End of France and a little bit of Brugge

Our last day in France was spent at the quaint little coastal village of Honfleur, packed with fabulous restaurants, mostly seafood of course, with a variety of shops scattered in of artists and their creations. I found the painting that was made for me, but alas, I was a wee bit short of the 3,000 euro asking price. The girls were surprised with a carousel ride and bungee jumping, right in the square.

So here is what I learned about myself in Honfleur, which goes to show that even at the ripe old age of 21, you can still learn surprising things about yourself. I cannot eat mussels. Ever. Again. To realize what a surprise this is, you have to know that I am open, wide open, to any new culinary experience. This experience shut me down, mentally and physically. Did you know the buggers have beards???? And once you pop them out of the shell they can really give you a heart attack if you get a peep show of their innards. NEVER, never look inside, you'll never get over it. I was able to take a few in (with my eyes shut and in my mind singing songs like "I am a Child of God" and "Mamma Mia") but soon I had to give it up. Funny thing is, once they are in my mouth, they really did taste good. But they were just too darn good at initiating my gag reflex as well as all over body goosebumps and a strange buzzing and tingling in my head. I guess a small town Utah girl just wasn't up for the challenge. Maybe I needed to have been born a few states closer to the coast to "get it".

For our last night in France we headed east toward the Belgium border. We really REALLY lucked out with our accommodations. We found a little B&B that provided us with the ultimate French experience. Our host was Marie Christine and her B&B is her house. So, you can imagine our surprise when we asked her were she slept, and she pointed to the room right next to ours.

Of course with a red kitchen we were instant friends and I actually could have slept there, on the red tile, with a smile on my face. Marie was an excellent host and for an additional fee (totally worth it) she made us dinner that night. It was a pure French culinary experience as we started at 7:30 and ended after 5 courses at 10:30. Here is what I learned about French eating. It is an event, not a burden. The "make or break-it" ingredient is the sauce, and OH MAN do they do sauces. They eat cheese and bread for dessert, after the main course. AND we still got ice cream. Plus, amazingly enough I was not uncomfortably full afterward, portion control is implemented all along the way. Food packed with "pow" as far as flavor and you find yourself satisfied with a smaller portion. I think American's could learn a lot from the French. No more bland, refined flavorless food. It is a wonder America is obese, they are continually searching for fulfillment and getting flat in return.

Marie's house was a treasure chest, literally. To put it in perspective, my kids played "I spy" among all her collectibles and treasures and were still at it after 2 hours. Look at this fabulous OLD bed for McKenna . . . that was so great! McKenna made sure that we knew it was NOT a baby bed, it was a McKenna bed.


Marie's house was a childhood treasure chest too, especially for McKenna, when 4 three week old baby kittens carried her away to kitten heaven. It was like she was the Pied Piper, they followed her everywhere.


I love this picture of Bailey. It captures her essence!

Our last day was spent in Brugge Belgium. A word to the wise, if you are even thinking for a minute about a trip to Brussels, skip it, I beg you, and go ahead to Brugge. You will never regret it. This is the city that has lace makers in the street and down alleyways, showing off their talent, antique vendors around the bend, the best waffles and frites in Belgium, and every other store is a fabulous chocolate shop, not to mention the fact that you get an Amsterdam/Venice sort of experience all rolled up into one. AND Brugge can brag about the fact that they have the only Michelangelo piece outside of Italy, and folks it is a winner. Both Linda and I said we could have spent at least another 4 hours alone just plain shopping.



I've said it before and I'll say it again, "I. LOVE. BRUGGE." Mark, I beg you, take me back for an entire weekend, one day is such a tease.