Hi friends!
I’ve been off all social media for 5 weeks. (One more week to go!) It’s been strange - and also wonderful! - to live life without the compulsion to constantly share updates and pictures on a regular basis. I mean, this phenomenon of documenting our life digitally in real time really only started about a decade ago, and yet it’s altered our lives so much. Thanks to Instagram, instead of just experiencing a moment, you can simultaneously share it with thousands of others. Weird, right?
Our family spent spring break in France - 3 days in St. Malo, and 3 days in Paris - and I felt both relieved to be off social media (and thus fully in the moment) AND I missed being able to share photos and stories with all of you! I love France so much, it truly gives me joy to share this love with others. So given I couldn’t share my trip in real time on Instagram, I’m going to share some photos and highlights with you all here :)
For those of you who’ve known me for any length of time, you know that I love all things French - the language, the food, the architecture, their appreciation of beauty, the daily ritual of mealtimes and conversation, and their ability to savor life. Even in a bustling city like Paris, the French take time to linger over a coffee or a glass of wine in a café. To-go cups are only just becoming a thing there. I have been lucky enough to live in France several times - in Paris (as a student, and later to teach English), in Burgundy (for culinary school), and in Aix-en-Provence - and to travel extensively through France for work. France is where I feel most inspired, joyful, and creative. It fills me up like no other place.
I fell in love with France at the age of 8 when we had our first French exchange student, Delphine. She was 18 and impossibly cool (in my 8-year-old opinion) and she lived with us for one month. I begged her to teach me some French, which she graciously did. She decided that I should be pen pals with her sister Claire, who was my age. For years, I wrote letters to Claire - mine in English, and hers in French - so we could each practice learning a new language.
At the age of 13, I got to visit France for the first time with my parents. I stayed with Delphine’s family in Paris, and finally met my penpal, Claire. I was amazed by everything - the beauty, the architecture, the history and culture, and especially, the food. I visited food markets for the first time in my life, marveling at the tables piled with artfully-arranged fruits and vegetables: rosy apricots, tiny, impossibly sweet strawberries, heads of wavy lettuces (I’d never known there were other types beside iceberg), and peppery little radishes. I loved the fresh baguettes, the warm, flaky croissants, the creamy cheeses served at the end of every meal, and the magical chocolate spread (Nutella!) that French kids ate for breakfast. Heaven. I kept a journal of that trip documenting what I did, and, more importantly, what I ate. (I apparently tasted - and liked! - escargot on that trip, according to my journal.)
We subsequently had two other French exchange students, Ségolène, and Félicité, both of whom I adored. Félicité visited one summer when I was in college, and I got to live with her family when I studied abroad in Paris the next year. That trip ended up launching a lifelong friendship. Félicité became like a little French sister to me (she’s 5 years younger) and I’ve visited her countless times in France since and she visited me when I lived in NYC. Today, she lives in St. Malo, a coastal town in Brittany, with her husband and 4 kids (her middle two are similar ages to mine).
This trip was extra special because we got to visit Félicité and her family in St. Malo! We spent 3 days with them, and then 3 days on our own in Paris. I can’t tell you how sweet it was for me to watch my kids play with hers (despite not speaking any common language) and seeing their friendships form. Evie and Grayson both already love France, and this trip - with the chance to make new friends their ages - really cemented what I hope will be a long-lasting relationship. Who knows - in the same way that Félicité and I got to live with each others’ families, I hope that her kids and mine get to do the same thing one day!
I’ll share more photos from St. Malo in a future post, because it deserves its own. St. Malo is so incredibly beautiful, with its stunning beaches and walled old city, and fantastic food – it’s famous for its crêpes and galettes, oysters and seafood, salted butter cookies, sea salt caramel, and buttery pastries like Kouign Amann. (Basically, all of my favorite things!)
Let me know if you all would like me to create some little guides - sort of a Where to Stay / Where to Eat in Paris and St. Malo? I am happy to - just want to gauge the interest! Write me a note or a comment if that’s something you’d like to see.
In a nutshell, I’m feeling SO grateful that we got to take this trip. Grateful to be in the place I love the most with the people I love :) The kids are fantastic travelers at ages 6 and 8, and I’m so glad we started taking them overseas at a young age. (Evie first went to France when she was 3 months…Grayson first went at 15 months). It makes it much less intimidating now! (Also - I’m happy to share travel-with-kids tips for anyone interested…just let me know.)
XO
Anna
P.S. Thanks to those of you who wrote in response to my last post “What if it All Works Out?!” That feeling of anxiety leaving kids behind apparently struck a chord with many of you - glad to hear I’m not alone!
P.S.S. I don’t usually take two international trips back-to-back, so enjoy the pictures and don’t expect anything this exciting for a LONG time! Ha.
Please share any and all travel content (especially if it’s FRANCE!!!!) I loved reading the back story of your connection to the country and culture. I studied in Paris in college and have only been back once but I dream of taking my kids there some day! xo
Thank you for your beautiful post! I too have lived in Paris and Aix ! Since my husband is French we go back regularly. We will be in both Saint Malo and Paris in May and I would love any and all suggestions you might have! Merci encore !