Francophile in the West

Kris and I just got back from a fantastic long weekend in Whistler, B.C.! We had been up there for his friend's wedding back in March and he had a few pre-paid days on the mountain left over, so we decided to go check out Whistler's mountain bike park! Kris loves mountain biking, but I had never tried it before, so it was quite the adventure for both of us. We drove up on Friday afternoon and settled into our rented condo and then wandered around Whistler Village searching for some poutine  (my fav!) and a delicious brew. It turns out that Whistler is hosting free concerts on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer, and Kris and I caught the tail end of Friday's free show. Even though we only got in on a couple of songs, we really enjoyed it! It was a clear and beautiful night, which made it even more enjoyable to see a show at an open-air venue.  After that, we hit up the hot tub in the condo complex for some relaxing before our big day. We woke up nice and early

My dad is awesome. One of the many things that I love about my dad is that he likes to read what I call 'background books', or non-fiction books pertaining to some sort of upcoming family or personal adventure. For example, he read a lot of climbing books before he and I climbed Mt. St. Helens together a few years ago, and he read a travel book about China before our trip there in 2010. Currently, he's reading a book about the history of the Czech Republic in preparation for our trip there next month.  Recently, he bought me a 'background book' to read before my time living in France. It's a newer one by David McCullough called The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris . It is awesome !! He never steers me wrong with book suggestions, it's so great! I'm reading about Americans in Paris between 1830 and 1900, arriving for the first time and sharing their first impressions through letters and journals, and it's so spot on. Their words are exactly wha

Updates, updates, updates! Moving at the end of June was a success; Ma and Pa and I got everything hauled back home and Kris and I are all settled in our summer place with his friend. Work and class are going well; it's quite a treat to actually have a leisurely summer! I only work 15-20 hours a week and get to enjoy the Seattle sunshine the rest of the time. :) Kris and I have been taking advantage of the nice weather by going on walks with our roommate's awesome Great Dane, Murphy, biking around town, and hiking near Seattle on the weekends. On the 4th of July, we biked all over Seattle (to the sports stadiums, though the Olympic Sculpture Garden and Myrtle Edwards Park, up to Ballard, down the Burke-Gilman Trail to the University District) and ended the day by watching the fireworks from the park under the I-5 bridge and eating Ivar's fish & chips and clam chowder. It was a perfect day; I wouldn't have spent it any other way! 4th of July over Lake Union in S