The Beginning

I apologize for making everyone wait for the blog posts. Things here have finally settled down so I can start writing!

There are three things I want to accomplish here in France:

1. Learn the language 

2. La cuisine (cook French recipes)

3. Travel 

So far speaking the language has been more difficult than I thought. The Spanish I learned growing up from my dad (thanks for making us read scriptures in Spanish!) in high school and college came so natural. French is a beautiful language but it doesn't come as naturally! Spanish has helped me to understand the grammar principles but looks like now I'll just have to start committing French words and phrases to memory. Haha, when we first arrived my instinct was to speak Spanish because they couldn't understand Enlgish but then I quickly realized they wouldn't understand that either... Despite all this, I'm learning de plus en plus tous les jours (more and more everyday).

I have to say the best thing in France so far has been the gastronomy. I haven't yet tasted a meal I disliked. Their pastries and bread are 2 die 4 (as the famous choir teacher Mrs. Jolley would say) and I have a feeling I will need to up my exercise time while I'm here. I've always had a love for cooking, thanks to my mother and her delicious concoctions, and I am going to take advantage of being in the country that knows food best. I've already bought several cookbooks which unfortunately I don't understand yet. My sweet husband is going to have his work cut out for him helping me translate! I will be sure to share my experiments in the kitchen. 

Traveling. I've always dreamed of traveling with my husband--I just didn't expect it so soon. What a blessing this is for the two of us. So far we've been able to see the "beach town" Biarittz and Bayonne where Kyle served part of his mission. Last week we decided to head up to Paris during school holiday to see the life work of our favorite painter, Claude Monet, at an exclusive exhibit. By the end of the week, my feet felt like they were going to fall off but I loved every minute of my stay there. Then there is the town of Perigueux, where we now call home. Everyone who knows me well knows that I have a passion for the medieval time period--the castles, the knights, the quests, ect. I know, I'm a nerd but this stuff makes me giddy. Walking down the streets of Perigueux, I feel like I'm in a story book. The Dordogne (region surrounding us) area is dotted with old castles which I'm sure we'll be visiting soon. 

I have tons of pictures so far and adventures to go along with them. I want to share this with everyone and it may take some time to back track but I promise to keep up on the posts. Feel free to comment and please ask questions--I would love to hear from everyone!