The past few days have been the wrap-up of our epic road-trip, and we have made it to our last destination at Peter's family's house in Martignac, France. But before we arrived here, this is what we were up to...
From Nice, we headed to the coastal city of Toulon. There isn't much to see there, which was great because it meant lots of time to relax in the sunshine and visit the beach. Toulon is a Navy base and we took a boat trip out to see a French Aircraft Carrier and a Battleship up close.
Toulon, France
From Toulon, we headed to a small town near Avignon to stay with our friend Nico and a few other HEC friends. Nico is French, and he generously opened his family's summer home to us as a perfect two-day stopover on our trip between Toulon and our final destination of the Gales' house in Martignac. We planned to see the city of Avignon and visit the historical and architectural wonders there, but the 100 degree weather ensured that all we wanted to do was stay by the pool and enjoy Pastis and Nico's mom's homemade olive tapenade. It wasn't too shabby.
After two days of family-style breakfasts, lunches and dinners on the patio beside the pool, we hopped back in the car for our final destination. We arrived in Martignac to spend 6 nights at the Gale family French homestead. It's been a treat, as it is each summer when we come here. The stars are bright in a pitch-black, soundless night. The landscape is radiantly green, and the duck confit is crispy and salty. Life couldn't be better.
On Friday, we visited St. Emilion, a famous Bordeaux wine region. The town is adorable, and we did a free wine tasting at a wine shop where we learned more details about the local wines. A tour organized by the Tourist Office gained us entrance to a monolithic church in the center of town, which supposedly was built where Saint Emilion lived and performed miracles. It's an incredible church, carved directly into the natural limestone hill.
Luckily, our friends Pri and Eduardo were able to leave work early on Friday to hop a train down to stay with us for the weekend. We visited a few vineyards, and as always, bought too much wine. But most of our time down here is spent relaxing and enjoying the scenery and one another's company.
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| Homemade mini peach tart |
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| Table for 5 |
 Shopping at the Cahors market  Some of the biggest tomatoes we've ever seen!  |
| Duck Confit in the oven... |
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| Duck Confit on the plate! |
On Friday, we visited St. Emilion, a famous Bordeaux wine region. The town is adorable, and we did a free wine tasting at a wine shop where we learned more details about the local wines. A tour organized by the Tourist Office gained us entrance to a monolithic church in the center of town, which supposedly was built where Saint Emilion lived and performed miracles. It's an incredible church, carved directly into the natural limestone hill.
Luckily, our friends Pri and Eduardo were able to leave work early on Friday to hop a train down to stay with us for the weekend. We visited a few vineyards, and as always, bought too much wine. But most of our time down here is spent relaxing and enjoying the scenery and one another's company.
Tomorrow morning we head back to Paris! We'll have one night back in our own little home, and the next day it's off to Washington, D.C. to see Peter's brother and sister-in-law and our new little niece, Haley!
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