Two weeks ago, I ran my longest race of 2017: the Disneyland Paris-Val d’Europe half marathon, part of Run Disney France’s Magic Run Weekend. My previous races this year were the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and the Capitol Hill Classic 10K. I’ll cap off my running season with the Marine Corp Marathon’s 10K. I’m not quite ready to commit to training for a full marathon yet though it’s definitely a distance I’m looking to doing next year 😉 If you read my goals for the Disneyland Paris half, you saw that they didn’t include a specific time. I just wanted to complete the course, make some new memories with my bestie Caitlin and snap some fun pics with Disney characters as I ran through my old ...
Travel
My Trip To Paris By RaShonda’s Explore Savvy
RaShonda of Explore Savvy is one of my favourite local travel blogger. Between her recent trips to Cuba or Milan and her scooping of fabulous cheap or error fare her facebook and twitter feeds give me major wanderlust - and make me want to buy all the airline tickets! Earlier in the year, she posted about an error fare on TAP Portugal, which I quickly snagged for a cheap Thanksgiving get-away. I mean, $280 round trip to Lisbon? How could I not jump on that? She also took advantage of the mistake, but rather than just stay in Portugal, opted to hop along to Paris. Here are some highlights from her trip to Paris earlier this year. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO PARIS As Laetitia mentioned, I came across ...
Week-End Highlights: GLT Get-Together and All the Pumpkins!
This week-end was all about two things: girlfriends and pumpkins! We had planned a fun day-trip to the Middletown/Frederick area to visit a pumpkin patch and the weather could not have been more perfect. If anything, it was too warm to wear the typical instagrammable fall outfit ;-) We headed to Jumbo's pumpkin patch because I had seen it listed in a couple of articles as one of the best in the United States (like in this post on Travel + Leisure). This seven-generation family farm offers lots of family friendly activities like face painting, pony rides, hayrides etc. but also has a legit patch where you can pick-your-own gourd. There were A LOT of kids, but once you got out to the patch it ...
My Trip To Paris (And Champagne) By Alison
There's no conversation I love more than when one of friends tells me that they're off to Paris. OK, there is: the conversation we have when they get back full of stories from my hometown and appreciation for it. So I was thrilled when my friend Alison of Bon Vivant DC told me she was stopping in Paris in between visits to Portugal and Champagne. OK, I was jealous too... but thrilled mostly. Alison runs a wine consulting business so I knew she'd have a fabulous trip. Here's an overview of how it went, in Alison's own words. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO PARIS Paris has always been my favorite city, so when I found myself with five days between a vacation in Portugal and a weeklong industry event in ...
Postcard from Paris: 5 Spots Where I Love to Grab a Cup of Coffee
When I left Paris to move to Washington, DC thirteen years ago (**le gasp**) the city didn't even have a single Starbucks yet. Now they're everywhere, and I'm not saying that's a good thing but I do want to point out that the coffee scene has changed in a few years. Of course, Paris has always been known for its street-side cafés, where you can grab a quick noisette at the counter or linger for hours at the terrace people watching and sipping a café crème. Those were never really about the coffee and new cafés, inspired by the artisanal coffee culture in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. have popped up all over town. In many of those, it's not unusual to hear English spoken fluently behind ...
Premières Visites du Nouveau Musée d’Histoire & Culture Afro-Américaine
Ça y est! Le tout nouveau Musée National de l’Histoire et de la Culture Afro-Américaine (l'acronyme c'est NMAAHC en anglais) a ouvert ses portes au public samedi dernier à Washington. Et il les a ouvertes en grande pompe et circonstance, avec l'ancien président George W. Bush, Barack et Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey et plein d'autres célébrités ainsi que deux jours de fête et de concerts sur le National Mall. L'inauguration du NMAAHC c'est l'événement culturel de l'année ici... les billets d'entrée (qui sont gratuits d'ailleurs, comme ceux pour tous les musées nationaux gérés par l'Institution Smithsonian) se sont arrachés comme des petits pains en ligne. Il faut maintenant quasiment ...
Highlights From My Trip to Anaheim, California
When you think Anaheim, your first thought is probably Disney and that’s sorta what brought me there. A work conference. At the most magical place on earth ;-) The last time I was in Disneyland, I was still a teenager and Disney had taken a more important role in my life since. I worked at the store on Champs Elysees during summer offs from college and I worked in the offices at Disneyland Paris right after graduation. So I was pretty stoked to be reunited with my old boss Mickey even if I didn’t have a ton of time for non work-related activities. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO ANAHEIM? To this tune... work work work work work work! The trade association I worked for was hosting its annual conference ...
Los Angeles en 10 Photos
J'ai rarement l'occasion de visiter la côte ouest. La Californie, mine de rien, c'est quand même à six heures d'avion de Washington (DC! mais c'est quand même quatre heure de vol de l'état de Washington aussi) donc c'est pas comme si on peut y aller juste pour un petit weekend... Mais comme j'étais à Anaheim pas loin pour une conference au travail, j'en ai profité pour rentabiliser le billet (surtout qu'il était payé par ma boite!) et je suis restée quelques jours de plus sur Los Angeles, histoire de redécouvrir un peu la deuxième plus grande ville des Etats Unis. Voici un petit aperçu de mon séjour à Los Angeles en 10 photos. Pas mal on été prises à Venice Beach comme c'est là que ...
Postcard from Montréal ~ BYOB Restaurants
I spent a lot of time during my last visit in Montréal reminiscing about the past. I guess that’s what happens when you’re back in a city you called home for four years. Suddenly, the dépanneurs (deps!) and S.A.Q.s (saqs!) bring back memories of carefree evenings with friends. That coffee you’re drinking at this trendy new spot tastes better with a side of nostalgia for the memories of that pretty green dress you had bought there back in the days when it used to be a chic boutique. Some of it is bitter sweet of course, like seeing that a place you loved went out of business and was replaced by something new or realizing that you used to live in a WAY nicer house (and for much cheaper) when ...
A Taste of Lille ~ Méert’s Legendary Waffles
No visit to the Northern French city of Lille would be complete without a stop at 27 rue Esquermoise. This address has delighted local gourmands since 1761. Initially, it was a humble chocolaterie and ice cream shop until it was taken over in 1849 by Michael Paulus Gislinus Méert who turned the shop into a local institution with its signature thin, gaufres filled with Madagascar vanilla. Today, the former confectionery is an elegant patisserie, salon de thé and gourmet gourmet restaurant and a must-visit sight if you're in the area. I don't remember the first time I had one of Méert's waffles, but I must have been a baby -- I'm a second generation Lilloise after all, though we moved to ...
