Packing up is always this wild ride of memories for me. I have this knack for hiding things that I know I’ll get at later, and then over the years completely forget about them. Crossing my fingers I can get my act together this next time. I came across these photos I took while on a winter vacation to France with friends in 2009. We somehow all made it there over our extended winter break during our senior years, and it’s become this kind of extreme running joke “oh, you know, that time we went to Paris for New Years…no big deal.” Hah. We definitely scored as far as finances went, having friends living abroad and getting tickets on the cheap in advance. We saved up so we could spend a couple nights in Montmartre and enjoy as many espresso shots as our hearts desired along our walking adventures before we headed to different destinations to spend the rest of our three weeks. I went off with Megan (france-hugger) to stay with her in a little town called Fougeres. She was teaching English there, and I was able to stay in her apartment during the week and take small weekend trips with her over the visit. I’ll just let you know that this part of the country was known for its salted caramel and hard cider. I was kind of in heaven. Local cuisine is one of my favorite things to experience when I’m on any kind of trip.

These photos brought up two things that I definitely am needing to get into again. One: taking actual photos. These were all taken—not very well, as you can see—on my old holga camera. It was the kind that could flash different colored lights to set the mood. Leave it to holga to have a mood-setting camera. Two: getting my butt back abroad. I’ve been feeling it for a while, but now that it’s been almost four years since my last trip. The itch is getting a little hard to bear. While I’m certainly a fan of France, I’m thinking I need to head somewhere a little different on my next trip abroad. Sydney? Amsterdam? New Zealand? I’m sure this won’t be happening any time soon, but it is fun to dream about. Does anyone have any favorite spots I should jot on my list?

PS, can you stand my duck face and blonde hair!? I had to include that one for a giggle. This was taken on a weekend trip to Renne where Megan and I stayed with her friend Thomas. We traded making him salmon crepes and espresso for a couch to sleep on. We did have to walk through an abandoned fun-fair to get to the crepe man, but I’d say the trade was well worth it in retrospect.