| FRANCE May 24-June 7 2003 Peter & Anne-Claire |
| Anne-Claire and I took a two-week vacation to France--and it was GREAT! During our trip, we visited with her family in Nantes (located on the Brittany coast of France--NW France). We spent one weekend visiting friends and family on the coast (1 hour north of Nantes) and ate SOOOOOO much seafood, and enjoyed sunshine and warm weather. Anne-Claire and I also spent a couple days driving up the Loire river valley visiting castles (Chenonceau and Azay de Rideau to name a few). We also stayed at a bed and breakfast, visited a winery, and ate at small outside cafes in small towns between each castle we visited. Anne-Claire's brother (Damien) speaks English very well, so he and I spent time also. We went and played pool a couple times, and I also learned to not trust EVERY translation of his. At one point, I asked him to tell his parents that 'dinner was great, and that I really enjoyed it'. As he began translating, he had a smile on his face as he then started to tell his parents: 'Peter says that they economic recession in Africa is getting worse...'. After that, I learned to be careful with him. Damien is pretty cool, and actually I like him a lot. Anne-Claire and I also took some time to see Paris. This was my first time to Paris, so it was a really cool. We visited the Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine, saw the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and the Latin Quarter. Our first day in Paris, we walked around town for 16 hours! Needless to say, we had very sore feet and ended up going to bed around 1 AM. To get to Paris, we took the TGV (bullet train), and in Paris we either walked or took the subway--an experience in itself! I thought trains in Asia were crowded, Paris now takes the #1 seat. At rush hour, we had people smashed against us on all sides. It was hot, humid, and little air. It was nice to finally reach our destination...we had to announce 'descendons!' and push our way out. The best part of our two weeks was when Anne-Claire and I went to the Eiffel Tower on Thursday, June 5th. We got engaged at the top! We arrived just before sunset, bought our tickets, went to the top and watched the sunset from there. Just as the sun was setting, I took out the engagement ring, and asked Anne-Claire to be with me forever. She said YES! I have photos of our trip...click on the icon below... |
 |