Yosemite National Park

If there's one thing I learned on the trip back to California, it's this:  California is really freaking far from France. The bummiest part about the distance was that, because The Hub had booked his flight through work and we booked mine on miles, we weren't able to travel together during any part of the trip to and from France.  Which was fine, I'm obviously capable of traveling alone, it just gets really long...

Food Porn Dictionary

Even though we won't start our French classes until later this week, The Hub and I are having fun continuing our podcasts lessons and learning from new friends.  In addition to learning the French equivalent of the phrase, "that's what she said" (which when literally translated is much dirtier than anything Michael Scott would ever say intentionally), we've pretty much figured out everything we need to know to...

We Live Here

Last night we had a Skype Date with The Hub's family to wish his mother and sister a Happy Mother's Day.  During our conversation, my mother in law said, "Sometimes I look at your pictures of Montpellier and I think - wow!  I can't believe they really live there."  Honestly, neither can we. We know how lucky we are to be experiencing life in such a beautiful country and we're doing our...

Making Friends in Montpellier

Happy Monday Everyone!  I hope your weekend was full of sun, shopping, and sand like ours was.  The Hub and I had a great weekend exploring life outside of Montpellier's city center, thanks to some of our new friends.  But let me start at the beginning. Friday night we went to a Royal Wedding After Party at the French American Center.  We found out the FAC by Googling "Americans in Montpellier" (Google, how I...

The Long, Sometimes Frustrating, But Definitely Exciting Journey to Montpellier

Like our Road Trip, our journey over to Montpellier was smooth sailing until the last leg of the trip…and a little bit beyond.  We started off at Cleveland International Airport.  My parents had to rent an SUV to hold the 4 of us, our 10 bags + a dog, but we arrived in record time and checked in with no problems.  The woman at the counter looked at us like we were crazy when we handed her 7 bags to check, but...

The Almost End of an Epic Road Trip

After four straight days of driving, we finally made it to our first extended stop in Wisconsin.  The road trip was looooong and at times, painful, but we really lucked out with weather and traffic.  No problems!  We got a late start leaving San Francisco on Thursday and didn't get to our hotel in Salt Lake City until 6am.  Ouch.  Lots of 5 hour energy was consumed and I did my best to stay up all night with...

Paris Part III – My Favorite Shopping

It pretty much goes without saying that the shopping in Paris is incredible.  There are so many cool boutiques around every corner that these suggestions are only scratching the surface.  You can probably just walk out of any hotel and stumble upon some great finds in every neighborhood, but today I want to tell you about some of the experiences I've had shopping in Paris.  I've been told on many occasions that I...

Paris Part II – The Food

Living in San Francisco, and as a total snob, I like to think that we offer the "best of the best" as far as food is concerned.  I believe that’s the truth...for the most part.  But there are certain things that the French do in ways no one else can, which mostly includes cheese, pastries, and bread. These decadent treats seem to be around every corner and you just can't get anything like it in the United...

Paris Part 1: The Sites

Paris is such a beautiful, magical place that when I'm there, I don't want to spend my time in museums.  I want to be walking around outside or sitting in cafés sipping espresso, soaking in the culture and pretending like I'm a native Parisian.  Regretfully, I think my walking shoes and the fact that I don't speak French are dead giveaways that I'm just another tourist falling hopelessly in love with the City of...

2011 San Francisco Restaurant Guide

Last week one of my favorite San Francisco restaurant blogs, Eater SF, updated their 38 Essential San Francisco Restaurants.  Most of the places included on this list are top of the line, rather schmancy establishments, but a solid list nonetheless.  I often get asked for restaurant suggestions from friends and co-workers, so I decided to put together my list of Top Restaurants in San Francisco by category. ...