After the last two crazy months, packed full of trips, adventures, celebrations and time with friends, we are finally back home in Biarritz with no plans and nothing but the summer ahead of us. From March to May we went to Portugal, I flew home to California for my best friend Ashley’s bridal shower, then we went to Greece for a week to celebrate our 30th birthdays, then my other best friend Jade and her husband Josh came to visit for a week, we ran the Paris Marathon, and then I flew back to California for 5 weeks for Ashley’s bachelorette and wedding. It was all so much fun, but man are we exhausted and ready to spend some good quality time at home in beautiful Biarritz. (Posts about all those adventures coming soon!)
Since we’ve been back we have been relaxing, recovering from jet lag, and taking time to enjoy all the great things Biarritz has to offer : The gorgeous beaches, the streets lined with cute shops, eating at our favorite restaurants, surfing, watching the surf, running my favorite routes (time to get back at it after taking a month off after my marathon), watching the sunsets from our balcony, catching up with friends, eating croissants, tapas, drinking French rosé, and people watching. We love traveling and exploring as many cities and countries as we can, but sometimes it’s nice to sit back and appreciate the fact that we really do live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
And of course garage sales (vide greniers), flea markets (puces) and antique markets (brocantes), my favorite weekend activity! Last Saturday, my first weekend home in over a month, I went to the flea market in Anglet (Les Puces de Quintaou) with my good friend Erin. We left the boys at home and did a girls-only trip, big coffees in hand (we’re such Americans!), and had the best day finding so many amazing treasures. On the drive there I was telling Erin that I had been wanting to find a vintage enamel mint kettle and a demijohn (those giant vintage glass bottles that used to be used for things like olive oil and wine). It was my lucky day because I ended up finding BOTH, and got both for less that 30€, along with many other amazing things like the cutest vintage leather shoes (sorry they didn’t fit you Erin! ), another basket for my growing collection, a set of embroidered napkins, the cutest brass bunny figurine, and some fresh succulents for summer. Erin scored some amazing dresses, a vintage French vase and some gold framed pictures for her gold wall she is starting (it’s amazing). I’m sure Brent and Jay were thrilled about all the stuff we brought home, but it was so much fun and I can’t wait for the next market!
The very next day was a huge vide grenier (garage sale) up at the stadium in Biarritz, within walking distance of both our house. I made Brent trek there with me in the rain (what a good sport), and I scored a few more goodies : a vintage straw hat, some gold-framed floral pictures and an small oil painting of Montmartre, all for just 15€. Treasure hunting in France is so much fun!
We’ve been going for lots of walks trying to burn off all the eating and drinking we’ve done on our last few trips and I’ve been trying to get back to a regular schedule at my gym. The classes are so intimidating because they are all taught in 100% French, but I’m finally getting the hang of it. I’m feeling very sore from Body Pump and Abdos & Fessiers (Abs & Glutes). It’s not DB’s bootcamp class, but there’s an ocean view, so it will do. Bonne journée!
