France, days one and two.

We are finally in France! Our internet was down for almost a week so I have been chomping at the bit to get these up. Our first day in Bras D'asse was spent almost entirely in the adorable house that Fionnan's family was so kind to let us use. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of the cute, french country details all over the house.






That evening we had dinner at a local restaurant called La Toupinelle, and attempted our pathetic french to order food. It was a delightful night, and the waiter had a lot of fun at our expense.

The next day we spent the morning by the pool, and then had a big meal on the porch.
Qiana is adorable.
Here we are, left to right: Fionnan, Storey, Dre, Sari, Qiana, Bob, Gabe, Liz, and Summer!

Gabe took a nap while the rest of us went into Sisteron, a nearby town that is nestled amid some amazing cliffs and home to a very old and fascinating citadel.
Storey is also very adorable.
We took a little train through the town and up to the citadel.

When I was researching the Bras D'asse area before our trip I saw a picture of these cliffs and thought "I want to go there!" so I was thrilled to be able to see them in person.



The whole citadel was paved with these stones. Can you imagine trying to walk on this in high heels (not that I ever wear high heels, but still...)
Qiana loves to strike a pose.
There was a video to watch about the history of the citadel, and I just thought this little sign was cute.





Summer and Fionnan having a sweet moment.





The view of Sisteron from the top. Isn't it beautiful?






I know I am a big nerd about photos, but this is honestly one of my favorites from the whole trip.



When we returned to the house, we found Gabe still asleep (5 hours later!) I guess London really wore him out. More to come!

London! The rest of day three and day four!

I am cramming a lot in, I realize, but in my heart I have already moved on to France, so I needed to get London finished. After the tower of London we hopped on the Underground.
And went to Leicester Square (the heart of the theater district) to purchase tickets to a play later that night. I found Jude Law and Sienna Miller's hand prints next to each other in the street (which I found amusing cause they used to be married and now are bitterly divorced).
Just amusing myself while waiting in line for tickets.


And then to lunch at this fabulous and cheap vegetarian restaurant (I think it was called Food For Thought).
And then off to Covent Garden, an area filled with street performers.



On to Trafalger Square, which I am told used to be overrun with pigeons. I have to admit I am sorry that it is not anymore. We also went into the National Gallery, which is filled with many, many famous and beautiful paintings.

As a clash fan I couldn't help snapping this photo as we walked by.
Back to the hotel for a nap and some useless, silly photos of ourselves.

And out again for dinner and play.
We went to eat at a place called "Beet Root" (another delicious and cheap vegetarian place. I love London for the food). It was located smack in the middle of the highest concentration of sex shops in London. This is one of my favorites photos from the trip.
Yum!
Another record shop, of course.
And on to the play. We saw The 39 Steps, and it was fabulous! It was funny, and creative, and very british. The perfect play to see on our trip.
The theater was very pretty inside and I kept snapping photos until one of the ushers told me I had to put my camera away.



London at night.



The next morning we had a few hours before we had to catch our flight so we went to Harrod's, which might be the largest department store in the world. It occupies a 4.5-acre site and has over one million square feet of selling space in over 330 departments. It's dizzying, really. There were signs everywhere inside that said "no photos please", but you know me. We got there before it was open so I just walked around taking pictures for a while.


One of their display windows.





And then back on the Underground to the hotel, quick packing, train to the airport, and off to France! Doesn't he look ready for some sunshine and brie?