France -- Souvenirs and stuff

The trip to France was great fun -- it was excellent to be able to attend the Frugivory and Seed Dispersal Symposium and then to travel all over the country with my mom and Judy! We had a lot of adventures during the course of our trip!

Overall, I think my favorite places in France were Carcassonne (maybe my most favorite) and Amboise. Paris was fun too, but really crowded with tourists (which is to be expected in the summer). I seem to prefer the smaller towns that I have found throughout Europe as opposed to the big behemoth cities. I think it would be more fun to visit Paris during the fall or even the winter when tourists are less overwhelming and the city probably has a completely different feel.

As for souvenirs -- I managed to find a lot of really good ones: a Carcassonne cloth wall hanging that my mom gave me, plush blue Egyptian hippo (for Shannon), salt from the Camargue, little foldable tote bag (also from my mama), antique agouti print (from Judy), beetle prints (for Carlos), stamps (for Carlos), Bixa tree print (also for Carlos!), caramels and lollipops (for Shannon), cinnamon Carcassonne soap (for Shannon), and a yellow Tour de France t-shirt for dad. That's a lot of goodies!

Now that I have finished that trip, maybe I can finally start posting about Carlos' and my moving trip from Miami to Washington DC!