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Life in Brittany, France : An Update
This morning, I was reviewing a few draft posts that I had created but not published. I came upon the one below and read through it. I almost hit the “delete” button, but reconsidered. You see, it’s easy to look at someone’s life on Instagram or Facebook – or even here in this blog – and think “Oh, she’s so lucky to be living in this charming town in France.” Yes, I do feel blessed to be here. I do. It took a LOT of work and a good number of tears to get where I am. I thought that I would share this in the hopes that if people…
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An Evening in St Jacut de la Mer, Bretagne
I am seated on the beach with my dear friends. It is August and I will be leaving for the U.S. in a few weeks’ time. Tonight, we have come to a beach that is located in our beloved Côtes-d’Armor department. I gaze our at the vast waters and the clear blue sky. I then look down at the mountains of sand that hold my feet, long buried in the sand. There are two much smaller mounds next to mine, that of my 5 year-old best buddy. He is telling me all of the things that he plans to do this evening, a few of which which include riding his…
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Bons Moments in Brittany
Hello, friends. If you read my last blog post, you know that I am back in my beloved Brittany. I arrived in Paris on June 14th and in Brittany the 15th. I can’t express how happy I was when I got off the train in Rennes and was reunited with my dear friends. A short time later, I was back in my apartment, looking out the window, content to see the granite houses with their grey slate roofs and colorful wooden shutters. Such homes are found throughout this region and I find them simply charming. The next day I spent a good few hours walking, breathing in the crisp air…
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Traveling to France During a Pandemic
I am in France. Enfin! While information and protocols seem to be changing by the hour – certainly by the day – I wanted to give you an overall idea of what it was like to travel internationally during a pandemic. I hope that this blog post gives you a better understanding of what to expect if you are traveling soon and determine whether it is the right choice for you. Of course, this was my experience during and after my flight one week ago and your comfort level may be different than mine. As many of you know, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in late April that vaccinated Americans…
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On Gratitude
“Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault I received a message from an acquaintance last week, a fellow Francophile who, like me, is waiting with bated breath for news that we can travel again. She said she had been missing France more than usual and made herself feel better by going to the grocery store and purchasing some delicious bread, cheese and wine. She planned to spend the evening watching a good French film while savoring her fromage and vin. While not quite the same as being there, it was as close as she had…
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Why Brittany?
If Paris is the heart of France, then I dare to say Brittany is its soul. That is a rather bold – and perhaps controversial – statement given Brittany’s history with France, but I’m going to say it anyway. At least that is how Brittany feels to me. While it would take considerably more time and pages than one blog post to say why I believe that to be true, I’ll try to summarize it here in a few paragraphs. The Climate Brittany is green and lush, thanks to its moderate oceanic climate. It just feels good, like you’re wrapped in a warm green blanket. I have visited Brittany at…
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French Doors
What is it about old doors? What is it that makes some of us stop dead in our tracks, take out our camera, capture the image, and keep it in our hearts forever? It’s just a door after all, isn’t it? Or is it? I have dozens of photos of the door below. I have photographed this little blue door in each of the four seasons, at sunrise and sunset, and almost every hour in between. “What is the draw?” I’ve often wondered. And so today, I sat down and reflected on what it could be … A door represents: A warm greeting A final goodbye A quick, loud knock…
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Planning During a Pandemic
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post called Keeping the Faith. It was written mid-March, when we had just received word at work that we were to gather our things from our building and plan to be out of the office for an undetermined amount of time. While that was overwhelming to think about, the way I processed that information and the feeling of uncertainty was to create a list of things that I wanted to do during confinement, things that I could still plan for, and general tasks that would give me a purpose and make me feel like I was still making progess towards my goals.…
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On Keeping the Faith
I will admit, it’s been challenging putting words on paper the last few days. People everywhere are struggling with the many changes taking place and are trying to make sense of this new way of life. For me, what keeps things in perspective is that people have faced extraordinarily challenging times before, and that in those dark times, there was always light. And such is the case now. This will indeed pass, and once it does, we will realize just how very resilient and resourceful we were. Many people around the world are worried, not only about becoming ill, but also about the changes to their daily lives, and how…
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Welcome! Bienvenue!
I want you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you are in France. Go ahead, I’ll be here when you’re ready to come back…… What did you see? Were you walking along the Seine or gazing up at the Eiffel Tower? Perhaps you were strolling by a boulangerie and caught a whiff of freshly baked baguettes and brioches. Or maybe you stopped to look at lovely pastries displayed in the window of a pâtisserie. Art lovers may have been at the Louvre searching for the elusive Mona Lisa. And coffee lovers were likely sitting on the terrace of a café, with their perfect little cup of…