South of France

Oh, where to start; the endless grape fields that span across hundreds of miles, the mountains that reach up into the clouds and castle-like buildings along the way. Over the weekend we visited 4 remarkable cities, each with their own personality- Narbonne, Toulouse, Carcassonne and Collioure.

Narbonne gave us high winds and left us with tangled hair, haha. It was quite windy here, but was still incredible to see original roads from the Romans. We went to the local fresh produce market- similar but much smaller than St. Joseph’s Boqueria in Barcelona. I got to try my first éclair, very delicious…highly recommend! On a funny note, there was a Sephora and I still had some chipped purple nail polish on, so I figured I would take it off there. Long story short…don’t try to paint your nails there, haha, at least not all of them!

Toulouse is the 4^th largest city in France. Very much a city feel- lots of buildings, not a whole lot of open spaces. We saw a double decker carousel, Saturday produce stands along the streets and many locals enjoying the day along the canal (Garonne)! I’m not sure how much we walked in total in this city, but must have been very close to 10 miles, haha! Within the day and a half we had there we also enjoyed ourselves in the freshest apple juice and had spent a decent amount of time with hundreds of locals soaking up the sun and looking up at one of the bluest skies along La Garonne. That was probably my favorite part- so peaceful, no aspect of time, just appreciating life.

Carcassonne brings to mind two words- castle and Disney. An amazing sight to see was this colossal castle with snowcapped mountains in the background. It looked like something in the Disney movies, which I found out later, is one of the places Disney actually got their inspiration for some of their films with castles. We walked along the inner curtain wall, in the towers and peaked through square cut outs along the wall where cannons and guns were placed. There was an entire city within the walls- tons of shops and eateries!


Collioure, France is a seaside city that kisses the Mediterranean Sea! It contains the most outstanding views that will set you instantly in awe. You’re surrounded by mountains, red-tiled roofs, crystal clear waters and the aromas of the best seafood you’ll ever eat! We were only here for a brief period of time, but I wished I could’ve spent a couple extra years here! It was so serene.