the traveling cupcake: sun

Showing posts with label sun. Show all posts

Monday, August 06, 2012

Lake Waccabuc

We spent the last couple of weeks driving all over the state of New York on vacation. We visited both of our families in Central NY and Long Island, but first we took a few days to ourselves and had a little vacation just the three of us. We knew we wanted to have a few quiet days to ourselves before the madness of visiting family. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our families and LOVED introducing Kaitlin to everyone. But we knew it was going to be crazy town. We wanted somewhere quiet for us to go, but that wasn't too far out of the way (we had limited time and a newborn in the car with us after all). Our good friends knew of a place we could rent, in a location that we discovered last year at their wedding - Lake Waccabuc. You heard all about their amazing wedding at Winvian, but what I only briefly talked about their rehearsal dinner at the grooms parents lake house on Lake Waccabuc.

It was perfect - exactly what we were looking for. We had a small two bedroom cottage on the lake (which happened to be right next door to our friends place!) which had a big deck and access to the water. It was small but perfect for our family of three. Lake Waccabuc is small (less than 150 acres) and only small boats are allowed on it, making it a peaceful retreat. It is located in Westchester county in New York but is very close to Ridgefield, CT which is a super cute town with lots of shops and dining, perfect for an afternoon stroll.

What did we do while we were there?

A whole lot of nothing.

Well, I guess that's not entirely true.

Our friends have a couple paddle boards which made Brian a happy boy. They also have a small boat which we would take out to go swimming. (there are lots of rocks to jump off of and rope swings to jump from)

We grilled almost every night, and had a few friends stop by to meet Kaitlin. We even got a chance to sleep in once or twice now that Kaitlin sleeps almost through the whole night.

We set off fireworks and took walks around the lake. We watched a lot of sunsets and ate a lot of smores.

And by the time our stay had come to an end we were relaxed and recharged, ready to ~~finish~~ start our vacation with all of our friends and family.

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Photo Project - Childrens Photography part 3

WARNING!

This post is very picture heavy and full of adorable children.

Consider yourself warned.

*read more*

Monday, October 31, 2011

Cinque Terre, Italy

During our only full day in Tuscany, we decided to leave.

Tuscany that is. We drove northwest to Liguria. The weather was supposed to be amazing and we wanted to take advantage of it the only way we knew how - by hiking. Before we left on our trip I did a quick Google maps search and found out that the famous Cinque Terre was only an hours drive from our hotel. So, after a leisurely breakfast at Locanda al Colle we were on our way.

At the recommendation of Riccardo we drove to the town of Portovenere and took the ferry to "the five lands". I had visited Cinque Terre with my friend Kelly during the semester abroad that I spent in Florence. I remember it being one of the most beautiful places I had seen that spring. The hiking was amazing, the towns were picturesque and the spaghetti we had for lunch was, for serious, out of this world.

Sadly, that was over eight years ago.

EIGHT.

...

*read more*

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Around town...in the South of France

Toulouse

The night that we arrived in France we decided to stay in Toulouse and head out on the open road the following morning as we were arriving quite late. After quickly checking into our hotel we headed straight back out for dinner. Honestly, I hadn't given Toulouse a thought. We were only there for a few hours, most of which would be spent sleeping. However, as I have happily experienced many time before, often times when you have no plans or expectations is when you can have the best time.

St. Stapin

One objective for taking the back roads during our drive to Neffies the next morning was to explore the countryside. We wanted to see rural France rather than the endless, bland motorway. Along the way we found a lookout point. We parked the car and worked up an appetite (which was to be rewarded with cassoulet) and when we finally got to the top (all of ten minutes later...) we were rewarded.

Pezenas

Our last night in France we decided to go to Pezenas for dinner. It's much larger than Neffies and we knew they would have restaurants open even though it was a Sunday evening. We were told to make sure that we found the "real center of town" for the best restaurants, and to avoid the touristy bit at the beginning. I think all the sun had gone to our heads because we didn't listen. Our dinner might not have been the best of the weekend, but this town sure was lovely.

Neffies

I awoke early on our last day in France. We had a couple hours until breakfast but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. The sun was out and I could feel it getting hot already. I took this chance to take a walk around town and enjoy the peace and quiet that only early morning can offer. Early morning light is the best light, to me at least, even though I rarely see it. It was a perfect way to say goodbye to this town I felt so at home in, even only after a couple of short days.

Marseillan

We spent the last day driving along the coast, visiting small town after small town before heading to Montpellier and then onward back to London. The sun was strong and the heat made me tired (though I was not complaining). We arrived at Marseillan and had a wander around this sleepy town on the Mediterranean. It was almost as if I was in a dream. Lunch on the marina, a cool breeze from the sea, gelato in the shade - a perfect way to end our trip...

Sunday, September 04, 2011

Canoeing in the Orb Valley

On our second day in southern France we decided to get our exercise on. And by exercise I mean half-heartedly dip my paddle into the water while basking in the sunshine and taking in the views.

I know...I know...I really shouldn't strain myself too hard, I'm bound to get an injury.

There were a couple of canoeing spots located close to where we were staying. We decided to drive to Roquebrun, a medieval town on the banks of the river Orb, about 40 minutes northwest of Neffies, where Canoe Roquebrun Grandeur Nature has several canoe trips mapped out along the Orb valley.

We decided to do a 5km canoe trip as we wanted to take our time and not be so "serious" about canoeing our little butts off. And, we were on vacation - you're lucky I even dragged myself away from the pool. The 5km trip that we were about to embark on was appropriately named "Ceps". It was fate.

Once we got 3943895380 pictures of B and I in front of the Ceps sign we were off on our little adventure! The weather was perfect - it was hot but not scorching, clear blue skies and a gentle breeze passed through the valley. Pretty much it was heaven on earth. The water was crystal clear and the river ranged from less than an inch deep (as proved by the numerous times we ran aground, the ten pounds of cheese and foie gras I had the night before dinner probably didn't help) to several meters (thats actually a guess, I'm not sure exactly how deep it got, but deep enough for me not to be able to see the bottom).

After a little while of paddling and taking in the incredible scenery we decided to stop for lunch.

What?? It had been, like, TWO HOURS since I had breakfast!

We pulled our canoes over on an embankment and spread out our feast. We had made a quick trip to the boulangerie and town store to pick up provisions - a baguette, goats cheese, sliced meats and the best little donut peaches I have ever had. These little guys were so ripe and juicy they actually tasted like candy to me. Which is good, because we forgot to bring dessert (and the bottle of wine we bought specially for the canoe trip - party FAIL).

After our bellies were full and I mustered the energy to go on, we continued down the river. If you were to take one of the longer trips you would encounter some pretty decent rapids for being in a plastic canoe. We, on the other hand, got the baby ones. No matter, they were a delight all the same! Just because they were mini doesn't mean that I didn't squeal my little head off! After all, they were the first rapids I had ever been on!

Sean and Adrienne braving the rapids!

After all that excitement were were happy to mosey on down the last part of the river quietly and calmly. We didn't want it to be over. I wanted to stay on that river forever. But alas, the end was near. The only thing that made it even bearable to get off our plastic boat of dreams was the allure of the pool and a bottle of rose waiting for us back at Maison Dix.

Check out Canoe Roquebrun Grandeur Nature and all the canoeing options they offer in the Languedoc region - it's a definite "must do" if you are ever in the area!

Apologies for the photo qualities in this post. I had to take most of them on my iphone as I didn't want to risk my dSLR ending up in the drink!

Like what you see?