Saturday, January 12, 2013

pellands in paris


These babes made the long trek from Chicago to Europe to visit us over the New Year holiday. After many connecting flights, they arrived in Toulouse tired but excited for the week to come.

With Andy's training schedule and the unavoidable jet lag, our first few days with the Pellands were relatively mellow. We enjoyed a wonderful outdoor lunch at the loveliest place, Le Flower's cafe, rang in the New Year with fellow Spacer's and their families over raclette and gateau, and enjoyed catching up with friends we don't see nearly often enough.

Several naps, laughs, and days later, Andy packed up and headed off to the north of France for a match-up against our friends' former team, Tourcoing. While neither the Jablonskys or Winders are there this year, KJP and I decided to head up anyway. I couldn't bare the thought of them coming all the way to France and not seeing their beloved Andy stuff a few balls.

After an early morning flight, we spent most of our afternoon in Lille, the larger city a 30 minute metro ride away from Tourcoing. The Belgian influence was immediately obvious as we made our way into the main part of town.


After binging on frites and waffles dipped in chocolate and smothered with whipped cream, we headed back to our humble abode for a rest and to prepare for the evening's festivities. Upon reaching Tourcoing, we wandered around a bit before stumbling upon a quaint little restaurant with the friendliest staff and quite tasty food. It was the perfect way to pass time before the match began.


Originally hoping to jet over to Belgium before ending up in Paris, our plans were foiled once we figured out the total cost necessary for said day trip (30 euro each way for a 30 minute trip? I think not). Instead, we opted to head to Paris for an extra day of touring. Thanks to AirBnB and our awesome host, Christophe, we had the most perfect flat at our disposal for the weekend. Though small, the price was right, the accommodations were quite comfortable, and the location was perfection. I can't imagine walking out of my front door every morning and seeing the Eiffel Tower on my way to the metro. Le sigh...

Two jam packed days of sight-seeing ensued. Arc du Triumph, Notre-Dame, L'as du Falafel, the Marais, Notre-Dame, Hôtel de Ville, the Eiffel Tower, and much more!


Thanks for an unforgettable trip, Kylee and Joel. We are so lucky to know and love you both. Looking forward to many exciting updates from you coming in the near future.

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