My summer vacation has fit neatly into the last several weekends. Emily brought the sun with her - almost literally, after weeks of rain, the clouds disappeared as her train came into Clermont. As I continued to make progress on my internship by week-day, Emily explored more of France. Weekends, we met up first in Paris, then Dijon (joined by Evelyn too!), and finally Avignon.
While Paris has been one of my city loves for years now, this was the first time I've had the chance to visit Dijon and its surrounding bicycle-friendly Burgundy vineyards or Avignon and taste first-hand the famous Provencal cooking and Cotes du Rhone wines. Thanks to a cooking class at our hotel, Emily and I even had the chance to help make one of the meals!
With the travel time and budget runing low, I'm now looking ahead to the last few weeks of this nearly eight month adventure. Making sure I can spend time with the friends I've made in Auvergne, and experience anything I may have missed from this beautiful region are top priorities as I complete my project at Michelin and prepare to head home.
I must admit that getting to see my parents, Barb and Javier in August has a huge appeal. When you add to that that I will soon be able to catch up with all of my classmates and hear about their adventures, not to mention that I'll be within a couple time zones of my best friends and in a place where stores are open on Sundays - I know I'll appreciate home more than ever once I'm back. Yet, this has been a beautiful life and so, I am doing my best to savor every last drop of it.
