Photo Friday: Vive la France

It was a little more than 23 years ago that Lori and I first travelled overseas together. We had only been dating for two years but had already been to New York City and Montreal. We didn't even live together—that would come a few months later. So, late spring of 1991 was our first major undertaking as a couple.

We flew to London with our buddy, Joel, who was meeting up with his girlfriend (and Lori's best friend), Katheleen. The four of us spent a couple of days in England's capital, visiting Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Hyde Park, among other touristy sites. But Lori and I wanted to travel the countryside, and explore some of Wales' history, so we rented a car and drove to Stratford-Upon-Avon, and up into the norther regions of Wales, and then downwards, through Snowdonia and all the way to Cardiff, before turning back into England, past Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, and back into London to catch up with our friends.

The four of us continued on to Paris, where Lori and I stayed with her sister, Brenda, and Joel and Kat found a small pension near the Montmartre district. For a week, we enjoyed all that Paris had to offer: the cafés, the sites—Père Lachaise Cemetery, Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur, Shakespeare & Co., les Champs-Elysées, and, of course, la Tour Eiffel.

One of the things I loved the most about Paris was that Lori and I would leave Brenda's apartment each morning and walk to the corner, where we would find a bakery and purchase a fresh, whole-wheat baguette. We would then walk next door, which was a cheese shop, and pick up a small wheel of Camembert. At the following shop, we would buy a half-bottle of red wine.

All of these items would fit in Lori's nap sack, and we were set to explore, knowing we had our lunch taken care of. 

We survived our first overseas adventure and have been travelling ever since. This year marks our 20^th wedding anniversary. For our 10^th, we celebrated with a trip to Tuscany. This year, we're returning to the country that solidified the travel-worthiness of our relationship.

For Photo Friday, I wanted to share some images from that first trip to Paris. One is a view of Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, from atop the Notre Dame Cathedral. The other is of me, at 26, on the top of the Arc de Triomphe. (Please don't laugh at the haircut.)

Happy Friday!