PARIS 2015 (ladies only)

We flew into Paris to begin our Parisian adventure. Julia made a new friend on her flight into France, and she took us to the "best crepe restaurant in Paris."

Kathy Allan, my good friend from Logan, also flew in to join us in Paris the next day. We had a very quick visit to the Louvre and took a boat tour of the Seine. The next day, we spent a day at Versailles. After touring the inside of Versailles, we saw a little of Marie Antoinette's garden area also. Later, we went to a wonderful bookstore that Kathy knew: Shakespeare and Company. It is my new favorite bookstore!

That night, we were also able to catch an organ and vocal concert at Notre Dame Cathedral. I was thrilled to hear beautiful music in this astounding venue!

The next day, Julia flew out (after nearly two weeks in Europe) while Kathy and I continued on in Paris. I took Kathy to the crepe restaurant from my first night in Paris, and we had both a savory (buckwheat) and a sweet crepe. The sweet crepe had toffee in it and was the best crepe I have ever eaten! Here's a picture of the ham and cheese crepe:

Kathy and I went to the famous Ladurée for wonderful treats (macarons, chocolates, tarts, etc.).

We also went to Sainte-Chapelle, and the stained glass windows were wonderful.

In the evening, we went up 284 steps to get to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was my first time to the top, and the view at night was spectacular! It was fun to be there when the lights of the Eiffel Tower were on and flashing. The pictures don't do this justice, but I have a video that is better.

Afterward, we walked along the Champs-Élysées but finally, around 11:00 pm, we had to give up our last day of sight-seeing and return to our hotel. We were tired but happy about everything we fit into our trip. Fortunately, I got better by the day at navigating around Paris by metro.

BARCELONA & CARCASSONNE

Julia and I had a great time in Barcelona -- what a fun city! Some friends told me about an inexpensive bus, so we took a round trip there on the bus from Toulouse. It was fun to see the scenery from the upper level of the bus as we drove. After we arrived and checked in to our hotel, we went out for tapas. They were nice little bites.

The next day we went to Sagrada Familia. What an interesting basilica! I learned about Gaudi and this building that is always under construction.

The only disappointment of visiting the Sagradia was that they closed the tour of the upper areas because of high winds.

We took a bus tour of Barcelona where we could jump on and off to see the interesting sights, such as more by Gaudi: Guell park and one of his buildings.

During Julia's stay in France, we also made it to Carcassonne. I love sharing this medieval city with friends:

PYRÉNÉES: PART DEUX

In September, my friend Julia joined me for some European fun. I met Julia 30 years ago in Southern California when we were pregnant with our first children, and now she lives in Northern California. We will be neighbors once again as I return to California.

One of our first sight-seeing stops was to the Pyrénées, in the charming cities of Saint-Lizier and Saint-Girons.

Eric was our designated driver. I haven't driven much in France, given the narrow lanes and especially our very challenging parking options in Toulouse.

It was a little rainy and overcast so we didn't get a chance to go up into the mountains, but the small cities were charming.

SWITZERLAND

At the end of the summer, we were able to take a weekend in Switzerland because of great prices to Geneva on EasyJet! We rented a car in Geneva and drove to the Bern area to see the LDS Temple.

In Bern, we also enjoyed walking around the cathedral, the river, and a very interesting Einstein museum.

Next, we drove to Lausanne for our hotel and then for a boat ride on Lake Geneva.

Eric and I enjoyed the very beautiful water, mountains, and all of the scenery in Switzerland. What a lovely country!

PYRÉNÉES & MORE OF TOULOUSE

In August, we finally made it to the Pyrénées, the beautiful mountain range in between France and Spain. Several of the books I have read lately tell stories of servicemen shot down in France who crossed these mountains into Spain in order to get to England (and safety) during WWII.

We went to a little village called Luchon.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and there was a parade downtown.

The community was also getting ready for a special "Fleur Fest" with floats made of flowers.

We took a short hike and then rode the gondola to the top of a nearby mountain.

The view from the top was wonderful!

I couldn't get enough of the views.

This would be a fun place to ski in the winter -- we saw some of the snow-making equipment. We would also love to come back to these beautiful mountains to hike or enjoy more of the scenery.