France Wrap-Up

Facts and Figures
Length of Stay: 35 Days
Miles Traveled to Enter: 525 by train from Venice
Miles Traveled: 400 by car (39,615 since landing in Quito)
Places Visited: Paris, Normandy
Intercity Trains Taken: 0
Buses Taken: 0
Fried Pig Snouts Eaten: 1

Jeff's Top 3s
Meals -  Despite France's reputation for food, we primarily cooked in our apartment.  Eating out is incredibly expensive in Paris (more so than in New York), so we limited ourselves.  That being said, we still had some great meals.
1.  Tarte d'agneau @ La Ferme Mont Saint-Michel.  The pie made with lamb from the fields surrounding Mont Saint-Michel is one of my favorite meals from this whole trip.
2.  Tartine Normande @ Le Triskell, Villedieu-les-Poêles.  Andouille sausage, apple slices and Camembert baked on a thick slice of bread.  I'm usually not a Camembert fan, but it worked here.
3.  Pastries in Paris.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have a big sweet tooth.  Paris isn't a bad place to be for that.  Between the milles feuilles, pains au chocolat and macarons, it was a good month for me.

Stays - We only stayed in two places.
1.  Our apartment in Paris.
2.  Normandy Inn, Montbray.  In most countries, this bed and breakfast would have landed at #1.  Housed in a converted farmhouse, it is Normandy's idyllic, pastoral atmosphere defined.  It is also a bargain in this country at only €60 a night.  If you are going to spend time in Normandy,  I cannot recommend this place enough.

Experiences
1.  D-Day tour.
2.  Spending a month in Paris.  I can't break this down into specific parts, because the entire experience ties together.  Wandering the city's streets, relaxing in its parks, practicing my French for the first time in twelve years and seeing the sights at a relaxed pace all confirmed that deciding to spend all that time in one city was the right decision.
3.  Mont Saint-Michel.

Magge's Top 3s
Meals - I guess it would be conceited to put a meal I had made down as my favorite, so I guess I'll just stick to those that I did not concoct myself.  However, I must say that the Thai pumpkin soup I whipped up was pretty darn awesome.
1.  Baguette with yummy garlic cheese spread. Yes, this counts as a meal. Well, more like a pre-meal meal (that I indulged in almost every day), which I guess explains why my clothes really don't fit anymore. Oh well, I can always lose weight when I'm home, I can't always enjoy a delectable French baguette!
2.  So many wonderful crepes, it's hard to choose just one! Hmmmm, I think I will have to choose the one I had in Bayeux.  It had ham, and cheese, and egg, and some other wonderful stuff in it.  It was gooooooood.
3.  Tartine with meat and apple and Camembert cheese at a restaurant in Normandy.  Jeff had it the first night we arrived and I got to have a little taste, which I enjoyed so much I made Lee and Jeff return so I could have it too!

Stays
1.  Our apartment in Paris. After moving constantly for the past ten months, staying in the same place for a month was one of the most amazing things in the world.  Our little studio apartment felt palatial after some of the places we have stayed.  My favorite part about the apartment was the little balcony.  The location could not have been better either.
2.  I really know how to pick 'em :-), the little bed and breakfast we stayed at in Normandy was really fantastic.  It's the kind of place you could bring a book to and just curl up in for a week... or a month... or a year.  Jeff now wants to own a bed and breakfast in Normandy after our stay there.  I think I might agree to that.

Experiences
1.  Living in Paris.  Many people can say that have visited Paris, but now I can say that I have lived there.  Our month there was magic and I will look back on it with great fondness for the rest of my life.
2.  I just loved the Baguette to Bistro Tour!  So much fun and so educational.
3.  Snapping pictures of sheep with Mont-Saint-Michelle in the background.  It's hard to explain how captivating the scene of Mont-Saint-Michelle was from a distance.  It honestly looked more like a mirage than something that could possibly be real.  The sheep grazing in the foreground and interrupting traffic just added to the surreality of it all.