Beach Bums at the Basilica :: Annecy

Hello everyone,

I meant to finish up all of the European posts last week, but I got side tracked by trying to create my own website(!!!!), and then my trio came into town for a performance at the end of the week, so that left basically no time for anything else!

We are taking a week off before getting back together for another intense week of rehearsals and a concert, so here I am, back to blogging  ;)

Annecy, the Venice of the Alps

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Venice!  of the Alps!

I've never been to Venice in Italy, so I don't know what real Venice is like, but I sure do love this one in the Alps! We visited a lot of beautiful places in Europe during our time there, but Annecy is up there as one of the most charming ones we've seen!

Tristan Chocolate and Le Deck

Hello everyone,

What is better than incredible Swiss chocolate?
Unlimited sampling of incredible Swiss chocolate of course!

If that interests you, keep on reading  ;)

Swiss Castle Adventures

Hello everyone,

After our day at Verdon Gorge, we left our cute little airbnb (with a pool I might add!!) in France and hopped over to Switzerland for a few performances with the Caroga Lake Music Festival's Swiss Tour!

Our home base for the week was a beautifully charming little town called Begnins.

Look how gorgeous this little town is!

Paradise in Provence :: Verdon Gorge

Hello everyone,

About an hour and a half away from Aix-en-Provence, you will find Verdon Gorge, aka the most gorgeous part of France we have ever seen, aka paradise.
A place that must go on your bucket list if it isn't already.

Avignon Markets

Hello everyone!

On our last day in Avignon, we dropped by the markets of Avignon before heading out to Aix-en-Provence!

Les Halles is a covered market that is open from Tuesday-Sunday, but on this particular day, there was even an outdoor flea market happening at the same time right next to it! It was basically a farmers market lover's dream come true.  ;)

Exploring Cassis

Hello everyone,

About 3 hours drive from Avignon, you will find Cassis; a picture perfect seaport city that looks more like one of the coastal Italian cities than anything we had seen in France up until that point.

Picnic under Pont du Gard!

Hello everyone,

A hop, skip, and a jump away from Avignon, you will find this bridge that looks like it came straight out of a fantasy world.   

Or you know, from some ancient civilization, like the Ancient Roman one ;)

Welcome to Pont du Gard, the highest of all ancient Roman aqueducts!

This UNESCO World Heritage site is free if you walk there, but if you park in the parking lot, you have to pay.  However, the ticket will let you walk on the bridge and go explore the museum, so we thought it was worth it =)

Avignon Wanderings

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Avignon!!

While I was still sleeping in Paris, Z went out and got us some breakfast! Oh the joys of jet-lag and waking up at 4 AM ;) haha  I actually adjusted fairly quickly to the time difference, but it took him a whole week to get over jet-lag  =p  haha

24 hours of (mis)adventures in Paris!

Hello everyone!

After 2 very comfortable flights on Iceland Air with no problems for our violins (thank the lord!!), and a very brief stop over in Iceland (they have this thing where they let you stay in Iceland for up to 7 days on your way to Europe for no extra cost to your airfare called #mystopover! We are definitely going to have to take advantage of next time!) Zenas and I arrived in Paris incredibly sleep deprived but so ready to embark on our European adventure!!

We spent just about 24 hours in Paris coming into, and going out of, Europe on our trip, and we loved exploring Paris. However, we also did run into a few experiences that we would rather not repeat when we return... so I thought it would be fun to share all of them with you (the good and the bad) so that you can maybe avoid the bads when you visit this beautiful city!

Photoshoot!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, those of us in Boston (and still in school) had the day off thanks to the Boston Marathon!! Maybe someday, I will go to the race, but that would only be to cheer on people I know because I probably will never run it myself  haha.

Since I couldn't get to school because the marathon route divided my side of the city from school's side, I decided to thoroughly enjoy the day off and do something Z and I have been meaning to do for awhile: taking head shots.  We have been discussing it for months now, but we never could find the time to do so until today.  It was a gorgeous day for photos, even if a bit windy, and we had so much fun exploring the park near my house!

Here are some photos of me taken by Z  =)

Montreal!

Hello everyone!

This is like... 2 months late, but you know, time is a very rare commodity around here haha
However, when you don't have a violin to practice (left the baby overnight at the violin hospital for a new soundpost!), I'm finding that I have a lot of time!  =D

Anyway, a few of our friends are headed off to Montreal soon, and I thought it would be fun to share a few places we loved during our trip there in February.  It was our first time in Montreal, and it was really fun to walk around this beautiful city in some really gorgeous weather!

It was a very short trip--only 2 nights and 3 days--but we tried to fit in as many things (into our bellies) as possible ;)