Fontaine de Trevi, Night walk in Rome.

My whole family descended on me from the far east – Singapore and Australia. Indeed, the whole family. My parents, my siblings, their own families, a cousin and his family, all in all 19 people.They chartered a tourbus, accompanied by 2 tour guides from Singapore and spent two weeks visiting Paris and several cities in Italy. Silviu and I joined them in some of their Parisian jaunts, before meeting them in Rome, and then continued to Perugia, and Florence, before leaving them on their last leg of the tour – Venice and Milan.

Paris Tour

Statues in the Louvre. Left: Venus de Milo / Aphrodite of Milos. Greek goddess of love and beauty. Named after the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered. Right: Winged Victory of Samothrace / Nike of Samothrace, is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
Mum's birthday celebration at Buddha-Bar Hotel, Paris. We were given a private room, with nice cosy ambiance. Menu was pricey. Service was good, but the food was not really to our taste.
With my family in Paris, Silviu and I decided to profit the opportunity to be a tourist in Paris. Voila, the Louvre: The last time I was in Louvre was about 17 years ago. The 30-tonne, upside-down Pyramid of the Louvre (La Pyramide Inversée)
Statues in the Louvre. Left: Venus de Milo / Aphrodite of Milos. Greek goddess of love and beauty. Named after the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered. Right: Winged Victory of Samothrace / Nike of Samothrace, is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
Selfie is a must underneath the rare blue winter sky in Paris. In front of Arc de Triomphe du Carrouse at the Louvre.
In front of the Louvre.
Montmartre, the 2 brothers-in-law.
Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the stops on the scenic walk from the Louvre to our lunch at Place des Victoires.

Italy Tour - Rome, Florence and Perugia

Digestive system working overtime

Totalling 7 days in Italy, where my digestive system was put in full gear.  My 5 senses, especially my sight, palate and smell, were seriously pampered in this short period: endless daily 3 full meals of pasta, prosciutto, fish, the Italian cheeses (Stracciatella di bufala, parmigiano, pecorino etc), the different styles of tiramisu, the continuous rounds of chin-chin of Italian wines. 

Uphill fight against festive weight gain

Consequently, all the calorie intake without the equivalent or exceeding output meant that I returned 4 days ago with an additional 1kg luggage around my waist. Since then, I have been running 3 days in row, despite the relentless rain and wind in this part of the world, plus an one-hour indoor interval training on the Tacx Home Trainer on my recovery day.  The trainer was my exercise staple for the last month of my 3.5 months of non-running period (end August to end November). I only started running again the beginning of December, about 2 short runs per week until my family’s visit. 

Recovering on Tacx
Trevi Fountain. Late night walk in Rome, capital of Italy. First night of the Italian Tour.
Late night walk in Rome continues. Spanish Steps.
First time staying in a real castle, Castello di Monterone, Perugia. No Draculas, no vampires, just my prince and my family.
Stroll in Perugia.
Food picture (I). One of my faves! First lunch in Florence. Coccoii, proscuitto, stracchino cheese, basically fried dough, ham and creamy, stringy buffalo cheese.
Food picture (II). First meal in Rome. Top: tripes (rubbery, strong odour!!). Bottom: (left) charcoal bread!!! (right) bruschetta
Top left (clockwise): Christmas dinner in Florence. With four of the five nieces and nephews. Bottom right: Sisters & In-laws. Siblings and spouses.
Various sights in Florence.
The tower is fallllling....Leaning Tower in Pisa.

By Juste Claudia

Bonjour! Je m'appelle Claudia. That was the extent of my linguistic skills when I first came to France in 2016 from Singapore. My French is much better now (it has to after 8 years!) but I am still waiting for the day when I can dream in the language and not mix up the genders of inanimate objects. This blog is about my life in France: food & drinks, different regions, gardening, my work as as an English teacher, French bureaucracy, different French regions. I have recently moved from the Parisian suburbs to Grenoble, the flattest city in France but surrounded by mountains. I hope to share more about my adventures in Grenoble with you.

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