The girl’s trip to France + my Dad

jaelynkeene
Mar 29, 2022
9 min read

I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family that are able to come visit me in France while I’m away for 8 months out of the year. Let’s just start there.

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these. But I like to highlight when family and friends come to visit because most of the time, we do more exciting things than just my day-to-day life here in France. My Dad, Barb, Keri, Hallie and MacKenzie spent a little over 7 days here in France. This was the first time most of them had been to France and the younger girls were turning 16 this year, so it was their birthday gift to come to France. How cool. I wish I would’ve been able to travel to Europe at a young age. But I am thankful they have an “excuse” to come see Europe.

They arrived on Saturday morning the 15th of January. We had an away match in Paris which actually worked perfectly because they were able to fly into Paris and watch the game that night. They got to do a few touristy things that afternoon once they got settled in their Airbnb. The main event for them was coming to the game in Paris at 20:00. Luckily it was a good game to watch we played well and we won! The game was only 4 sets so it was not a crazy long game.

Earlier that day we had a huge situation happen in our team as well because one of our players tested positive for COVID-19 which meant we all had to get tested. Luckily, at that time only one of our teammates tested positive so we were able to continue to play the match that night. Phew, how sad would it have been if they came all the way to France and didn’t get to watch me play because of COVID-19.

Before this game I hadn’t seen any of them since August. It was so nice to see familiar & friendly faces. It is always great to have Americans come visit. At the game I got to introduce my fan group to all of my teammates that they have been hearing about all year. Which was so nice to put actual faces to names. Following the game I went back with them to the Airbnb, and grabbed a pizza. We took the metro from the game to the Airbnb it was an easy ride, about 20 minutes. Luckily it was on one line so we did not have to switch.

We got to the Airbnb and talked for a few hours before everyone got really tired and went to bed, that was their first night in Paris. The fun had only begun. The next day would be a lot of walking for all of us.

Our day in Paris consisted of walking to a boulangerie to get a few croissants and breakfast items while the girls were still sleeping and getting ready for the day. I had to get a Paris-Breast for them to try. It is a famous pastry here in France, it is very sweet and tasty. Everyone was more excited to have croissants but at least tried it. After everyone was ready, we walked to the Louvre because we had a scavenger hunt around 10. So, we walked about 10 minutes but wanted to get a coffee on the way so found a cute coffee shop to get “take-away” cappuccinos & coffees.

We walked into the Louvre and met our scavenger hunt guide outside. She had all the things we needed to enter. The Louvre was so cool. I think it was very nice to have the scavenger hunt because it showed us most of the main areas in the museum. Otherwise, I would have had no idea where to start. The paintings were breathtaking – who knew paintings could be so huge and honestly could be that amazing from hundreds of years ago. The artifacts speak for themselves as well. HISTORY IS SO AWESOME, Europe has really taught me to cherish this. We did 2 parts of the museum and then we started to get hungry because it was about 13:00 (Aka 1 pm). We stopped the scavenger hunt and went to eat at the restaurant inside.

We still had one section of the Louvre to see but some of the group was getting a little tired and wanted to go see something else. We left the Louvre and took the metro to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is still under renovation from the fire years ago. It is breathtaking from the outside to say the least. It is so sad that we can not go inside because I am sure it is spectacular. The interior of old churches always amazes me, personally. I know the group would have really enjoyed going inside because my first year abroad we spent some time looking at old cathedrals in Austria.

After the Cathedral, we walked over to Shakespeare and Company bookstore. It was about a 3-minute walk from the Notre Dame so that was actually really convenient. There were signs asking people to not take photos, but they were very small and inconspicuous. Of course, some of our group did not see the signs asking to not take photos. We bought some bags and I bought The Alchemist book. Pretty neat spot.

We took the metro back to the Airbnb so people could nap and facetime their family that they missed already. We went down and had dinner at this restaurant on the same street as the Airbnb they were staying at. It was an Italian place, I got pizza and so did everyone else other than Pops, who got some lasagna that he says was very good. The people offered us some limoncello shots – well for my Dad and Barb because Hallie, Keri and I got coffee to end the dinner. Cleanse the pallet per say. This was such a fun day spent with them. Thankfully my club & coach allowed me to stay and spend the Sunday with them in Paris. I had to take the train back to Nantes that night because I had physiotherapy in the morning and an afternoon training. Once we finished dinner I went up and grabbed my suitcase and then headed to the metro which was going to take me to the train station. The family went to a movie in the cinema that maybe a 5 minute walk from the Airbnb and watched the new Spiderman. They enjoyed it. Yes, I know you are thinking, how could they watch the movie if it is in French? Luckily, there are certain times at the movie theater's that have the Original Version, which in this case means the English version, because the movie was produced in America.

Before I knew it, I had to say goodbye to them for a few days before they came to Nantes; by train in the afternoon on Wednesday. By this time, we have found out that 3 other people on our team tested positive. This is such a crazy situation because we were testing all the time. I was so worried that I would test positive and then wouldn’t be able to hang out with the family because of this. Somehow, I never tested positive thank goodness! By the time they got to Nantes we had half our team positive. Which meant there would be no match on Saturday. Which was a blessing because I got to spend more time with them. It also was sad because they did not get to experience our fans or "ambiance" as they refer to it here. We have a great fan base and an awesome gym to play in.

We went to eat at one of my favorite healthy restaurants here in Nantes, Paradise de Fruit. It was hard for some of them to find something to eat, I forgot that I had some picky eaters on my hands. But eventually they found something. It was so nice they make fresh juices and smoothies. Mmm. After that we went to the market that was right next to it so they could get some snacks. We went back to the Airbnb to chill before trying to figure out were to go to dinner.

We decided to go to one of my other favorite places to eat. I think it is the best Italian pasta I have had – especially in Nantes. It is fabulous. The restaurant is called Saint Marco and it is in the center. One of my friends that I met here in France also came to have dinner that night which was fun. Sim enjoyed the dinner I think haha. They did a good job of not scaring him I guess. After dinner we went our separate ways because it was pretty late from dinner. We made plans to meet up for lunch the next day because I had weight lifting in the morning.

Thursday, we ate lunch at this little café outside of my apartment and then they came up to see my place. So, I showed them my small little humble abode for the year and they liked it. It is small but has everything I need. Very conveniently located, only about a 10-minute walk to the gym and easy to get into the center as well. After that, we just chilled at my place and then they wanted to come watch our training in the afternoon. It was a hard practice because most of our teammates were still out with COVID so we didn’t have that many players. After training they walked back to their Airbnb and I told them I would meet them in the city for dinner.

What do you think we got for dinner? Italian…if you guessed that then you are correct. We went to a new place in Nantes that I had never been too, Keri found it. I got a calzone and everyone else got pizza. After dinner I went back with them to the Airbnb and we played some five crowns (one of our classic card games we normally play when we are together) and talked a lot. I took the tram back to my place around midnight. It was a much-needed night for me. A great time with them - spending time like we would back home so it felt very relaxing and "normal."

The next day I had one training because of our game cancelation. After that training I showed them the castle and we had a Starbucks while exploring the city a little bit. Friday night we decided to drive about an hour to watch a basketball game in Angers. This was an adventure. We rented a “SUV” and I ended up driving a manual mini van to the game. I did great don’t worry (ask one of them if you don’t believe me). The game was fun we got there right before it started and we ended up sitting in the VIP section on accident so that was fun – no one said anything to us which was nice. Sim’s team lost but it was an entertaining game to watch. After the game I drove us back home and we were starving so we just grabbed something at one of the travel stops because nothing else was open because of how late it was. Not everything is open late here in Europe. Not even fast food places if you can believe that. I dropped them off at the Airbnb and then brought the car back to the garage and parked it inside so it would be protected overnight.

The next day was their last day in Nantes :(. Before doing anything that day they all had to take their COVID-19 approved at home tests. This was so they could fly back the next day. That took about 2.5 hours actually. I walked over to the Airbnb and grabbed some pastries on the way so they could enjoy the fresh croissants at least one more time before leaving. We rode the bus to the mall because they wanted to see what our mall was like. At the mall they wanted to try O’Taco which is a French fast-food restaurant. Basically, it is a burrito or a wrap but you can choose your meat: chicken, beef, chicken tenders etc. with a sauce or cheese and fries inside the burrito, toasted on a panini press. That’s the best description I have for it lol. It is pretty good, not going to lie.

After eating they came back to my place and got all of their stuff together because they had to leave for the train to Paris around 3. So, we took the bus to the train station with all of their stuff. The trams and busses are free that go into the city on the weekends. We said goodbye and then they had to get on the train. It was such a fast goodbye no one got too emotional which was good for me. It was so great having them all here. My heart was so happy and full!

Again, thank you for spending a week in France with me and exploring what has become my home away from home 😊 love you all!

Here are some pictures from our adventures, enjoy! Lovely masks :P