A Day in Dijon

Dijon was a quick pit stop for us. We both like mustard, and I wanted to try more burgundy-style food, so it made sense. We arrived in the afternoon and had to get some work done. The B&B Dijon Centre hotel was an easy location wth good wifi.

On the way to dinner, we did two quick mustard tastings at Maille Dijon and La Moutarderie Fallot. It was fun to try all the different kinds, but I learned that, unless you want something fancy or a personalized mustard jar, you can get a lot of the dijon mustards in the regular grocery store, so I didn’t end up buying anything.

Our dinner was just OK, and I don’t remember the name, so I won’t share it here. We both ordered off the house menu to try the boeuf bourgonion. It was good, but the service left a lot to be desired and the food took a really long time to come, considering we ordered something off the most common menu. Oh well, they let Bailey come inside with us, so that earns bonus points in my book.

After dinner, we walked around the city following the Owl Trail—emblems of little owls that lead you to important points in the city.

In the morning, I walked Bailey to the park, then we met up with Bryan to visit the Les Halles Market and out for brunch at Morning Glory Cafe.

And last but certainly not least, we took Bailey out for her own brunch at Touffu Pet Store, where she got to gobble up one specialty pup cup, complete with dried sardines, before we hit the road.

Then it was time to leave Dijon and take our journey to a new country…

Summer in France: Morvan

At this point, we made a major pivot from our original plan. When we first thought about doing a summer trip to France, we knew we wanted to spend most of the time on the southwestern coast, near Capbreton. But nature had other plans in mind.

This summer was one of the worst that France has experienced for heat waves and wildfires. There were major wildfires along the coast and close to Bordeaux around the exact same time that we were planning to stop in Bordeaux and continue our drive out to the coast.

It was hard to tell from the news websites exactly where the wildfires were located and how bad they were, but we knew that the air would be smoky and roads would be closed. We decided not to take our chances and made the last-minute decision to head east instead.

That’s how we ended up in Morvan.

This was the most remote and immersed-in-nature feeling of our trip. Morvan was full of beautiful, lush, green forests. We spent our time hiking the trails behind our guest house (Les 4 Saisons en Morvan), having picnics by the lake, and whitewater rafting.

We learned that Morvan is also an excellent place for whitewater rafting. National rafting teams from France and Europe actually come there to train and compete. We went with AN Rafting Morvan and had a great time. The class III and IV rapids were more intense than I was expecting. It was the perfect amount of thrills plus some milder sections that were fun and relaxing in between.

And I can’t write about Morvan without mentioning the cuisine. It’s part of the burgundy region, so we got to try amazing wine and food, like burgundy-style escargot, the usual charcuterie, and a delicious fresh trout lunch at Moulin Tala. On our last night we stumbled upon a really nice and really good wood-fired pizza placed called Pizza des Champs. We spent three days and nights in Morvan and enjoyed good food the entire time.

Cycling in the Loire Valley

From Paris, we drove about two hours south to the Loire Valley to the town of Tour-en-Sologne. We arrived in the evening to rest up for a cycling adventure the next day. We spent two nights at Logis Hotel du Chateau, and I would recommend it as a nice and easy place to stay with a dog.

In the morning, we drove into town for breakfast and found a market (there’s always a market in France!) We bought some fancy yogurt and ate it at a cute bakery nearby (with croissants and coffee, of course). We were loaded up and ready to ride.

We rented e-bikes from a lawnmower repair shop near our hotel. It may have been forbidden to ride with Bailey in the trailer like this, but the shop attendant didn’t ask any questions. When the owner came back and saw us riding away, we heard him yelling in French to the attendant, and we pedaled a little faster.

I’m not sure if Bailey enjoyed riding in the trailer. Sometimes she seemed like she liked it, when we were going fast and the road was smooth. She definitely did not like having the screen closed, so we tied her to the seat harness and kept it open. I think she would’ve liked a bigger carrier with a flat bottom (this one had a raised seat bench), so she could comfortably lie down. Bryan ended up riding behind us for emotional support, because she would cry if he got too far ahead.

We cycled about 12km to our first stop, the Chateau de Chambord. The path was a combination of roads, smooth dirt trails, and very bumpy dirt trails. It was beautiful cycling through the forest and felt like we could’ve spent a few more days there exploring different areas (maybe leaving Bailey back at the hotel).

We carried on our cycle tour and rode along the river. We found a cafe for lunch with a lovely view of the water, but they were only serving a limited menu. There’s usually a period each day in France, between about 2 and 5PM where most of the restaurants close and take a Spanish-style siesta. Unfortunately, that was the time when our cycling hunger hit the hardest, but we ordered some prepackaged ceasar salads and were able to refuel.

The paths by the river were less well-groomed and the deep tire ruts were not very accommodating to the trailer, so we decided not to push on further. We cycled back through the forest trails to the hotel for work and later had a mediocre dinner at a restaurant close by. Our meals in the Loire may have left a lot to be desired, but the cycling and scenery made the visit worthwhile.

Another Week in Paris

I was delighted to return to Paris for another week while Bryan was in London on his work trip. My friend Karina kindly offered for me and Bailey to stay at her place, so again I got to experience the city feeling like a local. She has a lovely apartment with a patio in the 11th arrondissement.

The first night of my stay overlapped with our friends Seth and Kerry again, so we agreed to meet up for dinner. Walking into the Montmartre neighborhood, I noticed that the streets and bars were packed with people. At first I thought it was something related to soccer, but then I realized they were all wearing Tour de France shirts and watching the race on TV. As I got closer, I saw barricades set up in the street. Apparently I had stumbled onto the course, where the cyclists had passed through only minutes earlier. At that point, they were racing towards the Champs-Élysées to finish the race. It was exciting to see the crowds and to know that, if I were more tuned into world sporting events, I could’ve even seen the race!

I was glad I left Bailey at home since things were a little crazy in the streets as the race was ending:

I found Seth and Kerry, and we sat outside induldging in French onion soup (it’s just onion soup here), beef bourgignon, and goat cheese salad.

Then we walked up to one of my favorite places in Paris, the Sacré Couer, for a glimpse of the sunset and moonrise.

It was good to see friends again. They were heading off to Germany, so we said goodnight, and I settled into my solo (with a dog) week in Paris.

Dog Friendly Activities

Bailey and I continued seeking out dog-friendly activities in the city, and we found some great ones.

Coulée Verte

Paris has a 4.5km path that takes you up above the city (I learned that it was the model for the highline in NYC), through lush gardens and green spaces, and under tunnels. It gets you fully in touch with nature, and it’s dog friendly. Just make sure to check the entry and exit points to know where you can access the trail.

Bois de Vincennes & Chateau de Vincennes

The Coulée Verte leads all the way to the Vincennes forest, the largest green space in Paris, where there are loads of trails to walk with your dog. We walked through the forest and caught a glimpse of the Chateau de Vincennes. I was originally thinking of staying out in this area, but it was a lot quieter with less to do, and I was glad I chose to stay in Paris.

Le Bone Appart

We made a return visit to Bailey’s favorite dog cafe, Le Bone Appart. She found a lot of dog friends to play with and enjoyed a croissant-shaped cookie.

Canal Saint-Martin

We didn’t spend a lot of time here, but it was a nice place to walk with Bailey, and I’d like to revisit it someday. Apparently people even go swimming in the canal when the weather is hot.

Humans-only Activities

Food Tour

I’m not sure if you really need to go on a food tour in Paris, because it’s so easy to find amazing meals and snacks everywhere. Just pop into any bakery or restaurant. But I had an Airbnb discount, so I booked a lunchtime tour with No Diet Club (a great name, by the way). It ended up being more like a walking tour with snacks along the way, which was nice for not feeling too stuffed. And I got to try some foods that I wouldn’t have found on my own, like falafel and the most incredible cream puffs (choupettes de chouchou) and raspberry-pistachio macarons.

59 Rivoli

After the food tour, I had a little bit of time left before work, so I stopped by 59 Rivoli, a six-story working art gallery on a main shopping street in Paris. The entire building is a creative masterpiece, from the quirky exterior to the painted staircases inside. There was so much to see in every room on every floor, and some of the artists were there working, so you could say hello.

Later that day, it was time for Bryan to pick me up and carry on our own Tour de France.

Until next time, Paris.

Summer in France: Le Mans

Le Mans was not part of our original itinerary. We would’ve like to stay in Brittany a little longer, but Bryan found out that his work team would be having an offsite in London, so we needed to pivot. That meant heading back to Paris for the flight. I was happy to do it, since I could never complain about extra time in Paris. We split up the drive by staying in Le Mans.

Le Mans is best known for the 24-hour driving circuit race (though I did not know about that). However, we found it to be a charming small city with a lot to offer apart from the race. It has a very well-preserved medieval old town and a stunning cathedral that is one of the largest in France.

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in a room with this lovely patio:

And we had one of the most delicious and memorable meals of the trip (which is saying a lot since there were many delicious and memorable meals on this trip) at La Baraque a Boeuf. The beef was amazing. I ordered a starter salad as a break from all the meat, bread, and cheese, but I learned that in France they sometimes also add meat, bread, and cheese to the salad.

That evening, we discovered that the Nuit des Chimeres was happening, which is when all of the historic landmarks in the city serve as projector screens for an artistic light show. We waited until nightfall—pretty late when the sun sets around 10pm—and followed the trail of lights to see the displays throughout the city. It was a mix of really impressive video and still projections. Some were serious and some were silly:

In the morning, we walked through the old town and visited the inside of the cathedral. Then it was time to make the drive back to Paris so Bryan could make his flight and I could enjoy a few more days in the city.

Summer in France: Brittany

We knew we wanted to visit Brittany during this trip, but we weren’t exactly sure where we wanted to go. When we found out that our friends Seth and Kerry from back home were going to be in Carnac and the Quiberon Peninsula, we decided to overlap. We ended up loving Brittany! The Breton culture is slightly different from other parts of France, so we enjoyed experiencing another region.

Carnac

Our first stop in Brittany was the coastal town of Carnac. It was probably our least-nice hotel of the trip, since it was basically just four white walls and a bed with very little space around it. And the wifi was just barely strong enough for a Zoom call, so I had to do my calls from my hotspot on the outdoor patio in the day and night. But most visitors don’t come there to work, and the town itself was quite charming.

There was a very big and very nice market in the morning across from our hotel. I wish I had more time to browse, but we’d already made plans to meet our friends at the menhirs—the alignments of prehistoric stones for which Carnac is best known, kind of like a Stonehenge of Brittany.

We walked through rows and rows of the stones, taking our best guesses at what their purpose was back in prehistoric times. We walked through the forest, too, plucking wild blackberries straight from the bush for a snack.

Afterwards, it was time for a beachfront picnic and a dip in the sea. I thought the water was suprisingly warm compared to July in New Jersey.

For dinner, we ate mussels on the promenade and then ran into a reggae concert. We’re used to going to summer concerts together back home, so this was a welcome substitute.

Then it was time to bid adieu to our friends, hoping our paths would cross again along our separate journeys through France. And we set off for a new part of Brittany.

Penmarch

As we headed further west, the beaches became more rugged and the crowds less touristic.

We stayed at a nice bayfront hotel (Les Ondines). The town was quiet, and we enjoyed our peaceful morning and evening walks along the water. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any swell to surf, so we found ourselves venturing out to sample the Breton cuisine. Crepes and cider became obvious favorites. We liked both the sweet and savory crepe varieties from Creperie Amzer Zo. We also tried Far Breton—a prune cake, which sounds weird but I l loved it—and kouign-amann— sweet rolls from a really nice bakery (Boulangerie Du Phare).

On our walk back to the hotel, we saw that they were setting up for some kind of festival. There was a Surfrider Foundation booth—an organization that Bryan used to volunteer with, so we went over and talked to them. We learned that there would be a summer music festival later that night.

We decided to return later on, and we were treated to an awesome summer music festival (Kerity Summer Party)! There were three bands and a DJ set. We had a great time listening to Petit K, and then we were blown away by the punk rock music and bagpipes from Leex. It was an incredible show! It was cool to see an event that felt truly local. We were too old and tired to stay for the DJ set, so we headed back to the hotel and said goodnight to Brittany.

Summer in France: Giverny

We celebrated our four-year anniversary in Giverny. It was about an hour and fifteen minute drive from CDG airport. We arrived to the loveliest guest house (La Réserve) in the afternoon, and we were welcomed with a tray of snacks and homemade cider.

Bailey made fast friends in the backyard with the very large household dog. She liked running around the property and spent the stay getting to know different farm animals. The cows and pigs were amicable; the goat and donkey were not.

We had our anniversary dinner at La Musardiere. The food was so flavorful and fresh—I had smoke trout rillettes, a ceviche-style fish with watermelon and peanut lime sauce, and a strawberry pavlova for dessert. The flowery garden was the perfect, peaceful ambiance for a romantic anniversary evening. They even a special flower bouquet for the table.

The next day, after enjoying the hotel’s wonderful breakfast, we set out for Claude Monet’s house and gardens. This year marked the 100th anniversary of his passing. We decided that it might have been better to come during the 99th year, because number 100 has made the gardens extremely popular and full of visitors. But in spite of the crowds, it didn’t take us too long to get into the gardens or the main house, and we enjoyed walking through the flowers and lily ponds and checking out the art pieces in the house.

Giverny was a beautiful and luxurious two-night visit. Thanks to Bryan for planning the perfect stay!

Summer in France: Paris

Bailey and I made it all the way to France! I think I’ll write a separate post on the process of getting over here, since that’s another story in itself. But we landed early in the morning, after Bailey held her pee for about 13 hours straight. What a trooper. We took an Uber Pet straight to our Airbnb for early check in.

This was my third visit to Paris, so I had hit a lot of the main tourist attractions before. This trip was more about finding dog-friendly activities, trying a few new things, and hanging out with my friend, Karina, who has been living in Paris for about six years. I found the perfect Airbnb in the Jourdain neighborhood. It was quieter and off the beaten path, so it let me feel like a local while still having easy access to public transportation. It was nice having a kitchen to cook my own meals and a communal patio to eat outside.

On our first day, Bailey and I met Karina at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and caught up over drinks and snacks at The Puebla Pavilion. The park ended up being one of my favorite places to walk with Bailey during the trip. It’s a huge, beautiful green space with lots of trails and spaces to lounge. Afterwards, I stocked up at the grocery store, ate dinner at home, and called it an early night to try to ward off my jet lag.

I needed the rest to prepare for the holiday ahead. Bastille Day was approaching, and Karina let me know that celebrations usually happen the day prior. We’d been planning to attend the Firemen’s Balls, when the local fire stations open up at night for music, drinking, and dancing, but unfortunately they were canceled this year due to the intense heat wave.

Instead, Bailey and I started the day with a long walk to Le Bone Appart, a dog cafe that became another one of our favorite stops on the trip. It’s a little shop with coffee and treats for humans and dogs. They have French-themed toys and berets for sale, and there are usually plenty of dogs and dog-friendly humans to play with. Bailey recommends the VIP pup cup.

Later that day, we met up with Karina and friends at the Square du Vert-Galant for a picnic. Bailey braved the metro with her mandatory muzzle, then it was a gorgeous walk along the Seine to get down there.

We feasted on charcuterie, then trekked back to the Airbnb to feed and drop off Bailey for the evening. We had a Bastille Day boat party to attend. Karina and I rented city bikes to race back to the river in time for the boat’s departure.

We made it just in time and set off for a sunset river tour of Paris, DJ, drinks, and dancing. Once it got dark, we were treated to one of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen, a drone show, and the twinkling and sparkling Eiffel Tower herself. It felt like a truly special experience to be there for the celebration.

The return boat ride was interesting, since the police closed the Seine due to traffic, and our boat captain said we might not be able to leave until 4am. I was slightly panicking with Bailey at home and my tired, jet-lagged body stuck on the boat. I attempted to go with the flow, holding onto the railing to support myself, and we ended up getting back by 2 AM, two hours later than planned. Bailey was sleeping soundly at home when I arrived.

The next day I slept in as late as having a dog would allow. We had a pretty lazy day of lounging before I worked. In the evening, I met up with friends to watch France play Spain in the World Cup. As you can see from the subdued crowd, it was sadly not a victory.

At that point, Paris was still in a heat wave, and my apartment had no AC. I trekked around the city looking for a fan. Most of them were insanely marked up, since the city had run out of fans during the last heat wave. I finally found one (for an outrageous 37 euros!), and when I got it home learned that I would have to assemble it myself. It was simple enough, but I didn’t have a screw driver to do the final tightening of the frame. In spite of the shaking and rattling, Bailey and I got some relief. The apartment wasn’t too terribly hot, since French buildings are designed to stay cool, and the people have a system of leaving the shutters and windows closed all day until the temperature drops below 80 F, then opening them for a breeze through night and morning.

That worked pretty well, but the Parisians like to stay out late, so opening my windows through the night made it difficult to sleep with street noise. I got into a routine of staying up late until the air cooled down, waking up early for Bailey, and taking sticky afternoon naps on the couch with the fan running full blast.

Day four was my biggest tourism day. I took the train into the city center to visit the Musee de L’Orangerie and see Claude Monet’s water lilies. I didn’t reserve my slot in advance, so I waited about forty-five minutes, which wasn’t too bad, other than that I chose to wear pants in the July heat. The room with the water lilies painting was small but lovely and impressive.

Downstairs, there is a bigger collection of paintings by Paul Cezanne and Henri Rousseau that makes the whole experience really worth it.

I was in the center of it all. I visited the Louvre years ago and found it overwhelming, but I enjoyed walking along the promendade.

In my previous visits, the inside of Notre-Dame was closed, so that was a priority stop this time. The line (still hot!) moved quickly, and I was in and out of the beautiful cathedral in no time at all.

I headed back to walk Bailey through the mosaics of the Belleville neighborhood to find a view of the Eiffel Tower at a distance. Then I had my first and most delicious croque monsieur of the trip at La gueule enfarinée. It’s been awesome to find that dogs are welcomed outside and even inside of almost every restaurant in France.

My interrrupted sleep schedule caught up with me the next morning. I’d booked a croissant-making class that started at nine, knowing it would take an hour to get there on public transportation. I either slept through or turned off my alarm, and woke up startled at exactly eight. There wouldn’t be time to do dog chores and make the train. So I texted the organizer that I would be late, quickly looped Bailey around the block and fed her, then grabbed a last-minute Uber to somehow arrive to the class on time.

Luckily, there was a steady flow of coffee in the classroom. In the expertly-led workshop at Maison Fleuret, we learned to prepare, fold, and shape the dough to make the perfect croissants, pain au chocolat, and pain aux raisins. I hope I can replicate my newfound skills at home, but if not, at least I had some yummy treats for the rest of the week.

That night, I met up with Karina and her boyfriend for a documentary movie at a bar and outdoor cinema (La Recyclerie). The venue was amazing—they’ve built these garden bars on the old abandon train tracks throughout the city. Of course, the documentary was in French and the visuals weren’t very appealing, so for my sake, we only stayed for half, then headed back to the bar to have some beers. We went out in the city afterwards, but I departed early to get back to Bailey and try to fix my sleep schedule.

On my last day in the city, Karina met me at the Saint-Ouen flea market. We walked through the massive assortment of antiques and thrifty items that wrap through rows and rows. I wished I had a french home to decorate, because there were so many cool, vintage finds.

Afterwards, we met up with another of her friends who is a fellow world traveler and exchanged stories at a diferent garden bar along the old railroad tracks.

That night, the three of us had dinner at my favorite brasserie in Paris (well, maybe the only one I know, but it’s really good!): Brasserie Bellanger. The beef tartare (with frites, of course) and paris brest for dessert were outstanding.

Then suddenly, it was my last day. I learned by the last night once the heat wave cooled off that if I kept the windows closed, I could sleep much better through the night. A major shout out to Miliki Cafe for keeping me caffeinated through the week and for brunch on the last day.

It was time to meet Bryan at the airport for the next phase of our French adventure…

Chasing Waves in Capbreton

The only thing better than France in a city, like Paris or Bordeaux, is France with a beach! Our next stop on this Portugal, Spain, and France road trip was Capbreton. It ended up being a favorite for both of us.

We stayed for three nights and surfed at Santocha bay. The surf was very crowded, but one day was clean and fun, and I managed to catch a perfect wave between the crowds.

The break was really neat because there are leftover WWII bunkers on the beach. On the last day, my leash broke while paddling out, so I got the feeling of arriving on shore like I was going to war.

Capbreton was probably the best place to break a leash, because there are a ton of surf shops near Hossegor, including the coolest one I’ve ever seen, with its own coffee and barber shop and a revolving display of boards:

The town was also really lovely. Our guesthouse (a slightly grown up hostel with private rooms and friendly owners) backed up to the main street with a summer night market. We walked along the river into town for dinners and to the beach.

We found a healthy vegan restaurant (Monkey Mood) and a yummy fish fry (SO’FISH).

On our last night, we ate a massive bowl of mussels at a beachfront restaurant (Nina Cafe) and I forgot to take a photo, but the view was impeccable:

We got our fix of American-style breakfast tacos & burritos at the Pacific Coast Cafe in Hossegor, and on our last day I got another taste of my favorite pastry. I think I might try my hand at making them when I get home.

As we were heading out, I popped my head into the cutest bookstore and cafe in town.

We were sad to leave France, but our time in Capbreton was both memorable and delicious!

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