Earlier this year I went to Marseille - my first trip to France.

I felt a bit uneasy about going to Marseille because a lot of people online advised against it, describing it as crime-ridden and rough. Maybe it was in the past, but this was not what I experienced! I think a good word for it is 'gritty' - it has an edge - but that makes it great. It was even the European Capital of Culture in 2013.

​So, I ended up I adoring Marseille and all it has to offer. Its beautiful architecture. Its stunning port. The food! The beach! The people were lovely too - and it seemed that English is a lot less widely spoken here than it is in Paris. I'd love to go back.

One of the things I loved most was during my time there was walking around and seeing some amazing pieces of street art. Some were just incredible. The best area to find street art is in the hip Cours Julien district - easily accessible by the metro.

Anyway, below is some of the art I managed to find. 

For my first ever winter Christmas, 5 of us headed to Lille in northern France.

Why Lille you say? Why not!

• It's extremely convenient to get to from London on the Eurostar and only takes an hour and a half. 
• It's French - I really want to practice my French while I'm here so Lille ticked that box.
• It's small and quiet - we really wanted to relax and not be overrun by must-do activities.
• It's on the way to Bruges - our next stop.
• It has a Christmas market.

So, there you have it. Lille was chosen and it was pretty great.

The only difficulty was planning our Christmas dinner, barely anything was open on Christmas day and we didn't know if any shops would be open when we arrived late Christmas eve. We investigated booking a Christmas dinner but that was going to be 70 euro per person so we quickly scrapped that idea! Instead, we took the bulk of our food (by we I mean Brendon) from here in London (yes, he had two raw chickens in his bag which went through the security scanner - wonder what the security people thought!). I think that was the best decision as there wasn't much open when we walked into town on Christmas eve. We found a casino (supermarket) open and managed to get the rest of the food we needed. On reflection, we probably could've got most of our food and alcohol from there - but not the mince pies and Christmas crackers!

We then returned home and watched Love Actually and didn't leave the house again for a very long time. It was perfection. 

Christmas day consisted of a giant roast with all the trimmings. It was glorious. We even had Christmas pudding for dessert. 

Check out our family photos.

On boxing day we finally managed to venture out into the wilderness - we wandered around the old town and checked out the Christmas market (fairly average). Lille has some cute cobblestone streets and gorgeous French cafes - as per usual! It's also quite cheap - well the beers are! 

Lille is right by the Belgium border so it has a strong flemish influence. Most of the beers are Belgian and the food is similar too. A couple of good bars to check out - Dernier Bar avant la Fin du Monde which was pretty quirky! The bartenders were shooting some kind of toy guns... anyway it has a good beer selection (mostly blond and blanc beers) and there are loads of boardgames you can play. Another good tiny bar is Le Carnot - its very quaint. 

We only made it to dinner once - L'Assiette du Marche - it was pretty good! Mid-range. In France you usually go for a menu where you get two or three plates for a set price. Here it was two course for 19 euro. The creme brulee was delicious!

We also went up on the market ferris wheel which was surprisingly fun! It provided great views over the square. The rest of the Christmas market was pretty standard - crepes and mulled wine. I think I'm Christmas marketed out to be honest - other people would probably love it. I've just been too spoiled this year!

All in all, not a bad way to spend Christmas. No one made me polish silver, iron pillowcases, or clean the doorknobs! (Sorry, Mum...). I did miss the warmth though...it just seems unnatural to be stuck inside on Christmas day - though I suppose quite often Christmas in NZ can be a mixed bag weather wise - but there is always the promise of warmer days! 

I finally made it to Paris. I've wanted to go forever. It really was everything I thought it was going to be and I'm glad we stayed for 6 nights so that we could take our time and appreciate it.

We did a load of activities. Highlights were:

• walking along the Seine - we stayed near Place Saint-Michel and this was a beautiful location
• going to the Sunday morning market in Bastille
• seeing the All Blacks play at Stade de France - please note the beer sold at this stadium does not contain alcohol - do not spend 50 euro on it.
• seeing the Eiffel Tower at night
• meandering around Le Marais
• going to the Paris Christmas market along the Champs-Elysees
• walking around the Latin Quarter
• going to the Paris Catacombs
• exploring Monmartre and seeing the Sacre Coeur
• admiring the architecture of the Louvre - from the outside
• wandering around Jardin du Luxembourg
• going to Le Lido - Paris cabaret
• enjoying the peace of the islands

Ok that's pretty much just a summary of ALL activities...but I don't want to forget what I did! Unfortunately I was sick (again) so I didn't get to experience the Parisian nightlife. I just love walking around all the neighbourhoods.

I think the market was my favourite activity. I wish I took some photos - but I was so busy trying to figure out how I was going to order 200 grams of cheese in French. 

No one needs any more content written about Paris....so I thought I'd just share my photos instead.

After a week in Paris, I knew I'd be dying for some peace and quiet. I spent hours researching, trying to find an archetypal little French town that would be a great place to spend a couple of days to recharge. Amboise, situated in the Loire Valley, was perfect! Exactly what I wanted. Quaint, peaceful, great bars, an amazing chateau and cute little streets with a surprise around every corner. 

It was really easy to get to - and only about two hours from Paris. We caught an early train from Paris Austerlitz, stopped in Orleans for an hour, and then took a second train the rest of the way. The Amboise train station is just a 15 minute easy walk from the town centre. I think it was about 60 euro return for one person. On the way back I was a bit worried because we only had ten minutes to switch trains at Orleans, but French trains seem to run exact to the second! So there was no problem making the second train.

You can't miss this Chateau. It looks out over the entire town. This is my first chateau visit and I wasn't disappointed! The grounds and garden are immaculate. The views are stunning. It's full of history - Leonardo Da Vinci is buried here! What more could you want?

It was a great way to spend a couple of hours. I can't wait to explore more chateaux...Chateau de Chenonceau is top of my list! 

Next up - Chateau du Clos Luce. This is essentially a Leonardo Da Vinci muesum. It is a chateau where he spent the last few years of his life. Inside, a few of his inventions are housed, built by IBM. You can also see a second painting he did of the Mona Lisa - minus the crowds at the Louvre! While all of that is interesting and blah blah, I really just liked walking around the garden. I've been to a lot of muesums this year and honestly, my attention span is just gone. I cannot take in anymore historical information. So, wandering a round a garden in the sun is good enough for me. 

I really loved the town. It was adorable and they had fully embraced Christmas with lights everywhere. We went to three pretty cool pubs. Le Shaker - where you get cocktails the size of your head and a riverside view of Chateau d'Amboise. Le Bastringue - a cool piano bar with delicious cocktails. And Bistrot L'Atelier which was the rowdiest of the bunch. I managed to order 'un vodka avec eau gazeuse et le citron vert' and I was very impressed with myself. The French know how to do vodka - you don't need to order a double! They pour half the bloody bottle in there.

The town was great to just wander around in and sample croque monsieurs (Le Shaker had the best one, surprisingly!). La Fourchette is an adorable restaurant wih home cooking, and is very cosy with only about eight tables - it was delicious. 

I'd love to go back to Amboise in summer and sip cocktails while enjoying the view of the Loire.