Bonjour from Bordeaux, Paris & Mont Saint Michel

How easily one can feel immersed in the French culture with their incredible food and romantic language. If you've been to France, you know what I mean. (And if you've been and don't agree… Well, you just haven't done France Fran style. Let's fix that! 😉)

Dan and I have a system when we visit pretty much anywhere we travel to. One of the first things we do, is book a walking food tour. Not only do we get the chance to find small nooks with local flavors, but it also helps us get to know the way of the land and meet locals as well as other travelers from around the world. What better way to get to know others and their culture than through breaking bread with them.

As we stroll along the streets and alleys, we always glance at each other asking ourselves the same question for discussion… can we see ourselves living part or all of our retired years here? We love to go down that dream road and talk about - what we like, what we don't, what that would look like - all the things when you're dreaming about your future. 

As emptynesters, knee deep into their fourth quarter, that future is not too far away. One of the things we feel strongly about is the importance of our retirement dress rehearsal. This season of our lives is the perfect time to practice what and where retirement could look like before fully committing. Spending our days roaming the quaint streets of the small town of Lyon, France (top contender) sounds like the perfect idea. But what if we get there and hate it?

Mont Saint-Michel

Can you believe these are actual photos from our phone?

Visiting the small town of Mont Saint-Michel this trip was a huge reminder of that. It's a tiny, intimate town with a handful of restaurants and shops. You can walk or bike the entire town in a little over an hour. Super simple and quaint, exactly what we thought we'd want for retirement until by the second day, as much as we absolutely loved it, we quickly realized we need to plan to live closer to a major city.

Some day soon, we plan on booking an extended stay in a couple locations from our short list of potential retirement spots as we we work on narrowing down where we actually end up long-term.

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Bordeaux, Paris and Mont Saint-Michel recommendations

• Download our travel itinerary here

• Hotel recommendations:

  • BORDEAUX… Villas Foch (adorable and quaint boutique hotel)

  • PARIS

    • St. James (gorgeous chateau in the 16th arrondissement)

    • Grand Hotel du Palais Royal (tucked in peaceful escape across from Jardin du Palais Royal)

  • MONT SAINT-MICHEL (keep in mind, small town, no luxury hotels in or by the island)

    • Ermitage (the only 5 star hotel in the center of the town across from Mont Saint-Michel)

• Our favorite food spots (that we definitely will return to):

  • Bordeaux: Boulangerie Louis Lamour (the most incredible “Croistache” pistachio filled croissants I still dream about)

  • Paris: Angelina Paris for lunch (had the most incredible mushroom ravioli and white hot chocolate)

  • Paris: Rimal L’Atelier (favorite Lebanese restaurant)

  • Paris: Favorite Rooftop Bar Le Tout-Paris (Google location here)

  • Mont Saint Michel: Le Logis Saint Catherine (located towards the top of the island, delicious food and views)

• Our favorite activities:

  • Bordeaux: Old town food tour

  • Bordeaux: (didn’t get to do this but is on our bucket list for next time) Equestrian wineries tour

  • Bordeaux: Cooking class with professional chef (best food we had in all of France! I can’t say enough about Isabelle, the foodie owner of Paris & Bordeaux Dream food tours and cooking classes. Highly rececommend!)

  • Paris: South Marais Food Tour with Paris by Mouth

  • Paris: Montmartre guided tour with Helga in Paris (We’ve done several tours with her in the past and love her. Let her know I sent you)

  • Paris: Pick up snack at a market (my favorite is Le March des Enfants Rouge) and head to Seine River (my favorite spot under the bridge) for a picnic

  • Paris: Paris by night bike tour (best way to see Paris lights and landmarks)

  • Paris: Pick up some “baguette tradition” (only way to order a quality baguette) and foie gras, find a bench in Jardin du Palais Royal and people watch

  • Mont Saint-Michel: Bike ride and walk up from town into the island (rent bikes on our own)

  • Mont Saint-Michel: Private tour of island