Oh Là Là, from Paris to the sea

“Rester, c’est exister… mais voyager, c’est vivre.”

My time in France began in Paris, where I met up with my parents for a few days of exploring the city. I couldn’t wait to finally use my Canadian French and take in all the iconic sights , such as the Eiffel Tower, l’Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, and Notre Dame. Wandering the city on foot, soaking up its energy, and sharing those moments with my parents made it especially meaningful.

The trip also included hockey, with a short visit to Cergy to watch my brother play an away game before we hopped on the train to Bordeaux, where he currently lives and plays professional ice hockey. There, we caught a home game, watched an away match on the big screen at La Cage, a Québec-roots restaurant that felt like a little taste of Canada, toured the city, and spent Christmas with his family. Of course, I did find my way into a little CrossFit box too to do a couple workouts. Bordeaux was cold, but festive, and I loved how walkable it was.

To wrap up my French adventures, I headed to Nice for a few solo days before returning to Dubai. Being surrounded by both mountains and sea, and enjoying slightly warmer weather, was the perfect change of pace. I logged over 20,000 steps a day wandering through town. With a spontaneous day trip to Monaco (more on that soon), the entire trip struck a perfect balance between family time, city exploring, and quiet moments on my own.

Visiting France was truly a dream come true, and I’m so grateful to have made such lovely memories with family, but I’ve eaten far too much food and need to get back to my clean eating and exercising routines ASAP!

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