What do wedding photographers do with one open Saturday in the middle of wedding season? We sneak away for 12 days. We prioritize traveling for many reasons - Going someplace once a year we've never been before is a must. The significance of seeing the world is deep for us. We find it so greatly important to get out of our bubble, out of our comfort zones, see how the rest of the world does life, learn, discover, and connect with other cultures and people. We are also huge work hard, play hard advocates. We need to rest our minds, slow down, take life in, and enjoy every second, because we know how quickly that can all be taken away. There's no such thing as 'later' or 'someday'. There's no better time than now.

A road trip through France...it was the perfect mix of Parisian culture, interesting Lyonnaise cuisine (can't say we're sold on tripe sausage), wineries, villages, coast lines, beach towns, lakes, glamour and relaxation. The French know how to summer. The French holiday in August. Many take the whole month off (America...get a clue). Many things were either closed or had odd hours. but what was neat was summering along with the locals. We rented a car (actually drove the crazy beautiful streets of Paris) and headed south to The French Riviera - making a few stops along the way. The roads south were busy! You could tell everyone in France was heading to the beach. Towns along our itinerary:

Our 3 Must-Do things:

1.) Visit the Les Halles Paul Bocuse Market in Lyon - This famed chef has a market unlike any market we've ever perused. It's not the biggest nor the smallest. But definitely the best. Selling only the highest quality of products, produce, meats, cheeses, fruits, pates, seafood, etc. You haven't tasted fruit until you've eaten it here. We visited every stall oohing and aahing, taste testing, and buying a hand-selected picnic style lunch. One last tip: Iberico ham.

2.) Rent an umbrella + beach chair along The French Riviera - The Mediterranean is top notch. Pebble beaches (hence the - rent a beach chair and umbrella), turquoise waters, perfectly hot days, Pina coladas, and creme brulee. We spent a few hours each day doing nothing but sunning ourselves beach side and cooling off in the waves. We spent most of our time in Nice, but any French Riviera stop will take your breath away. The glamour, glitz and fame is real. Spectacular coastlines, yachts on yachts on yachts and the freshest of seafood! It was heaven.

3.) Lake Annecy - Make a point to stop in the small town of Annecy. Its lake is the 3rd largest in France and known as the cleanest in Europe. The French and Swiss Alps are the backdrop to these deep turquoise waters. We strolled the town of Annecy for only a day. It was quick but most adorable. Annecy is known as the Venice of the Alps with it's cobblestone streets, pastel buildings, and whimsical canals. Anywhere we turned it was like a scene out of a storybook. We rented a boat and cruised around for a few hours being in complete awe of the postcard like scenery. We also couldn't be near the Swiss Alps without consuming as much cheese as we could. We had a fun fondue dinner at Le Freti. So much cheese and so worth it!

Could write a novel about our 12 day experience. We'll spare you. ;) Next destination in the making...

Ciao!

Jeff + Val