france – Page 2 – French Californian

January 8, 2016

Hannah Wilson

The Gardens of Versailles in Autumn

During the two years I’ve lived near the Versailles gardens, can you believe I’ve never seen the fountains when they’re turned on? You see, there are lots of Baroque fountains and groves peppered throughout the massive gardens, but since they’re so old, they can’t be running water constantly. So every weekend (excluding weekends in winter), all the fountains turn on and the entire garden is filled with the sounds of water and Baroque music. It really adds to the ambiance – which is impressive, considering the gardens already have a ton of ambiance to begin with.

July 17, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Masquerade Ball of Versailles

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The moment I heard about a Masquerade Ball at the Palace of Versailles I knew I had to attend. I’m mostly a homebody and not much of a party animal, but the idea of dressing up like Marie Antoinette at the actual chateau was enough to push me to purchase the 78€ tickets (88€ for people over 26 years). The spending didn’t stop there, oh no. We rented some of the least expensive Rococo costumes available at the nearest Costume Shop, Déguisez-Moi, which ran from 80-110€ apiece.

I’m not complaining about the money spent – in fact, I have no regrets whatsoever! Since this is probably once-in-a-lifetime (or twice, if I still live here next summer), I’m more than willing to cough up the funds to have the experience. Actually, we decided that if we ever do this again, we’ll splurge even more on the costumes. I had some major costume envy when I saw a coordinating couple drenched entirely in bright white, feathers and crystals – the woman’s petticoat extended at least 3 feet to each side! My costume was lovely but not a true robe à la française. I suppose you’ll have to fork over more money if you want something truly authentic.

April 16, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Monet’s House

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If you’ve ever wondered what Impressionism looks like in the form of a house – a speculation that has probably never been a priority in your life – then you may have also wandered what Claude Monet’s house looks like. I mean, he’s practically the king of Impressionism as far as I’m concerned, and if his house doesn’t embody 19th century French painting, then I don’t know what does.

… these are the kinds of thoughts that go through my head on a regular basis…

I had been to Giverny twice, and on both occasions, photographs inside the house were strictly Forbidden, with a capital F. My friend Natalie and I would always try to be sneaky and take quick iPhone snaps, thinking we were so incognito; the photos pretty much always came out blurred and crappy. THANKFULLY – and this seriously made me so happy – they now allow you to take photos! Mais sans flash, bien sûr. I discovered this while my sister was visiting me last week, and we also discovered that the Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay allow photographs now too. :O

So without further ado, take a peek inside Monet’s house:

December 5, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Visual Diary – Return to the Native Land

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I’ve called France my country of residence for almost 1 year now, and a few weeks ago marked the first time back in the Golden State. I’ve been spending time with family and friends in California, playing lots of board games, putting together folk-art puzzles, and generally just relaxing. I’ve also been eating lots of terrible yet amazing foods – donuts mostly. The family meet-n-greet is over with (most of my family hadn’t met Erik yet since we kinda eloped :o), so this weekend Erik and I will be taking short road-trip up to San Francisco together, one of my favourite cities in the world.

September 30, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road Trip Day 3 – Mont Saint Michel

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My best friend Natalie and I decided to take a quick 4-day road trip through France, more specifically, Normandy. What follows is an account of the events, sights, and stories that took place. This is the final instalment – you can see day 1 HERE and day 2 HERE.

After waking up in our cute and comfortable Airbnb room, we decided we couldn’t leave Bayeux without seeing the famous Bayeux tapestry, which is recognized as an official piece of world heritage by UNESCO, and for good reason. It’s a major source of historical, cultural, and artistic information. I strongly recommend following the free audio guide because it guides you through the crazy (and sometimes funny) story being depicted. I usually bypass the audio guides at museums, but this one was truly entertaining, and essential in my opinion.

Next, we hopped in our car, and headed toward MONT SAINT MICHEL! After getting lost, of course. My favourite part of the drive was seeing little glimpses of the mont from a distance. The land leading up to the fortress is mostly flat grassy land, so the Mont really stands out on the horizon. It was incredible, really. The closer we got, the more it made me feel like I was headed towards Hogwarts! Too bad I didn’t get sorted into a house upon arrival… (I was hoping for Gryffindor). I wouldn’t be surprised if Hogwarts was inspired by the Mont.

September 17, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road Trip Day 2 – Calvados & Bayeux

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My best friend Natalie and I decided to take a quick 4-day road trip through France, more specifically, Normandy. What follows is an account of the events, sights, and stories that took place. This is just part 2 – you can see day 1 HERE and day 3 HERE.

We arose bright and early in Rouen that partly-cloudy September morning, had a breakfast of chocolate-covered madeleines, then jumped in our little European car. After 25 minutes of driving in circles, a car ride that was interspersed with frequent shouts of panic and confusion, we finally found our way onto the correct motorway! The roads in cities can be absolutely impossible with their roundabouts, one-way streets, and indecipherable road name signs. (Somebody please tell me why the road names are in size-2 font and buried on sides of cluttered buildings???) Almost as soon as we found the correct motorway, we were already exiting onto smaller roads that ran through rolling green hills, dotted with cream-colored cows. Every so often we’d see lines of apple trees, evidence that we’d entered the region of cider production. Our first stop of the day was Cambremer, a central town on the Cider Route, which runs through an area known as the Pays d’Auge in the Region of Calvados. We didn’t do the entire route, which consists of cider distilleries, gardens, farms, and gorgeous country roads, but the few stops we did make provided a nice overview of the entire area.