Paris. The city where time is boundless, unconstrained by the creations of humans outside of art, romance, wine, and splendor. On a night cruise on the Seine, the burning lights warmed with their vintage, capture moments never to be forgot. Being that it was my third time in Paris, I had imagined that the city would not take me as much as before, but it seems that with every return, Paris capsizes my imagination and winds time back to days of Delacroix and Monet. From Paris, with love.
Tag: france
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Argeles-sur-mer, France
For around two weeks between late June and July, we spent sweltry sweet days in Argeles-sur-Mer with the Janssen side of our family. The days mostly encompassed retrieving the morning baguettes, preparing to go to the beach, down-time, sangria, soup, sweat, cards, cold showers, dinner, more sangria and loads of family laughs. I hope that every year, we get to join our family on the trip. The photo above was taken on a day around the area on motorbikes with Rob’s brothers and cousins. The Mediterranean never disappoints; especially for me. Just as the Caribbean feels like home, the Mediterranean sparks my inquisitiveness. The culture is a unique mix between a French breakfast and a Spanish dinner. It’s posh, yet quirky and when you add in the many Dutch campers who flock to these sites and sights during summer, opportunities for fun are endless.
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Chamonix, France
It is offically November. Only a little over a month left before the sand of time runs out for me here in Switzerland. I know many people go through this. I mean, if you have the grand opportunity to call Switzerland home, it is most definitely not something you ever want to give up. But, the Swiss, they are smart, and they will kick you a** straight out of dodge when your visa is up. And while there is a big part of my heart that is sad to leave here, I have so much to look forward to. And my trip to Chamonix with Rob was the best reminder of that.
So, at this point, Rob and I have basically been traveling every two weeks to see each other. Me to Amsterdam or him here, to Geneva. And with sun just about to shave off her warmth, we took the opportunity to go camping in Chamonix for the weekend. Since everything in Geneva is outrageously expensive, it was up to Rob to bring us the gear we would need to go camping and hiking for a weekend, and all (small laugh) in his carry on luggage. Easy jet was not happy about the tent steaks. But, we got them through. It probably was his smile that did that. We spent Friday evening packing our bags, enjoying eachothers company in my small closet apartment, and checking train times. We left as early as we could Saturday morning for our adventure. It took us most of day light to get there. I remember this, because we had only about an hour and a half to find and set up camp. Rob was determined not to stay in a normal camp ground, so we headed up the trails. This is definitely not permitted. But, we found home hidden behind a large pine tree and some bush on someone’s private property. Home was green and lovely, with a morning view of the sun hitting Mont Blanc. During the evening, we made a small above ground fire, cooked sausages, drank whiskey and listened to music in the darkness. We kept saying, “how perfect.” Eventually, our tent was calling, so we crawled in for a winters nap, excited about what tomorrow would bring!
Waking up to Mont Blanc will most likely be one of the most memorable experiences of my time here. It was stunning. I love being outside, inhaling fresh cold mountain air, sipping tea and gearing up for a hike. It is quite possibly my favorite thing in the world. And our day’s hike did not disappoint. The above picture is what awaited us after 6 hours of hiking up.
Allison A Janssen 