Between the Arches

After two weeks of slaving away on the job, I've been enjoying my holiday off work for Toussaint (All Saints Day). Basically, instead of celebrating Halloween, French children get two weeks off of school, which I support completely.  After hopping down to Marseille to get my final stamp in my passport (making my residence here official!) I made my way up to Paris to visit Zach. 

It was a well-needed respite away from administrative hassle and lesson plans, and our time was filled with adventures in his neck of the woods called Rueil-Malmaison, new sites to see in Paris, lazy afternoon crosswords, and of course, good homemade food.

After eating so much of this good home

made food - including a rum raisin apple pie that I made for Zach's belated birthday - we decided we needed a good walk, so we set out for La Defense. This modern financial district of Paris was an hour walk away and is nothing like the chic and charming Paris that I know. 

Skyscrapers and bizarre modern architecture sprawled in every direction as we stood in the shadow of La Grande Arche de La Defense (picture above). Turning our backs to the Arch in search of a picnic spot, we glimpsed a view of another arch off in the distance - l'Arc de Triomphe (you can barely see it in the picture above). Zach, "Hmm, we should walk there." Me, "Definitely." So we did. An hour later we arrived on foot at the foot of l'Arc de Triomphe having covered the span between the arches and having made all sorts of discoveries in the nearly six miles of western Paris that we covered.

Resting after our long walk

Part two of my Toussaint adventures was also spanned between two sets of arches, though they were much less architecturally innovative and more yellow - yep, McDonalds. Now before you throw your arms up in surprise let me explain that McDonalds in Europe can be counted on for

free, clean bathrooms and when on a road trip, those are always needed. My friend Kim and I drove down from Aix to Antibes on the Mediterranean Sea and then drove the coastal road from Antibes to Ste Maxime, hitting all sorts of beach towns and cities in between including Cannes and St Raphael. 

Once again, it was the places in between that were most beautiful. The big cities were intriguing, but they were dripping with luxury and tourism. I much preferred the little towns perched up on the Mediterranean cliffs and the red rock calanques that were reminiscent of Colorado's red rocks - only set off against the clear blue water of the Mediterranean. What are road trips for if not beautiful scenery and good conversation?