{Re-blog: Line 13 Domination}

Last week my roommate Brittany and I decided to embark on an adventure which we have been planning for a while.

For some reason, we've always wanted to talk along our metro line.

We live on the very north end and have thought it would be great to walk along the streets above the underground metro all the way to the very end of the line- which is on the south side of Paris.

We set out on what turned out to be over 4 hours and 10 miles long but in the end we were triumphant!

Brittany documented the entire trip via photos and posted them on her blog which you can check out here.

Currently thankful for: adventurous roomies, sunshiney days and strong legs.

mgw

{Tours, FR}

After meeting in Bruxelles and returning to Paris afterwards, Jon and I decided to take another day excursion somewhere else. We've spent a lot of time in Paris, and it is always FANTASTIC, but we both wanted to try something new and go somewhere that neither of us has been. (Insert winy "I live in Paris and get tired of it sometimes" comment) We woke up before the crack of dawn and ventured down to Paris Montparnasse train station and took a train to Tours, France.

I've always wanted to travel to Tours. UA has a summer study-abroad program there and many of my French major friends participated in it so I've always had a little envy about the French country-side lifestyle.

We arrived at 8:30 in the morning (a little over an hour for a direct train ride from Paris) and set out to walking around the city. We ate breakfast in a park, explored the gardens of the Musée des Beaux Arts, visited the large cathedral in the center of the city and found a large stuffed elephant.

#typical #RTR

Flags along the Pont Wilson crossing the Loire River

Hotel de Ville (Town Hall)

I've heard through various avenues that you can rent bikes and go about the city for the day but when I started doing research I found this company that allows you to rent bikes for anywhere from a 1/2 day to lots of days to choose the length of your own excursion. They have bike locations in cities all along the Loire River valley and you can turn you bike back in at any of these locations. 

The Loire River stretches from the Atlantic Ocean through the central region of France. 

It's banks are dotted with chateaus and villages and little swimming holes. 

The trail we biked was mostly right along the river. It was an absolutely PERFECT day weather wise. 

We stopped and ate our lunch on a rocky beach next to the water's edge. It was like being in a dream!

Jon + bicycle on a plaza overlooking the river.

We decided we wanted to do a half-day (4 hours for 10Euros/bike) and bike to Amboise. Amboise is a town about 30km away from Tours and it's home to the chateau where Leonardo Da Vinci is buried.

This is a view of Amboise from a bridge crossing the river. We didn't actually go into the chateau because it was crazy expensive! We did, however, eat gelato and visited a museum in their town hall. 

We were super thankful for a sunny and warm day together... even if it meant sore muscles and extreme sunburn the next day.

Grâce à Dieu!

{Bruxelles}

I don't know anything about Belgium besides that they invented waffles, they brew beer, and that they love to eat fries. I feel like AP Euro taught me something about William of Orange but I'm not sure if that's Belgian or not...

Anyways, last week Jon and I decided to meet up in Brussels for the day. It was a 2 hour train ride from London for him and just over an hour on the train from Paris for me! We stored his luggage in the train station and set off on foot to explore the city for the day. We walked around the center of the city and then headed to the neighborhood of Saint Gilles to visit the Horta House. It's the former home of the famous architect and they open the home for 2 hours a day as a museum. It  was beautiful and old and elegant, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures. After visiting the Horta we walked around the city taking in all the Art Nouveau-style buildings and ended the day with moules frites!

Enjoying Belgian architecture in the center of the city

Le Musée de Bruxelles

Sitting on the ground in the Grand Place to try and fit all of the Hotel de Ville in one shot.

Loved this building! 

You can't see from my iPhone shot but all of the iron work around the windows is extremely detailed and really cool. This was an old tailor shop or department store that's been restored and now olds the Museum of Musical Instruments. Awesome.

Moules frites- Mussels and fries. Jon LOVED them.

 We ordered our mussels with escargot sauce (garlic butter) and cheese melted on top. 

I enjoyed eating a handful of the mussels but left the rest to Jon!