I was fortunate enough to eat a lot of home-cooked meals while I was in Brittany, but there are certain things that a food-obsessed girl needs to go out and find when in the region: seafood, cider, and crepes.

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Posted in: dining out, travel | Tags: brest, bretagne, brittany, cider, crepes, food, france, oysters, plougastel, restaurants, seafood, travel | 10 COMMENTS

More from Brittany. On Sunday I made a sojourn to the Phare du Petit Minou, a lighthouse on the bay of Brest.

It was another gorgeously sunny day that sent the dappled light crazing over the surface of the sea, but with that bracing, biting wind that I had been looking forward to.

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Posted in: travel | Tags: brest, bretagne, brittany, coastline, france, le petit minou, lighthouse, phare du petit minou, photography, plougastel, sea, travel | 3 COMMENTS

Brittany was stunning. In my mind, Bretagne was all craggy coast and grey skies and biting wind, and I am assured that this is one side of her. But it seems that she can be a bit bipolar, and I happened to catch her on one of her brighter days.

I spent a few afternoon hours at a panorama viewpoint, enjoying the sun, a bit of blues on the air, making daisy chains. I haven’t had the time to sit and make a crown of flowers for years. When we left, I gave the circlet to a shy little girl who was picnicking with her family.

Music to travel by: Anna Sun [Walk the Moon // Walk the Moon]

Posted in: travel | Tags: big sky, brest, bretagne, brittany, daisy chain, dandelion, finistère, france, ocean, photography, plugastel, sea, travel | 11 COMMENTS

It has been raining every hot-damn day in Paris this week. I can’t tell if I’m making myself feel better or torturing myself by looking at these pictures from La Marana beach during our trip to Corsica.

What I wouldn’t give to be lying on that beach right now. Especially since I acquired an especially blotchy tan due to uneven sunblock application.

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Posted in: travel | Tags: bastia, bastia beach, beach, bloggers, corsica, france, la marana beach, mediterranean, south of france, travel | 5 COMMENTS

During our day-trip in Ajaccio, I had what was possibly the most charming encounter with a stranger that I’ve ever experienced.

A couple of us were eating lunch on the terrace of a small Italian joint in the old town, and I was sketching the small church just across from us, when an older gentleman came up and, in French, complimented me on the drawing. He proceeded to tell me that I should make sure to get the bell tower in the sketch, and I assured him I would as soon as I finished filling in the details of the face of the building. He wished us a good day and went on his way.

As we paid our bill and were getting ready to leave, the same gentleman came by and asked to see the finished sketch. After looking at it and complimenting me on a job well done, he asked if he could draw as well, to which I responded, bien sûr!

He spent about five minutes drawing the little church for us, during which time I learned that he’s been living in Ajaccio, and in fact on the same little street as this church, since he was a little boy.

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Posted in: life, travel | Tags: ajaccio, charming, charming encounter, church, corsica, elderly man, meeting strangers, sketch, strangers, travel | 19 COMMENTS

During our trip to Corsica, we took a day-trip to Ajaccio, birthplace of one Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps  you’ve heard of him.

The ancestral Bonaparte home, Casa Buonaparte, is still intact, having been continually owned by members of the family until 1923. It is now a national museum housing relics of the Emperor and his family.

I did this weird thing where I was completely uninterested in the historically significant pieces inside the museum, but fixated on the windows and what you could see of of them instead.

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Posted in: travel | Tags: ajaccio, casa buonaparte, casa buonaparte ajaccio, corsica, napoleon bonaparte, napoleon bonaparte's home, napoleon bonaparte's house, napoleon bonaparte's windows, orange trees, photography, south of france, tourism in ajaccio, travel, windows | 3 COMMENTS

Like English muffins, good towns should be filled with nooks and crannies.

Tempting little buggers, aren’t they?

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Posted in: travel | Tags: alley, alleys of bastia, alleyway, alleyways, bastia, corsica, france, french town, photo essay, photography, south of france, streets of bastia, travel | 8 COMMENTS