wanted to visit the Louvre for a day, but sadly the day we picked to do it, Tuesday (and our last day) it was closed. I didn't know this before now but its always closed on a Tuesday so its important to keep that in mind!
Another thing that not a lot of people might realize about the Louvre (I certainly didn't until I went with my parents in 2015) is that it is completely free for all children, students, teachers, pensioners & those on social welfare, so please don't fall for any scammers or websites trying to sell you tickets if you are eligible for free entry, they'll even try to sell them to you right outside the Louvre!
While very expensive at times, Paris is such a beautiful city with so much to do that should be on every bodies bucket list, and I already cant wait to go back there! X
'
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