Wish You Were Here...: Toulouse & Arcachon

Hi, people. Sorry I've been MIA. Busy times here in The B (our new name for Brussels). Now I have to go waaayyy back into my mental archives in order to update you on our international life. Luckily, I have a memory like a steel trap; it gets some of you in trouble-- you know who you are.

Following a few days in Bordeaux, we ventured down to Toulouse. Toulouse lies on the banks of the Garonne in southwestern France. It's full of your typical travel sights: Cathedral, main square, museum, shopping district. Cleary I know how to pick hotels, as we ended up on the same street as all of the high end shopping (my room overlooked the Valentino store); C was nervous! There was a cute little square around the corner with a merry-go-round and several restaurants, and we were just a short walk to the aforementioned sights. We ventured over to the Capitole de Toulouse first, then on to the Basilica of St. Sernin. Both were beautiful, despite the rain and hail we endured trekking there. We fueled up on pizza before walking to The Pont Neuf (aka: Grand Pont), a 16th century, asymmetrical bridge which spans the Garonne. Right next to Pont Neuf is le Canal de Brienne. You know I had to go see that! Honestly, it wasn't that exciting, but there were running trails and cool cannons resting atop all the staircases. Highly doubt it's my namesake, but it was fun to take a picture by the sign. Our time in Toulouse ended on Easter Sunday after I downed an insane amount of chocolate eggs from our hotel lobby; C also bought me a really cute Easter basket from the bakery across the street-- he's a keeper. My aunt Kris ventured home to Arizona that day while C and I drove back toward Bordeaux; C would be working there for the next few days, but we decided to stop in a beach town first. I'm so glad we did.

The clouds opened up and we drove straight into what looked like a miniature Pismo Beach stuck in France. Arcachon is located on the Atlantic coast in the Landes Forest (think Big Sur meets Pismo meets France). Bikers filled the boardwalk, churro and ice cream carts lined the walkways, little sail boats scooted around not far from shore....I was in heaven. Our hotel was right on the water and, because Arcachon is so small, we could walk anywhere within a matter of minutes. As Easter Sunday ended, we walked along the beach together; we really missed our families that day, but we were happy to be in a place that was fairly similar to home. Though we really wanted Grammie's Easter dinner, we feasted on amazing seafood by the water instead. Couldn't complain, not even for a second.

We left Arcachon the next morning, but not before hiking to the top of the largest sand dune in the Europe: The Great Dune of Pyla. Dune enthusiasts, eat your heart out. I never expected for it to be so big, and I didn't expect it to be such a tiring hike either. The dune is 500 meters wide, 2.7km long, and 108 meters above sea level. I was huffing and puffing at the top, but it was well worth the views.

Wishing you all a belated Happy Easter, or Joyeuse Paques!