France and Italy 2014

Buongiorno, bonjour, and hello readers from your fave world class traveler! So, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that I went to France and Italy these past few weeks. Let me tell ya, they were definitely the best weeks of summer I have ever had. I went with a huge group of friends {and even collected some new ones} and I am so blessed to have gone through this amazing journey with them. :)  Now, I am trying to make a video but it's going through some rough editing process... Over 2000 photos were taken on my camera{s} for this trip and 25 videos... I am trying to make this the best thing since sliced bread, kids!

For now, I present to you two magical options while you are {patiently} waiting...

Option numero uno is to look at the "condensed" photo album on my Facebook. It has lots of pics and most likely some will be used for the video, however, it does not have the little tidbits of video... Plus, this is a great thing to come back to later in life. For instance, if you are strolling across a picture in the video you really like, you can find it amongst the 394 pictures I have... ;)

Option numero dos is to look at the my friend, Meredith's point of view in her videos. They're very well done {even if you can get a little glance of me sleeping on the plane} and I highly recommend it to all you impatient souls. ;) Italy || France

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Now, readers, if you want to read about my favorites from the trip, you are in luck because that is exactly what I'm going to do next. :)

Favorite City: I am a little bias towards Cassis considering it is one of my favorite places in the world, however, this time when we went, it was roughly 21 degrees {Celsius ;)} and the water was possibly the coldest water I have ever swam in. Barton Springs felt like a hot tub, but regardless, *insert Frozen reference* the cold never bothered me anyway. :)
So, I'm gonna say my new favorite place we went to was Cinque Terre aka the Italian Riviera. You will definitely catch me vacationing there again sometime in the future!

No filter is ever needed for this beaut!

Favorite food eaten: Well, am I allowed to have two? If not, well then too bad because this is my blog and I make the rules. 

 The first was exactly what I needed. I had a migraine the previous day, and unless you really know me, you know how much I just need noodles after a migraine. {Very strange, I know} This yummy spaghetti was so simple and it filled me right up. All it had was olive oil, cracked pepper, and parmesan cheese. It was steamy from the moment I first got it right to the last bite.

This dish was perhaps an unanimous favorite throughout our group. {If not, then omg...} Though, I don't know the exact name of it, I am 99% sure it was a pesto lasagna. It was super d-lish and paired well with my rosé wine. BRB Googling recipes of pesto lasagna!

Most embarrassing moment: You'd think that once on vacation embarrassing moments go away, right? WRONG. No, this does not involve a cute Italian or French guy... but it does involve some French! I was in the fab, Claude Monet's beautiful home, doing what I love to do, snappin' some pics. This guy had told me, "pas de photos à l'intériur". At first, I didn't think he was talking to me, so I continued to take some more. Then, he said it again and walked up to me and grabbed me by the wrist. Another tourist had looked at me and pointed to his camera and shook his head no. Me, mortified, wailed out, "No hablo frances!" and ran out of the house. And that kids, is the story of how I almost got escorted out of Monet's comfy home. 

Something I learned: What's traveling to new places without learning something new? I learned plenty of things, but to keep you from getting sleepy about me going on and on about architecture, statues, or other cool stuff, I will spare you something very important. How many dollars make up a Euro? The answer? $1.35 {You're welcome}

Would I go to these places again? ABSOLUTELY! When I came back from my last trip to France and Spain, I had no idea I'd come back to France two years later... Being in France has made me want to study some French... whether it's basic {like the language} or just about its history. {Hmm, maybe it's time to read Les Mis or something by Victor Hugo!} I am truly happy to go traveling and learn about all of these new places. 

I'll get onto that video! Until then {or maybe a few more posts...},

Andie :)