The Christmas Market season is upon us and we walked through one of them recently in downtown Angers, complete with a Ferris Wheel, mulled wine and hot cocoa, traditional French foods like tartiflette and crêpes, roasted chestnuts, and a variety of gift items and handmade goods for sale. While not as spectacular as the Christmas
We have so much to be thankful for, living in the lovely Loire Valley in France. We count our blessings in all of these areas: Though we are missing our friends and family in the U.S., we hope that each of you are able to share time, meals, and traditions this week with those you
Six months ago yesterday, we landed in France, full of hope and excitement for the adventure ahead. While the road has been bumpy at times, France has largely delivered a satisfying experience for us and we’re happy to have enjoyed it so far. We’ve made a few purchases lately to enhance our French living experience.
I find myself posting less these days, not because there aren’t good and interesting things happening — there are, in fact we are working on a couple of new things that we’ll share soon. I think this is happening because living in France has become less like a “what adventure are we going to have
As mentioned recently in another post about our fall activities, we’re making a committed effort to increase our ability to speak and understand French. We’ve been taking French lessons twice weekly for the last three weeks. I can’t lie — it’s hard! Our teacher is tough and very focused on giving us a solid foundation
We’ve made it back to Angers from our trip to the SF Bay Area and are looking ahead with excitement to what comes next for us this fall as the seasons change and we seek new opportunities to further integrate with the community and culture of Angers, France. Here’s what we’ve got planned for the
We’re back in the U.S. for a couple of weeks to see family, eat some spicy food and the best deep dish pizza this side of Chicago, and grab a few things from our storage place to bring back to France to make our place feel more like home. We brought two large, empty suitcases
For Greg, each summer is an opportunity to maximize his cycling adventures and see more of the world than can be viewed from the window of a moving vehicle. This cycling summer culminated with a new adventure: a tandem bike ride! Not only that, but a 100km (62 miles) tandem bike ride, plus the to/from
This foot bridge, located a few miles south of Angers over the Maine River in Bouchemaine (translates to “mouth of Maine”), was a key access point for the United States Army’s 5th Infantry Division to help liberate the city of Angers from German control on August 11, 1944 during WWII. Greg found this while on
The French have elevated COMPLAINING to an art form, a competitive sport even; at a minimum, it’s a favorite pastime. Don’t get me wrong, we love France, but there are definitely things here that have tested our patience and made us grumbly at times. We’ve reached the phase in our time in France that is