Jase and Tiff at The Red Carpet in Cannes-the original Red Carpet
With Friends Like These...
I apologize early for the length of this post, it's going to be a long one. Have a lot to say.
So here's the quick run down of our story with the Pierce's. Tiff and I were roommates in college. She went on a mission to The Dominican Republic and met my husband Chris. Chris mean-while was companions with Jase. Tiff spent 9 months with Chris and loved him to death and wrote me that I just had to meet him. I wrote her back and said, "I can find my own dates thank you..." Well, while Tiff was talking me up to Chris, Chris was talking Jase up to Tiff. So long story short, once they were all back home from the mission, we met, fell in love, and a few short months later... Tiff married Jase, and I married Chris. So here's the beauty of our friendship, how many people do you know that are married to each other's best friends? Tiff is mine, has been for 18 years now, and Jase is Chris's, also for 18 years. Needless to say, we were devestated when our best friends left for France to work for the next 3 to 5 years. But with great friends like these, you do what you can to stay in touch. I have to take this time to dearly thank Jase for his extensive hard work that allows him to have the sky miles to fly me out to visit for a week.
A quick stab: for those of you who think you have the best friends in the world, ask your self this one question... Will they fly you to France?
So here's the quick run down of our story with the Pierce's. Tiff and I were roommates in college. She went on a mission to The Dominican Republic and met my husband Chris. Chris mean-while was companions with Jase. Tiff spent 9 months with Chris and loved him to death and wrote me that I just had to meet him. I wrote her back and said, "I can find my own dates thank you..." Well, while Tiff was talking me up to Chris, Chris was talking Jase up to Tiff. So long story short, once they were all back home from the mission, we met, fell in love, and a few short months later... Tiff married Jase, and I married Chris. So here's the beauty of our friendship, how many people do you know that are married to each other's best friends? Tiff is mine, has been for 18 years now, and Jase is Chris's, also for 18 years. Needless to say, we were devestated when our best friends left for France to work for the next 3 to 5 years. But with great friends like these, you do what you can to stay in touch. I have to take this time to dearly thank Jase for his extensive hard work that allows him to have the sky miles to fly me out to visit for a week.
A quick stab: for those of you who think you have the best friends in the world, ask your self this one question... Will they fly you to France?
Charmed Life
Tiff and I at the Italian Market in San Remo, Italy-a quick way to burn through all your euros
10 things I'll miss most about France
Tiff and I at the Italian Market in San Remo, Italy-a quick way to burn through all your eurosThose who know Chris and I know that we love to travel and have been to some fabulous places in our day. This trip was definitely in my top two trips of all time. With that said, it's difficult to blog about without making the entry turn into a travel log. So let me just say that every day was better than the day before. I had a 9 hour flight from Nice to New York, and I cried the entire time. It was very hard to leave my best friend behind. Yet my heart was so full of gratitude that I have a friend like Tiff, because she is a rare find in this adult world that we live in, a friend that has stuck by me since I was 18 years old, basically we grew up together. I love you Tiff-thanks for the memories.
To keep things shorter, I've decided to make a list for you all...
10 things I'll miss most about France
10. The Boulangerie's and Patisserie's-
Oh my gosh, the croissants were so delicious. It's scary how many I ate every day. My jeans have definitely noticed I spent a week in France, but the pastries were worth every calorie. I crave them every minute of my day. The French definitely know their pastries!!!
In lieu of pumpkin pie (which I can't stand-due to all of the birthday pumpkin pies I've received from having a Thanksgiving Birthday), Jase bought us all of these tarts. They were sooo delicious, I particularly loved the raspberry/strawberry tart, and the lemon meringue was amazing!
9. Charming little Towns at the top of the Hill
Tiff and Jase live in a cute little town called Plascassier, in the south of France, which is about 10-20 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. From Tiff's backyard you can see this darling little town with a clock tower. This picture is what I woke up to every morning.
She also lives minutes away from Mougins Village. Mougins is exactly what I would have pictured classic Europe to look like. Cobble stone streets, beautiful gardens, and little shops focused heavily on the arts.
I love all the clock towers!
8. Narrow Streets
I took so many pictures of the little streets, because I absolutely loved them all. I loved the art work, the beautiful flowers they would all have nestled around their windows. But I think what I loved most was that Tiff had to drive down the streets and I didn't. Everywhere I went I felt like I was in a movie, that either Ashton Kutcher or Julia Roberts would come prancing down at any time.
This first picture is crazy, that's the hood of Tiff's car driving down from the clock tower that you can see from her backyard, I can't believe we didn't kill her paint job-great driving Tiff!
7. Amazing Grocery Stores
I don't have any pictures to share, but Tiff took me to the huge Carrefour (close to double the size of Walmart). I loved all of the fresh vegetables! I've really started to enjoy cooking as a hobby, and have a hard time finding things like fennel, healthy leeks, fingerlink potatoes, fresh herbs, and great fruit. They had it all, plus things I've never heard of. Not to mention the fresh fish, and the meats... Panchetta, Chorizo, brains of cow, horse meat, and all sorts of meat you wouldn't even think was edible. I absolutely LOVED the french yogurt, they came in these cute little ceramic pots. They easily have 3 times the fat and calories of american yogurt, but oh sooooo goood!
6. The Mediterranean
Everywhere we went I just couldn't believe that Jase and Tiff actually live there. Just to give you an idea; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie own property in Southern France with their own private yacht. It is honestly picture perfect just about where ever you look. They live minutes away from Cannes, Antibes, and Nice; which are main ports for Mediterranean cruises.
Look at the beautiful blue water! This is from the top of the hill in Eze looking south.
I feel so silly blogging with all of these pictures of just me, but this is one of my favorite pics from the trip. This is me looking out on the Italian Mediterranean, and seeing the sea for the first time!
5. The Shutters
I don't really know why I loved the dumb shutters so much, but the sweet provincial lifestyle just made me feel as if was Belle in Beauty and the Beast everyday. I loved opening up the shutters every morning and unveiling the beautiful light of the day. What a great way to start your day. How do I get the states to adopt these functional shutters that help to control your temperature? Love them, love them.
My sweet provincial life! These are the window shutters on Jocelyn and Jenica's windows.
Every night they board up the house as if it is "Fort Knox" as their land-lady describes. NO need for expensive heaters and air-conditioners.
4. The Gardens for privacy
I'm bummed that I didn't take more pictures of Tiff's garden, and yes they have a gardener. French people are very private, and rather than having those huge vinyl fences for privacy, they use large shrubs. Every other week the gardener comes and trims the hedges to make them look just right. I love the beauty that it adds to the country-makes everything once again, "picture perfect".
These aren't of Tiff's house-but you get the idea
3. The European Style
I absolutely love their style. The boots, the overcoats, the scarves, hand bags etc... With Tiff's help though I have to admit that I felt as if I blended well.
I have to share a funny little story about the French. At the beginning of my trip Tiff took me to an Italian Market-everything is super cheap, and it was a ton of fun. Tiff noticed that I got this Dolce & Gabbana knock-off purse in New York. She asked me, "How much do you like that new purse Cherae?"
I said, "Well, I just bought it, so I'd like to hang on to it." Apparently when you go to these Italian markets, the French police will stop you as you hit the border. They go through your bags, and any knock-off merchandise is confiscated. I found that funny because later on in the week, we noticed some guy peeing on the side of the road. So I simply stated,
"So the french won't allow anything fake in their country, but darn if they're ok with public indecency!" Got to love those priorities!
Tiff prepared the most delicious meals everyday I was there. It started with her Chili Lime Enchiladas, and ended with this delectable capressi salad, and prosciutto pasta. Wow, it was goood. I had so much fun playing Fun fusion with Jenny and Joyce everyday. I'll miss watching The Middle with Jase at night and laughing our heads off, then quoting it for the rest of the week. I'll miss watching Maisy open each of her Kinder Eggs with such enthusiasm. I'll miss Maisy's darling little voice that I hope she never loses. I'll miss Joycelyn being so excited to be next to me every minute I was there. I'll miss sitting next to Jenny in McDonald's while scoring a toy that some spoiled kid left behind. I'll miss the constant hum of the DVD's playing in the back seat while the girls are mesmerized by the songs. But most of all, I'll miss Tiff-I love you so much Tiff. Thank you, thank you for being the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you for loving me despite all my craziness. Thank you for sharing a week with me that I will never forget, you are a treasure, and I am so blessed to have you in my life. (Can you tell the tears are just flowing? I think that's why it's taken me two weeks to write this dumb blog).
Our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that Tiff prepared-you can tell she worked her but off to make it absolutly perfect!
Oh my gosh, the croissants were so delicious. It's scary how many I ate every day. My jeans have definitely noticed I spent a week in France, but the pastries were worth every calorie. I crave them every minute of my day. The French definitely know their pastries!!!
In lieu of pumpkin pie (which I can't stand-due to all of the birthday pumpkin pies I've received from having a Thanksgiving Birthday), Jase bought us all of these tarts. They were sooo delicious, I particularly loved the raspberry/strawberry tart, and the lemon meringue was amazing!9. Charming little Towns at the top of the Hill
Tiff and Jase live in a cute little town called Plascassier, in the south of France, which is about 10-20 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. From Tiff's backyard you can see this darling little town with a clock tower. This picture is what I woke up to every morning.
She also lives minutes away from Mougins Village. Mougins is exactly what I would have pictured classic Europe to look like. Cobble stone streets, beautiful gardens, and little shops focused heavily on the arts.
I love all the clock towers!I took so many pictures of the little streets, because I absolutely loved them all. I loved the art work, the beautiful flowers they would all have nestled around their windows. But I think what I loved most was that Tiff had to drive down the streets and I didn't. Everywhere I went I felt like I was in a movie, that either Ashton Kutcher or Julia Roberts would come prancing down at any time.
This first picture is crazy, that's the hood of Tiff's car driving down from the clock tower that you can see from her backyard, I can't believe we didn't kill her paint job-great driving Tiff!
7. Amazing Grocery Stores
I don't have any pictures to share, but Tiff took me to the huge Carrefour (close to double the size of Walmart). I loved all of the fresh vegetables! I've really started to enjoy cooking as a hobby, and have a hard time finding things like fennel, healthy leeks, fingerlink potatoes, fresh herbs, and great fruit. They had it all, plus things I've never heard of. Not to mention the fresh fish, and the meats... Panchetta, Chorizo, brains of cow, horse meat, and all sorts of meat you wouldn't even think was edible. I absolutely LOVED the french yogurt, they came in these cute little ceramic pots. They easily have 3 times the fat and calories of american yogurt, but oh sooooo goood!
6. The Mediterranean
Everywhere we went I just couldn't believe that Jase and Tiff actually live there. Just to give you an idea; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie own property in Southern France with their own private yacht. It is honestly picture perfect just about where ever you look. They live minutes away from Cannes, Antibes, and Nice; which are main ports for Mediterranean cruises.
Look at the beautiful blue water! This is from the top of the hill in Eze looking south.
In Mandelieu, farely close to Tiff's house is a real neat place called Castle Beach. Too cold to get in the water, but the weather was beautiful otherwise.
I feel so silly blogging with all of these pictures of just me, but this is one of my favorite pics from the trip. This is me looking out on the Italian Mediterranean, and seeing the sea for the first time!I don't really know why I loved the dumb shutters so much, but the sweet provincial lifestyle just made me feel as if was Belle in Beauty and the Beast everyday. I loved opening up the shutters every morning and unveiling the beautiful light of the day. What a great way to start your day. How do I get the states to adopt these functional shutters that help to control your temperature? Love them, love them.
My sweet provincial life! These are the window shutters on Jocelyn and Jenica's windows.
Every night they board up the house as if it is "Fort Knox" as their land-lady describes. NO need for expensive heaters and air-conditioners.I'm bummed that I didn't take more pictures of Tiff's garden, and yes they have a gardener. French people are very private, and rather than having those huge vinyl fences for privacy, they use large shrubs. Every other week the gardener comes and trims the hedges to make them look just right. I love the beauty that it adds to the country-makes everything once again, "picture perfect".
These aren't of Tiff's house-but you get the idea
I absolutely love their style. The boots, the overcoats, the scarves, hand bags etc... With Tiff's help though I have to admit that I felt as if I blended well.
I have to share a funny little story about the French. At the beginning of my trip Tiff took me to an Italian Market-everything is super cheap, and it was a ton of fun. Tiff noticed that I got this Dolce & Gabbana knock-off purse in New York. She asked me, "How much do you like that new purse Cherae?"
I said, "Well, I just bought it, so I'd like to hang on to it." Apparently when you go to these Italian markets, the French police will stop you as you hit the border. They go through your bags, and any knock-off merchandise is confiscated. I found that funny because later on in the week, we noticed some guy peeing on the side of the road. So I simply stated,
"So the french won't allow anything fake in their country, but darn if they're ok with public indecency!" Got to love those priorities!
I snuck this picture of this french lady in the perfume distillery that we toured-notice how thin and the 4" high heels she's wearing...
See other than the fact that I'm not stick thin-I didn't do so bad in the style department. I must admit my best pics are when I borrowed Tiff's boots and trench coat.
See other than the fact that I'm not stick thin-I didn't do so bad in the style department. I must admit my best pics are when I borrowed Tiff's boots and trench coat.2. Eze Village
On my last day Jase thankfully talked Tiff and I into being adventurous and discover Eze Village for ourselves. Wow, I am so glad that we did. It was such a great way to end an amazing trip. It's a cute little village with a mid-evil castle at the top of the hill. When you pay three euros, you can tour the garden at the very top and see that gorgeous view of the Mediterranean from below (there's a picture of it above). We stopped and ate some crepes there; and you might want to check out Tiff's blog on that experience parisianpierces.blogspot.com. She writes about it really well. Let's just say I think she felt the need to talk to the bishop after eating those crepes.
On my last day Jase thankfully talked Tiff and I into being adventurous and discover Eze Village for ourselves. Wow, I am so glad that we did. It was such a great way to end an amazing trip. It's a cute little village with a mid-evil castle at the top of the hill. When you pay three euros, you can tour the garden at the very top and see that gorgeous view of the Mediterranean from below (there's a picture of it above). We stopped and ate some crepes there; and you might want to check out Tiff's blog on that experience parisianpierces.blogspot.com. She writes about it really well. Let's just say I think she felt the need to talk to the bishop after eating those crepes.
After looking through this post, I noticed I have a lot of scenery pics and not a ton of people, her I am in the castle, this was a gorgeous garden. The castle had all these cute little shops with doors that were 5 feet high, and gardens all over.
I love this picture of Tiff tucked away in the streets. I just think she's so beautiful, I wish I had her skin.
After eating our crepes, right out the door you could look down at these amazing gardens with full size sculptures of rhino's, elephants, and giraffes-so cool.
1. Jase, Tiff and the Girls
I love this picture of Tiff tucked away in the streets. I just think she's so beautiful, I wish I had her skin.
After eating our crepes, right out the door you could look down at these amazing gardens with full size sculptures of rhino's, elephants, and giraffes-so cool.Tiff prepared the most delicious meals everyday I was there. It started with her Chili Lime Enchiladas, and ended with this delectable capressi salad, and prosciutto pasta. Wow, it was goood. I had so much fun playing Fun fusion with Jenny and Joyce everyday. I'll miss watching The Middle with Jase at night and laughing our heads off, then quoting it for the rest of the week. I'll miss watching Maisy open each of her Kinder Eggs with such enthusiasm. I'll miss Maisy's darling little voice that I hope she never loses. I'll miss Joycelyn being so excited to be next to me every minute I was there. I'll miss sitting next to Jenny in McDonald's while scoring a toy that some spoiled kid left behind. I'll miss the constant hum of the DVD's playing in the back seat while the girls are mesmerized by the songs. But most of all, I'll miss Tiff-I love you so much Tiff. Thank you, thank you for being the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you for loving me despite all my craziness. Thank you for sharing a week with me that I will never forget, you are a treasure, and I am so blessed to have you in my life. (Can you tell the tears are just flowing? I think that's why it's taken me two weeks to write this dumb blog).
Our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that Tiff prepared-you can tell she worked her but off to make it absolutly perfect!
Maisy and I at Castle Beach in Mandelieu
Me and the girls in their backyard-Thanksgiving was a marvelous day. Look how happy we all were-tough to be away from them
Tiff wanted me to have a truly authentic French dining experience. Jase took us to this amazing restaurant in Cannes, these were our appetizers-the deep fried zucchini flowers just melted in your mouth-soooo good.
At this gorgeous hotel that Jase took us for dinner on my birthday in Cannes
5 Things I won't miss
Me and the girls in their backyard-Thanksgiving was a marvelous day. Look how happy we all were-tough to be away from them
Tiff wanted me to have a truly authentic French dining experience. Jase took us to this amazing restaurant in Cannes, these were our appetizers-the deep fried zucchini flowers just melted in your mouth-soooo good. 
At this gorgeous hotel that Jase took us for dinner on my birthday in Cannes5 Things I won't miss
5. The French Police
Check out Tiff's blog on the story of Jase's ticket. Pretty darn funny.
4. No Sense of Direction
If you know me well, you know that I can get myself around pretty well. Chris calls me his personal GPS. So you can imagine how annoyed I was that I could never figure out where I was in France. I was completely turned around all the time!
3. The Euro
I feel so fortunate to live in the US where your dollar can go so far. I exchanged $315 dollars in the airport for 200 Euros-which I quickly burned through at the Italian Market on my second day. Everywhere you go, you need to make sure you have plenty of Euros on hand for things like tolls, to grab a grocery cart, even to go to the bathroom if necessary. The cost of living is so crazy out there, I feel for Jase and Tiff. A quick trip for a week or so is doable, but I know for a fact that if I lived in France I would be quickly in the poor house with my little teacher salary.
If you know me, you know I love my latte's. I was so excited to experience a real European latte or mocha, I just figured that's where they came from. Well Starbucks definitely doesn't exist in France, you're lucky to get a little steamed milk. It's a tiny little cup of espresso, with a sleeve of sugar on the side, and maybe some cream. So my Young and the Restless that I love sooo much, with it's white mocha, and hazelnut espresso is definitely a product of America-plenty of sugar, fat, and way YUMMY! I must say thanks again to Tiff and Jase for your patience with me as we searched for the perfect American latte in France.
Check out Tiff's blog on the story of Jase's ticket. Pretty darn funny.
4. No Sense of Direction
If you know me well, you know that I can get myself around pretty well. Chris calls me his personal GPS. So you can imagine how annoyed I was that I could never figure out where I was in France. I was completely turned around all the time!
3. The Euro
I feel so fortunate to live in the US where your dollar can go so far. I exchanged $315 dollars in the airport for 200 Euros-which I quickly burned through at the Italian Market on my second day. Everywhere you go, you need to make sure you have plenty of Euros on hand for things like tolls, to grab a grocery cart, even to go to the bathroom if necessary. The cost of living is so crazy out there, I feel for Jase and Tiff. A quick trip for a week or so is doable, but I know for a fact that if I lived in France I would be quickly in the poor house with my little teacher salary.
2. Feeling Deaf and Dumb
Most of the time, I could easily get away without speaking any French, most people speak English and are extremely friendly. But Tiff took me to her ward, and very few people speak English. I felt so stupid and basically deaf and dumb. All I could do was just stand there and look as if I could understand a word they were saying. I was just Tiff's lame friend who traveled all the way to France without knowing a lick of French. However, I did leave the country motivated to learn the language-which is GORGEOUS! It just seems near impossible to learn.
1. Cafe' CremeMost of the time, I could easily get away without speaking any French, most people speak English and are extremely friendly. But Tiff took me to her ward, and very few people speak English. I felt so stupid and basically deaf and dumb. All I could do was just stand there and look as if I could understand a word they were saying. I was just Tiff's lame friend who traveled all the way to France without knowing a lick of French. However, I did leave the country motivated to learn the language-which is GORGEOUS! It just seems near impossible to learn.
If you know me, you know I love my latte's. I was so excited to experience a real European latte or mocha, I just figured that's where they came from. Well Starbucks definitely doesn't exist in France, you're lucky to get a little steamed milk. It's a tiny little cup of espresso, with a sleeve of sugar on the side, and maybe some cream. So my Young and the Restless that I love sooo much, with it's white mocha, and hazelnut espresso is definitely a product of America-plenty of sugar, fat, and way YUMMY! I must say thanks again to Tiff and Jase for your patience with me as we searched for the perfect American latte in France.
5 comments:
Loved your post Cherae - sounds like it was an AMAZING week. I'm quite jealous of your Provincial life!! Even if it was for just a week. loved seeing all the pictures and hearing the top ten!! I'm so glad you have Tiff!
I have been checking to read your blog every day, waiting for you to post, and I don't know how a whole week went by until I saw it. Brought back so many fun memeories of the week!
We have definitely missed you. The other day Maisy said a boy tried to kiss her in class. I said, "Maisy, you are only allowed to kiss Mommy and Daddy," to which she replied, "And Fray, Mommy." As I knew would happen, Jocelyn was very sad that you left and asked when you were coming back for about a week. She gets so attached to people.
You were so sweet in your post, and I can't believe how much you wrote (but I loved it). No one has ever wished they had my skin before, so that was very flattering. We both know which parts of yours I wish I had!!
I hope you can come again soon, and I wish it weren't so expensive. I miss you like crazy. Thanks for the fun post!
Okay, I'm practically crying now! Great post, Cherae. I'm so glad you got to go and be spoiled in France. You work harder than most people I know and you deserved this trip. Magical in every way! :0
JODY
Cherae,
I hope you don't mind that I snooped on your blog and read about your France trip (Lisa told me about it). It looked like you had such a great time, and it only made me more excited to go out in February. And you are right... Tiff is pretty awesome! Thanks for post, it was fun to read.
Love your blog!
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