france, part i

Photos! I can’t tell you how excited I am to share our trip with you guys. The last two weeks were definitely something of a whirlwind, with too many airports and not enough coffee, but all in all, they were truly amazing. I got to show Conrad where I’m from, introduce him to my French family, and celebrate our marriage with a few of those special friends that were not able to make it to Colorado last year.

My dad was born in Modane, France, which is a very small town in the Rhone-Alpes area of Savoie. It’s a stunning area that boasts some of the best (if not the best) skiing in winter, and other fun alpine activities in summer, such as rock-climbing, cycling, hiking, and more. As a child, I spent half of almost every single summer here, and it’s a place that is really important to me. To be able to bring my husband here and show him where I grew up was something I’d dreamed about for a long time!

My cousin owns a cabin at the edge of the Vanoise National Park, and arranged for us to all be able to stay in the neighboring cabins for a few nights. We arrived late on Wednesday night after more than 40 hours of travelling, including a two hour+ drive from Geneva to Modane in a car that I was certain had some sort of default (as the kind man from Avis told me, “Ce n’est pas automatique!!” – “It’s not an automatic!“. Yes, merci for that, sir.). After a quick dinner we quickly crashed, only to wake up in the most magical place!

Over the next few days, various friends and family began to arrive, just as mesmerized by the surroundings as we were.

The days were spent exploring the area, prepping for the party (coming soon!), and, of course, LOTS of drinking and eating.

After not having seen this side of my family for over 5 years, it was so lovely to connect with them all again. They truly are some of the kindest, most loving people I know, and despite language barriers, everyone found ways to communicate with one another. I also have to say, I was super proud of myself for practicing my French daily for a month before the trip. It helped a lot, and within a few days, I was so much more comfortable speaking!