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Running in Germany

I have been enjoying some really great runs here in Bavaria. There are about six lakes right near the house we’re sitting that have paths all around them, and go on forever. One thing I’ve noticed about Germany (and Switzerland) is how accessible everything is for hikers/bikers/runners. There are paths everywhere, away from the road, and there are tons of people utilizing them. I didn’t really expect to be trail running while here, but it has turned into a really good thing. The paths are easier on my knees, there are hills so I can work on my form going up those, there are no cars around (except for one small portion of one trail, which I didn’t realize and almost got side swiped), there are cows everywhere, beautiful scenery, etc.

My runs have been in the 4-6 mile range, and all of them have felt pretty good. A couple days this week were REALLY hot and humid (like 90 degrees, which I haven’t felt in years), and that was really a struggle. The day after we went hiking in the Alps was also tough; my legs felt like lead. But I have noticed progress in the past two weeks we’ve been here; at the beginning even my easy pace felt hard, but now I feel like I’m back to my old self… sort of. Yesterday I got up early (like 5 am early, I’ve been having sleeping problems from the heat), and got out on the trails before anyone else did. I broke lots of spider webs, so I knew I was the first one out. I really wanted to just run for a while and see where it took me, and that’s exactly what happened. I ended up doing 7.5 miles at a 10 min/mile pace, which was just fine by me. The weather was perfect, some bikers and hikers were out by the time I was finishing up, but overall I pretty much had the whole place to myself.

I’m trying to work on getting my endurance back, without doing too much too soon. My knee has been fine, and fingers crossed it stays that way. Our travel plans are a little up in the air at the moment due to monetary concerns, but I’ve got my eye on a half marathon in September here in Europe that I really want to do. I would be bummed to go home before doing at least one race abroad. After that, assuming we’re home, I’m going to sign up for the Santa Barbara International Half Marathon on November 8, which I ran last year. I think that’ll be a nice welcome home for me. My goal is still to break two hours in the half marathon, and hopefully that’ll happen soon.

Still trying to be proactive about my knee – icing it with frozen raspberries.

It’s going to be a bit tougher getting my runs in after we leave Germany since we’ll be going to bigger cities. It’s been so great having these paths right outside our door. We’re heading to Italy on Sunday and will be there for a good bit, and it’s already really hot there. So, I have to work on getting out of the house early, which will help with the traffic situation too. I’ve been looking up routes that I can run, and I try to book our accommodations close to parks so that I have easy access away from busy streets.

It’s been a lot harder staying in shape while traveling than I was anticipating, but I’ll save that for another post.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth! Jeremy and I are off to a monastery on a hill that brews delicious beer (we know it’s delicious because we went yesterday, too).

Hiking in the Bavarian Alps

Friday will go down as a huge highlight in our travel adventures. This post will be pretty picture-heavy (but when are they not, honestly), because words can’t really describe how incredible the day was (iPhone pictures don’t really do it justice, either). Jeremy and I are having a nice time housesitting in a small village south of Munich, and our host left us a car (an automatic, hallelujah) so we’ve been able to do some exploring. I had no idea how much there is to do around these parts, and how beautiful Bavaria is. We decided to venture south, almost to the Austrian border, to do some hiking. The main reason we chose this spot is because I found out there was an alpine coaster that I knew we had to ride.

We drove the autobahn (where there is NO speed limit), and that was an experience in itself. We got up to about 110 miles per hour, and there were still people zooming past us. It was crazy. Once we got to the village of Oberammergau, we took a chairlift halfway up the mountain. It went on for ten minutes at least, and the views were beautiful.

Chairlift out-of-focus selfie.

Got a good view of the alpine coaster track that we’d be riding in a few hours.

There was a playground with a zipline where the chairlift let off.

We picked a spot on the map to start hiking to, without really knowing how long it would take or where it would take us.

The trail turned into a road, where it got really steep.

I decided to run up the hill so it wouldn’t take as long.

The road turned back into a trail, and that’s when the views started getting REALLY good.

Shortly after we took these pictures, we came across an alpine hut that served food and beer. I realized only the day after that it was actually on this list of places I wanted to visit. It is called August-Schuster-Haus, and has been around since the early 1800s. We opted for some weissbier (wheat beer, so refreshing) and a pretzel, which was fresh and still warm. My mouth is watering just thinking about the beer and pretzel, my god they were delicious. The Germans do it right.

The inside of the alpine hut.

Imagine having this view at your place of work.

It was hard to leave, but we eventually started making our way to the top again, which is when the trail started getting pretty steep, and the experience level turned to red triangles instead of green. After just having a half liter of beer on an empty stomach in a very high altitude, this could have been a bad idea. But we were feeling great (thanks, beer) and had lots of energy to climb our way up without falling down the side of the mountain.

Almost to the top – we had to use the rope on the left side of the picture to climb the rocks.

When we made it, we took some time in silence to stare in disbelief at the view (and then take lots of pictures, naturally), which is what the few other people that were there were doing too.

There were crosses with plaques at the peaks of many mountains we saw.

Made it to the cross.

‘

I’m happy to report that this entire day was filled with heights that could have filled me with fear, but never once did I feel scared (could have been liquid courage). Maybe I’m not as scared of heights as I thought, only rickety bridges.

Making our way back down to the alpine coaster was all downhill, and we ran a lot of it since it seemed harder to go slowly.

Frolicking down the mountain.

We made it to the alpine coaster, and it was so fun. It went on forever, and it went SO FAST.

Here’s a video from the alpine coaster website, let’s see if it works.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Iv4NTHJ_8as

We may have to do the whole day over again before we leave!

One Year

Today, June 7, is the one-year anniversary of the day Jeremy and I got married! It seriously does not feel like a year already; it seems like I was losing my mind planning the wedding just a few months ago. Even though it was super stressful to plan, everything was worth it and the day went smoothly, and it was so fun having all of our Georgia friends and family fly out for the week.

We wanted a really simple, small wedding, foregoing a lot of the traditional wedding stuff (bridal party, first dance, bouquet toss, etc.), and I think we accomplished that. We didn’t have a color scheme or anything, we just wanted bright flowers, with a general theme of poppies (the California state flower). We wanted to show our out-of-town friends the beauty of Santa Barbara, and I knew the ocean had to be involved in some way. We were lucky enough to have a family friend offer to host the ceremony at her beach house on one of my favorite beaches (and on the same street as my preschool), and then we shuttled people over to the San Ysidro Ranch for cocktail hour and a sit-down dinner. After dinner, a trolley came to pick everyone up and dropped us off downtown for more celebration. All in all, it was so much fun and it was exactly what we wanted, and I’m so happy we chose the photographer we did (it makes a huge difference!).

Here are some shots from the day! Photos by Esther Sun Photography.

Me and my grandma. I love this picture.

We had guests write notes on vintage California postcards I found at a thrift store.

The San Ysidro Ranch is a magical place.

We started the year in Santa Barbara, and within the next few months, would pack up our apartment, drive across the country, and depart on this crazy traveling adventure we’re on now. We’re going to celebrate by going to dinner at a lake-side restaurant in our little village here in Germany, and doing some hiking in the Bavarian Alps this afternoon. We shall see what the next year has in store for us!

How I Discovered My Fear of Heights

After a day spent wandering around Munich, my parents, Jeremy and I piled back into our little VW to head south to reach Neuschwanstein Castle, which Disney modeled the Sleeping Beauty Castle after (apparently). Acting as navigator once again, I wanted to get us there by taking the Romantic Road, a route that would lead us through charming Bavarian towns and worthy places to stop. We had no time constraints, so we figured we would just start driving and see where it took us.

When it was approaching lunchtime, we started looking around for places to eat. The villages we drove through looked absolutely dead; all stores were closed. It seemed like it might have just been lunchtime closures at first (something we had grown accustomed to in France), but after a while it did seem like something was going on. We finally landed in one town, and started to see people in traditional lederhosen heading in a direction where we could hear some music, and knew we had to follow. We parked the car, and followed the smell of bratwurst to an outdoor festival. There was beer, bratwurst, cake, and music, and we sat down to indulge in the village’s holiday celebration. We asked two people at our table what the holiday was, and in their limited English explained that it was Ascension Day, celebrating Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. It is also sometimes called Father’s Day, which I had seen signs for, but didn’t realize what it was referring to. I don’t eat meat except for fish, and my dad hasn’t eaten red meat in, say, 40 years or so, but when you find yourself in the midst of a Bavarian village celebration and they are only serving homemade bratwurst, you eat a homemade bratwurst. We all had one, and they were delicious.

My mom and I had a really hard time deciding between all the different homemade cakes, but finally settled for these two, a chocolate/banana slice and an apricot slice.

Out of focus picture means I was too impatient to get it right before digging in.

As it often happens here in Bavaria, it was sunny when we arrived but storm clouds began approaching rapidly, and the band packed up their instruments. The rain started falling as we were walking back to our car; it was perfect timing, really. We got back in, and continued our journey south.

Pretty little village.

These storm clouds don’t mess around.

Our next stop was the Wieskirche in Steingaden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It doesn’t look like much walking up to it, but once you step inside, the rococo-designed church that dates back to the 1740s is really something.

The Wieskirche in Steingaden.

Hi, dad!

After leaving Steingaden, we didn’t have much further to drive until reaching Neuschwanstein Castle. We stopped at a gas station, where Jeremy and I had our first truly rude experience in Europe (after over two months, I’d say that’s pretty good). I wanted to ease our hurt feelings with huge fried balls of dough covered in chocolate, a Bavarian specialty, but I refrained.

Pulling up to Schwangau, we got our first glimpse of the castle.

We hiked up to it, but there were busses or horse-drawn carriages that you could take up the steep hill instead. It took about thirty minutes of climbing (with beautiful views along the way), but we finally made it.

Getting closer…

Made it!

After walking around a bit outside (tickets to tour the castle were sold out), we wanted to find a bridge I had read about online, called Marienbrücke, where you could get a really good view of the castle from above. It was a bit more hiking, but we found it, and now my stomach turns just thinking about it. I had no idea how high up it was going to be, and what a dinky little bridge it was going to be. I was paralyzed with fear as soon as we approached it.

I have never been afraid of heights, and consider myself a pretty brave person. Growing up, I remember being nervous about doing things for the first time (like riding a roller coaster, but who isn’t?), but after being talked into doing it (usually by my brother), I loved it and wasn’t afraid after that. I don’t know if it’s because the older I’m getting, the more of a wus I’m becoming, but this bridge scared the hell out of me. It didn’t help that it had started raining, it was windy, and there were huge storm clouds ahead. The bridge is made of wooden panels you walk across, that move when you step on them. I couldn’t fathom how everybody was nonchalantly walking across, like it was nothing. I was gripping the handle so tight and wouldn’t budge, and I wasn’t even on the bridge yet. Jeremy came and got me and finally convinced me to walk across, and I basically had a panic attack as I did, and couldn’t look at anything except the unstable wooden panels beneath my feet. I didn’t even look at the castle. All I could think about was a lightning bolt hitting the bridge, and falling to my death. I didn’t get any pictures because of my debilitating fear, but luckily Jeremy and my dad did.

Neuschwanstein Castle from Marienbrücke bridge.

I tried to find a picture online of the bridge and how high it was to make people understand my fears, but I couldn’t find a good one. You guys will just have to believe me.

(source)

After going back across the bridge, I really wanted a picture of me and Jeremy on it with the castle behind and knew I’d regret if I didn’t get one, but obviously I wasn’t going to walk out onto the middle of the bridge like the thousands of other lunatics that do daily (the castle gets 6,000 visitors a day on average), so I shuffled out just a few feet, and grabbed onto Jeremy for dear life. It’s one of my favorite pictures from our adventures so far.

I feel like a real sissy now, especially seeing how many people just walked across it no problem. I’m hoping this was just a fluke, and that my bravery returns.

Anybody else afraid of heights? (Please say yes.)

Merrymaking in Munich

What a great city. It was the first time in Munich for all of us (me, Jeremy, and my parents), and nobody was quite sure what to expect. Jeremy and I are housesitting in Bavaria, and luckily my parents decided to drive us since they didn’t have any other plans. We left Honfleur around noon, and knew we had a long day of driving ahead of us. I was the navigator, and relied on a map that looked like this (we didn’t go through Frankfurt, but it was a good representation of the German map I was relying on):

Is this a cruel joke, Germany?

Good thing I had some chocolate for navigation energy (essential on a long road trip).

We finally rolled into the city around 10pm and arrived at mine and Jeremy’s Airbnb (a few blocks away from my parents’ hotel), where this was waiting for us:

I normally don’t drink much beer and usually stick to red wine in California and of course in France, but WHOA the beer in Germany is SO GOOD. I haven’t had wine since we left France, and every beer I’ve had here has been more delicious than the next.

The day after we arrived it was Jeremy’s birthday (28 on the 28th!), and we started the day by finding some breakfast. Our apartment was just a couple blocks from the train station, and we were both craving a BIG cup of coffee (which we hadn’t had since we left America, really). Munich definitely has a more American feel when it comes to restaurants and coffee shops, and we found some really good coffee in large to-go cups. Ah, the comforts of home. The train station has a very impressive selection of restaurants on every level, and each one looked really good, but when we walked by a Mexican place serving breakfast burritos, we knew we had found the perfect birthday breakfast. I know it seems weird to eat Mexican food in Germany, but we could see the burritos and the ingredients and the tortillas looked good. And how can you mess up a tortilla stuffed with cheese and eggs? It turned out to be a good decision, and the burritos were delicious (they even had guacamole and really good salsa inside).

Success!

After breakfast, we walked all over the city, and marveled at the impressive architecture that seemed to surprise us at every turn.

My mom and her new friend.

Does this not remind you of “It’s a Small World”? I had it stuck in my head while we were walking around, and then an oompah band played it at a beer hall (or what sounded like it at least…), so I guess it’s not just me.

I’ll never get over how cute these little vehicles are.

I thought we escaped the tempting treats when we left France. Oh, how wrong I was.

The birthday boy!

Guess Munich knew he was coming.

For dinner, we went to Hofbräuhaus, the most well-known beer hall in Munich. It’s kind of a requirement for every visitor to go at least once, so we knew it was going to be crowded. Luckily, it holds thousands of people, and the efficiency of service is down to a science. We sat ourselves, and didn’t have to wait long to get served liters of beer and traditional German food. With the oompah band playing and everybody drinking and talking and occasionally singing along, it is pretty much impossible to not have a good time at a beer hall.

Originally built in 1589!

My Spätzle with fried onions on top, my mom’s Wiener Schnitzel in the background. And lots of bread in between.

Apple Strudel, a Bavarian specialty.

We waddled our stuffed selves back to our respective accommodations, and I took some pictures along the way.

We will own one of these someday.

The New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) in Marienplatz.

The next you see me, I might be wearing one of these.

The next time you see me, I might be wearing one of these.

The next couple days were filled with a drive south on the Romantic Road to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle (more on that later), and more eating, walking around, and beer drinking.

We found a place near our apartment called Veggie Döner and oh my god it was delicious. The seitan (basically vegetarian ‘meat’ made out of wheat gluten) was cooked on a spit like regular kebab meat, and shaved off and put in a tortilla with lots of other good stuff. And there were other Turkish goodies that looked really tasty also.

I want another one.

Visiting the Chinesischer Turm biergarten in the English Garden with a pretzel bigger than my head (and that’s saying a lot because I have a huge head).

A fresh seafood sandwich from one of the many restaurants in the Viktualienmarkt, a food market that is open every day in the center of Munich.

A fresh seafood sandwich from one of the many restaurants in the impressive Viktualienmarkt, a food market that is open every day in the center of Munich.

The Englischer Garten (English Garden) is beautiful and humungous (and bigger than Central Park) and starts in the city center. I wanted to run here, but didn't make it. One day!

The Englischer Garten (English Garden) is beautiful and massive (bigger than Central Park) and starts in the city center. I wanted to run here, but didn’t make it. One day!

We stumbled across a puppet show in the underground mall we also found accidentally. Germany is pretty cool.

Like I said, we really really loved Munich, and are now enjoying the beauty of the Bavarian countryside in the house we’re looking after. Happy June!

A Week in Normandy

Last week, Jeremy and I were in Honfleur, Normandy with my parents. We had our own Airbnb apartment about a ten-minute walk from my parents’, and we spent the days wandering around the cute port town while eating ice cream, driving north to the D-Day beaches, tasting Calvados, and visiting Deauville and its casino. Honfleur is only about a two and a half hour drive north of Paris, and it’s a huge tourist destination due to its charming, skinny and colorful buildings, picturesque harbor, pretty alleyways, and high-quality restaurants. The town is a bit sleepy, but near the weekend tons of huge tour busses arrive and unleash thousands of tourists onto the cobblestoned streets. Most of the stores sell products from the region, like cider, Calvados, and Sables (butter cookies), and there are countless art galleries showcasing beautiful paintings, many of which inspired by impressionist painters who were influenced by the scenes of Honfleur (including Monet).

The view from our Airbnb.

One of the many markets held in Honfleur.

Hi, Jeremy!

Normandy has pretty crazy weather in the spring, sunny and bright one minute, hail the next, but we were fairly lucky and got many sunny days, and only a grey day here and there.

Grey day in Honfleur.

We saw a lot of these crazy storm clouds rolling in (this was taken in Beuzeville, a nearby town).

Sweet treats.

Savory treats.

Flower store in Beuzeville.

During one of my runs in Honfleur, I found this path through the trees that led to the ocean.

One of the advantages of traveling with your parents is your mom buys delicious things for dessert after cooking a homemade meal.

A meringue bigger than my hand (and already half eaten).

Cider heaven.

More treats.

Crepe filled with ratatouille.

The strangest thing I saw in Honfleur: a jar of Trader Joe's hotdogs. There are definitely no TJ's in Europe and TJ's definitely doesn't sell jars of hotdogs in America... a mystery I'll never solve.

The strangest thing I saw in Honfleur: a jar of Trader Joe’s hotdogs randomly next to some berry crumbles in a discount grocery store. There are definitely no TJ’s in Europe and TJ’s definitely doesn’t sell jars of hotdogs in America… a mystery I may never solve.

The house of Toutain Calvados.

Nothing like a Calvados (apple brandy) tasting in the middle of the day.

First official macaron tasting of our trip. Our second came the day after.

Deauville Casino.

L’Endroit

My parents treated me and Jeremy to L’Endroit in Honfleur, which was a highlight of the week for sure. The space was loft-like and modern, but cozy and had a really nice atmosphere. And the food was delicious. Jeremy was feeling adventurous and ordered blood pudding for an appetizer, and tripe for his entrée. I ordered a nice vegetable soup for a starter, and fish for my main meal.

Jeremy’s tripe dish.

There’s fish under there.

Saturday Market

There are a few open-air markets in Honfleur (and a fish market that is open every day), but the most impressive was the food market held on Saturdays. You can find pretty much any produce you need, and lots of meat, cheese, and seafood too. There was also a guy making fresh paella, and some stands with desserts. A lady gave Jeremy a free raw oyster right from her stand, and he said it was real tasty.

Shortly before offering Jeremy an oyster, saying he should consider it a “gift from France.”

Utah Beach

One of the main reasons we decided to go to Normandy was to visit the D-Day landing beaches. The last time we were in France, six years ago, we took a two-day privately guided tour of the beaches by a retired British officer (his name was Colonel Warman, I kid you not). We visited Omaha Beach and the other, most eastern ones, but never made it to Utah Beach or Sainte-Mère-Église. We made the drive from Honfleur, and as soon as we got to Utah Beach and parked, it starting pouring, and eventually began hailing (pretty big pieces of hail!). I haven’t seen weather like that since I left Georgia, and it was actually really nice! We waited the storm out in the car, and eventually Jeremy and I made a run for it when it seemed to be lightening up.

My dad walking to Utah Beach.

The storm rolling out.

Utah Beach is the westernmost D-Day landing beach. The 70th anniversary of D-Day is coming up on June 6th, and the whole area will basically be closed because of the events taking place next weekend, including visits from President Obama, Vladimir Putin, Queen Elizabeth, and many more. We timed our trip well, otherwise we wouldn’t have even been able to get close to the beaches.

We found our way to Sainte-Mère-Église, where I got a nice picture of my parents in front of the town church with a memorial to John Steele, the paratrooper whose parachute got caught on the spire of the church. He pretended to be dead for two hours and then finally was taken prisoner by German troops, but later escaped (thank you once again, Wikipedia). The incident was featured in the movie, The Longest Day.

You can see the parachute up at the top.

Jeremy and I stopped for a beverage after visiting the church while my dad went to the Musée Airborne, a museum dedicated to the American troops that parachuted into the area during Operation Overlord. My dad raved about it and highly recommends a visit, if you’re ever in the area.

After Honfleur, we made the long drive to Munich, and have been eating our weight in pretzels and drinking liters of beer ever since. Prost!

p.s. phew that was long, I really need to work on making these things shorter.

Tasting Paris on a Budget

Tacos in Paris! Truly authentic.

Paris has countless incredible restaurants, and one day I would like to try them all. This time, though, it wasn’t in our budget to go out to nice meals, so I thought I would share some of the cheap (but still delicious) food we got while in the City of Lights. We do splurge occasionally on our travels (not on a Michelin star restaurant or anything, but maybe a brasserie or bistro here and there). I’m awful at remembering to take pictures of food before we eat it, so it is just a sampling. Two friends happened to be in town at the same time as us (not the same ones from the rooftop bar, surprisingly), and their parents took us out to dinner to a delicious restaurant, and my parents have also taken us out to eat. Besides that, though, we rely on grocery stores, picnics, and cooking at our different homes.

Our first meal when we arrived in Paris. Pizza and wine sitting by the Canal Saint-Martin.

Our first meal when we arrived in Paris. Pizza from a little place near République that I can’t remember the name of and wine sitting by the Canal Saint-Martin.

Tacos and chips and salsa are probably the food that Jeremy and I miss the most while traveling. Living in Southern California, there are small taco joints all over the place with insanely good and fresh (and cheap) tacos. And don’t get me started on the guacamole. I was reading up about places to eat in Paris and happened upon a review of El Nopal, a tiny Mexican place walking distance from our apartment. Obviously we had to check it out after looking at some of the pictures, and we started walking north along the Canal Saint-Martin and made it there after about thirty minutes. You can barely stand inside if there is someone else in there, it’s so tiny. We ordered four tacos and tried to order chips and guacamole but they were sold out. It was definitely more expensive than what we are used to (we usually get tacos for $1.50 or so back home and these were about ten dollars for three tacos), but we were kind of desperate. And they were good! Eat your heart out, piratebobcat. We took them to go and sat by the canal and devoured them.

So happy.

Two veggie tacos for me, carnitas and asada for Jeremy.

There is one other taco place that is supposed to be really good, and we will make a point of visiting and comparing them when we are back in Paris in July.

We also love falafel. It’s been a staple in our diet for a while now, and Paris had some amazing falafel. There’s a section in the Marais district that has numerous falafel places right across from each other, L’As du Falafel being the most popular with huge lines down the block (we tried to go here once but it was closed), and we ate at two of them. The first we went to was Mi-Va-Mi, which was really good. We sat down at a table and it was a nice change of pace. The falafel was stuffed in some pita and had eggplant on top. I forgot to take pictures. The second was called King Falafel Palace, and we stood in a line to order at the counter and take it to go. This one had different toppings, but was equally, if not more, delicious. We also got a beer to drink while waiting in line (I love Europe), and some fries with mayonnaise on them (my arteries hurt).

And who could forget crepes? We got a number of Nutella crepes. They are hard to resist when you walk by and smell them and the guy is making them fresh right there.

When my parents got into town, we met them at their hotel off Champs-Élysées and took a cab back to our neighborhood to go to a pizza-by-the-weight place I had read good things about. We were kind of confused when ordering, but luckily the lady working was really nice and helped us decide how much to get and then cut the pizza with scissors. All the kinds were delicious, but there was one in particular that had truffle oil that really stood out.

With all of this unhealthy food, we do make sure to eat a good amount of veggies at least.

Afternoon veggie platter with hummus at our Airbnb.

Over the weekend, Jeremy and I decided to try a breakfast place near our apartment, which turned out to be more difficult than we were expecting. The places I had read about that served brunch/breakfast didn’t start serving food until noon. That doesn’t really work for us (we get REAL hungry in the morning), so it was kind of a bust. We ended up at Tuck Shop, and were able to get a couple small dishes, but it was too early for the main meals.

A muffin with an egg inside and baked beans for me, and avocado toast for Jeremy.

And no trip to Paris is complete without eating some macarons (even though we didn’t actually eat any until we got to Normandy, but look how pretty they are!).

I can’t wait to go back and try all the other goodies in Paris, and hopefully go to some restaurants.

Picture Perfect Paris

I know I keep gushing about our week in Paris, but it really was just incredible. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect all week (it had been raining for days but stopped the day before we got there, and started up again the day we left). I haven’t talked much about what all we did, because it was kind of a whirlwind. Here are some highlights!

As soon as we arrived at the Gare de Lyon, we made our way to our Airbnb near République, with a stop at the Canal Saint-Martin on the way, which turned out to be only two blocks from our apartment.

Place de la République.

Le Perchoir

A couple of friends happened to be in town at the same time as us, and we went to meet up with them at Le Perchoir, which has got to be one of the coolest bars in Paris. I highly recommend going there to watch the sun set over the city. It’s right off Rue Oberkampf, a great place for nightlife with lots of great bars.

As soon as the elevator doors open, this is your view. It pretty much takes your breath away.

Beautiful sunset over a tiny Sacré-Coeur in the distance.

An Evening at Sacré-Coeur

I’ve done this the last couple times I’ve been in Paris, and it’s always a highlight (and always SUPER crowded). A great way to spend a Friday evening (or any day of the week, really) is to buy a bottle of wine or Champagne, get some bread and cheese, and have a picnic on the steps in front of the Sacré-Coeur while watching the sunset (a common theme in my life = sunset picnics). There are usually tons of people (many of them tourists, but still worth it), the views are insane, there are street performers, and the walk up to the Sacré-Coeur is an adventure in itself. Then when it gets dark, explore the romantic Montmartre area, and pretend you’re in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.

I told you there were a lot of people.

Crazy performer that climbed up the light pole while doing tricks with a soccer ball.

A close-up.

The steps were a little too crowded, so we opted to sit on the grass down below a bit.

Walked by a play going on.

The streets of Montmartre are so charming. Jeremy and I stopped into a bistro to have a glass of wine and listen to a jazz band.

Moulin Rouge is nearby, of course we had to visit.

More Parks With Awesome Views

I’m such a sucker for parks with nice views of a city, and Jeremy and I found two more that pleased us both: Parc de Belleville and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. They are both kind of a ways away from the main center of Paris, which means a lot less tourists. They reminded me of Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco a bit (one of my favorites). You get a really great view of the city with the Eiffel Tower at Parc de Belleville, and a completely different view at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.

Parc de Belleville.

Parc de Belleville.

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is massive, and includes lakes and lots of paths that I would love to run on next time. You can also climb to this tower where you can see the best views.

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

Over the weekend, Paris was celebrating Night of Museums, which meant that most of the museums were staying open until about midnight, and some had free admission. Being budget travelers, obviously we wanted to take advantage of the free admission. We chose Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) because it seemed weird and it’s listed on Atlas Obscura, an online guide to some of the stranger, lesser-known attractions in cities around the world. It did not disappoint.

Probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in a museum: a tiny room with a ceiling made of owls and feathers.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Also walking distance from our apartment was the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the largest in Paris. It’s so big, there are maps with guides on where to find notable people’s graves, like Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Frédéric Chopin, Marcel Marceau, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, and many more. We didn’t realize quite how big it was going to be, and combined with getting lost a couple times, we only made it to the gravestones of Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde. It’s a beautiful place though, and one worth venturing to.

Jim Morrison’s grave. Someone had left their band’s demo.

Sorry to the lady whose butt is prominently featured in this picture.

We walked around a ton and saw lots of what Paris has to offer, but I don’t know if you could even see everything if you were there a year. Next up: what we ate in Paris.

Dancing in the Metro.

Running in Paris

I can’t stop thinking about our week in Paris. It’s a good thing we’re going back; I’m not done with that city in the least. Jeremy and I have a housesitting assignment for an entire month there starting late July, and I can’t wait to explore more. Prior to our trip, my runs in Zurich really stood out to me, but running in Paris was something really special. I don’t mean to compare them – pretty much all my runs in Europe have been really fun and memorable – but there was something incredible about seeing the City of Love in that way.

Les Berges

I had done some research, and found a section of the Seine called Les Berges (which has a really great, interactive website) that has lots of shipping containers made into pop-up ateliers, food trucks, obstacle courses, etc. And a 100-meter track. It is basically between the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, so I knew it would be the ideal place to run. We had to take the metro from our Airbnb in the République, so we headed out somewhat early to make the trek to Les Invalides, which would land us close to Les Berges.

Pretty much every time you get off a metro stop in Paris, you go up the stairs and walk out onto the street to see something so beautiful you can’t believe your eyes. After getting off at Les Invalides and walking a couple blocks, we came to the Pont Alexandre III covered in gold statues.

On the Pont Alexandre III with Les Invalides in the background.

We walked down to the Seine and saw Les Berges right away. A little ways down, we saw an obstacle course and the 100-meter track. There were tons of people running (which I love), and we ended up walking to the Eiffel Tower to check out how far it was (not far at all) and soon after I left Jeremy to get my run started.

I have a picture of me climbing on here, but it’s way too cheesy to post.

A plaque with instructions on proper sprinting form.

I ran along the Seine to the Louvre, past the Musée d’Orsay, stopping to take lots of pictures along the way. There were a ton of people out, but it didn’t feel overwhelming. The weather was perfect (albeit a little windy), and I even ran around the Place de la Concorde among all the tourists. Normally I wouldn’t like to do that, but there were so many other runners out, I felt like I could do whatever I wanted (strength in numbers, right?). At one point I got caught in a cluster of tourists at a red light, but I saw an older French man running fearless through them and I sprinted to get right behind him so he could lead the way. He met up with other running buddies and I tried to push myself to keep up with them, but their pace was too fast.

Little head, big tower.

Musée d’Orsay.

When I was done running (I ended up doing four miles), I met back up with Jeremy, and he took some totally candid, unplanned action shots of me sprinting slowly on the 100-meter track.

Perfect weather, beautiful scenery, strong-feeling legs… It really doesn’t get much better.

Parc de la Villette

When I was looking around online for things that were going on last weekend in Paris, I found a 10K that started near our apartment. I got really excited, and we planned on getting up early on Sunday and making our way to the start so I could register. I’ve been itching to run a race, even though I’m fairly out of shape compared to my fitness levels this time last year. But I figured it would be fun to run a race in Paris, and explore the different areas the route went through. The night before the race I was reading up on details to make sure I had everything I needed, and I noticed that the website said every runner needed a note from a doctor clearing them for running. I had seen this when I was looking around for a marathon to register for earlier in the year, but was surprised to see that it was necessary for shorter races too. A quick Google search made it clear that I was not going to be able to run without the note, and I was disappointed. Since I was pretty set on running 6.2 miles, I decided to head out from our apartment and run up along the Canal Saint-Martin. I came across the Parc de la Villette a couple miles in, and it was really great. I wouldn’t have visited this park if it hadn’t been for my run, and it was fun to explore the different paths and huge art sculptures. There was a different race going on, and I could hear the announcer cheering people on, so the finish must have been close. It made me want to run a race even more. On my way back, I actually ran alongside the 10K I had planned on participating in, and people were cheering for the runners, so I pretended they were cheering for me too. I was, however, running the opposite direction as the racers, which a man kindly informed me of in French.

Parc de la Villette, with a huge bicycle tire in the ground.

The rest of the bicycle… and some goats.

It was a beautiful run, and I was able to explore areas I wouldn’t normally have visited. I don’t think this running in new cities thing is ever going to get old.

Wandering Through Paris

Jeremy and I have been in Paris for a week, and have been having an incredible time. I’ve been here many times, but I don’t think I’ve ever loved it as much as I have this time. Everyone knows it’s a magical city, and one of the best things to do is to just walk around and get lost. The last time I was here was 5 years ago, and Airbnb didn’t exist yet. I stayed in cheap hotels in more touristy neighborhoods, and even that was fun. This time, however, I wanted to find an area I’d never been to, and was away from the super popular spots. I decided on an apartment in the République neighborhood, on the border of the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. I want to do a full recap of our time here (and all the crepes we’ve had), but we’ve been having so much fun, I haven’t found a chance. My parents arrived in Paris on Sunday, and we’ve been spending a lot of time together walking around, and went to a delicious pizza place last night (Al Taglio). Today, we walked around for hours, and I finally brought my camera out. Here are some pictures of our day strolling through the streets and along the Seine.