From the Loire Valley to the Mediterranean Sea

Another 2 week vacation done and gone already! Hard to believe I only have 2 months left teaching this year. For the April vacation, I went biking in the Loire Valley for 4 days and then flew down to southern Spain and stayed in Mazarron, in the Murcia region of Spain. Both legs of the journey were wonderfully relaxing, with the only stress coming in making sure I could get home! Due to strikes, construction and unexpected volcanic eruptions, my travel days to get home were a little hectic but all turned out well, and I couldn't have asked for better travel buddies.

Janelle and I biked 130km along the Loire Valley, stopped in 3 different towns, saw 5 or 6 different castles, stayed in a bed and breakfast with a French couple, and took way too many photos. It was a wonderful trip, following the "Loire a Velo" signs as well as the "Route des Vignobles de la Loire." The weather was perfect for biking, and the countryside along the Loire was beautiful, although the vineyards weren't quite growing grapes yet, it was still amazing. We went from Tours, to Chinon, to Azay-le-Rideau to Villandry and back to Tours. Even though hardly anything was planned out in detail, we had the best luck with getting everywhere we wanted on time and in good spirits.

After my hard work biking, I took off to Alicante, this time with Emma. We went to stay with her aunt and uncle who were the best hosts possible. Highlights of this trip include eating, sunning, shopping and relaxing to the fullest extent possible. I ate many new things in Spain, such as octopus, prawns, rabbit, mussels, shrimp, langoustine, paella, and whole tiny fish! This seafood sampling was a little tough, as seafood isn't my favorite, but I knew I had to try it since the food was so fresh. And everything was delicious, so I recommend eating all of the above. Emma and I also spent an afternoon at the spa, where the water came from a natural spring. We left Thursday afternoon, with a tiny tan and full stomachs to head back to France. Luckily, our plane got to Paris right before they shut all the airports because of the volcanic ash clouds, however due to construction on the train lines, we couldn't get home. After a frenzied search for a hotel, we found one the had a cancellation and therefore a spare room for us. We stayed the night in Paris and decided to hang around the next day and do some shopping in La Defense area of Paris. The perfect end to our vacation, and now a weekend to recover from vacation and get ready to go back to work.