One of the Best Things About Living in Europe

A week or so ago, the heat here got to be pretty unbearable, and as someone who's kicking it without AC this summer, I needed to find a way to get away.

So my husband and I took a road trip to a lake. Let me tell you, one of my favorite parts about being in an international relationship is that you often get the chance to help the other person discover new things. Places that are old and boring to you (like this lake was for my husband), might be new and exciting for them.

Him: So you wanna go to Lake Paladru?

Me: Yeah!

What I'm actually thinking: Um, do I want to go on a romantic road trip with you and go swimming in a gorgeous blue lake nestled in the French Alps? Is this a serious question? Obviously I want to go!

There was a disturbing number of old men in Speedos. Gotta love France. :)
None of the women were topless though, just in case you were wondering.

That was a pretty awesome part of my day, and if you're in the area, I highly recommend it.

But my very favorite part, was when we driving through the little town Voiron, just below, and we happened to come across this.

You know, just a HUGE cathedral that pops up out of absolutely nowhere. My husband took a detour and encouraged me to take a picture, because he could see how excited I was. Despite being grateful that he was indulging in my tourist side, I just didn't have enough nerve to actually get out of the car to take pictures. So this is what I ended up with.

Little surprises like this are definitely one of my favorite parts of living in Europe. :)

Now generally, I hate when people say "In Europe..." as if it was just one huge country, but felt like awesome, historic Architecture was definitely something European countries in general had a lot more of than we do in America.

So why do I hate when people start their sentences with "In Europe they..."? Well for starters, which country? Europe is huge! It's also filled with many different cultures and styles of government.

Usually the next few words that follow that phrase starter are inaccurate. Just because one country in Europe does it, that doesn't mean every country in Europe does. Example, "In Europe, they serve beer in high schools." This came from the Uberfacts twitter.

What the ?!?!

I worked in a French high school, and can promise you that this is not true. It may be true for a country in Europe, but I haven't been able to figure out which one. Buying beer isn't even legal until you're 18 in most (if not all) European countries. Where is this mythical high school that's giving out free beers?

Another offense from Uberfacts?

"In Europe, erasers are commonly referred to as "rubbers"... so are condoms." - original tweet here.

Good to know that ALL of Europe is now suddenly speaking English... I can personally promise you that they aren't calling them "Rubbers" in France, Spain, or Italy.
Good grief.

Uberfacts and I aren't on good terms anymore. I stopped following them when I found out that they don't actually fact check. They just copy and paste whatever awe inspiring "facts" that they stumble across on the internet. It's pretty embarrassing when you cite something impressive as a "fact," and then find out a few weeks later that you'd unintentionally lied to a bunch of people. Trust shattered.

......................................................

Today, I'm introducing you to the lovely Lesley who blogs over at By the Porchlight. This girl is awesome. I'm sure you'll love her. Plus, she's pet a tiger! That pretty much makes me jealous, and makes her one of the coolest people ever. 

If you'd like to get to know her better, she wrote this hilarious post about the impending doom of her upcoming 10 year high school reunion, and puts her obsession with cats on display here. She also writes about being an introvert, and even gives you some tips for taking care of the introvert in your life. I was a little shocked at how well I could relate to those posts!

But I think I've yapped on long enough. Here's a little Q&A with Lesley herself!

Your best blogging advice. Go.
Use. Pictures. Just do it. I won't read any blog post unless it's filled with pictures, graphics, or non-cheesy images! I can't handle large blocks of texts!

What do you want to be like when you're old?
I want to be the cool old aunt that my nieces and nephews want to come hang out with! I want to still be madly in love with my hubby; I was us to be that cute, wrinkly old couple that you can't help but say "aww" about when we're walking down the street holding hands.

Describe your ideal birthday
Hands down, my ideal b'day gift would include a surprise trip with my hubby somewhere in the world I've been dying to go, like Thailand or Eastern Europe, where we'd leave that day. In this fantasy, my hubby would've made secret arrangements with my work to get me about a month off so we could travel around, relax, and enjoy new cultures.