During our road trip, I took about 1600 pictures. Yep. 1600. I didn´t think anybody (except me and maybe the hubby) would go through that many pictures so here is a selection of my favorite honeymoon pictures (only 42 
)
So, tell me, where did you go (or would like to go to) for your honeymoon?
Posted by Elodie on July 3, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/road-trip-honeymoon-pictures/
Our honeymoon/road trip included something my hubby really wanted: A convertible Mustang…and gosh he had a very hard time saying goodbye to the car as we dropped it off in NYC. We saw so many beautiful things in this car…
Hmm for some reason, I don´t have any pictures of my hair after a ride with the top down…but let me tell you: it was WILD
So tell me, if you could drive anything during a road trip, what would it be?
Posted by Elodie on June 28, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/road-trip-the-ride-is-everything-for-the-hubby-d/
Food. I love it. All types of food. Really. And Chemical Engineer feels the same way. So on our road trip/honeymoon, we knew there would be lots of eating and lots of different type of food (homemade by our dear friends, fast food on the road and restaurants in the towns we stayed at…).
And…we were not disappointed
My favorite fast food restaurant was WAFFLE HOUSE.
I miss it here in Germany, really, their Texas Melt is just too yummy
When it comes to restaurants, well while we loved all restaurants we went to, Delmenico´s in NYC stood out. This steakhouse had everything: a NYC history (it´s considered a “classic”), an interesting atmosphere (including some people celebrating a birthday, students, a basketball player and Wall Street bankers), a funny waiter and great great great food!
The restaurant (2)
The restaurant…
Yummy filet mignon
Those potatoes…I have no words
THE dessert 
So tell me, what is your favorite food while on the road?
Posted by Elodie on June 21, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/road-trip-it%c2%b4s-all-about-the-food/
Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
This Week’s Topic: In preparation for our Bookmobile discussion of Kody Keplinger’s A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTMARE, how did you spend/how will you spend the summer after graduation?
In France, we don´t really have a graduation: no ceremony at school, no wearing a cap and gown, no big prom celebrating the end of the year. What we do have are those really hard exams called Baccalauréat. During the last two years of High School, depending on your major, you have to take national exams on many. many, many subjects. I went to pick up my results with my dad…I still remember searching my name in the pass section. I was there and with honors (yay!).
The month of July after my High School graduation was spent working where my dad worked, filing a lot and in August, I think I went on holidays with my parents there (it´s in the Pyrenees, close to Spain and we used to go every winter and every summer) :
This is a postcard clearly showing Winter so you´ve got to imagine how it looks during the Summer time
And then I went to spend some time at my sister´s (also in the South but close to St-Tropez)
This picture was not taken right after my HS graduation but in 2003 probably
Some very random memories from this particular summer:
So tell me, what was your very first job?
Posted by Elodie on June 20, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/summer-after-graduation/
I am trying to go through the pictures of my honeymoon and organize them so that I can share them (I don´t think anybody would really go through 1600 pictures). Today, I mesh it with Road Trip Wednesday (Blog carnival from YA Highway) as they asked what would be the place of our writing retreat and the people we would bring with us (yay for Colin who asked on Twitter what the topic for this week would be )
Cape Cod and Isaiah Jones B&B would be a great writing retreat. I´d bring my hubby along and all of you. We could rent out the B&B and have writing sessions, talk about books, have a drink or two, or simply enjoy our surroundings. Anybody in for poker too? or scrabble? And the breakfasts would just help us power through anything!
If you have a significant other, you should bring him/her too. They could hang out altogether while we do the writing thing. And everybody can also spend some alone time in their quiet, cozy room or walk on the beach. Maybe one day?
I´ve gushed about this Bed and Breakfast before. This is where Chemical Engineer and I stayed for a night in 2007 and where we decided to come back to in order to spend a few relaxing days in Cape Cod after driving around for so long.
We were not disappointed at all. Not by Sandwich, not by Cape Cod and definitely not by this wonderful Bed and Breakfast. Donnie and Katherine are not only warm and friendly, they have plenty of tips to discover the area. And the breakfasts are delicious!
Posted by Elodie on June 13, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/falling-in-love-with-cape-cod-and-isaiah-jones-bed-and-breakfast/
And we´re back , right on time for Happy Friday…I have so many things that made me smile these past weeks that I don´t know where to start.
We landed this morning in Germany and I am fighting against falling back asleep, trying to beat jetlag by Monday. I have about 1600 pictures and a lot of stories to share (including how I met the amazing Rebecca in New York City after gathering up the courage to ask a question at the Teen Author Carnival!)
Hubby and I created new memories together, we drove more than 4000 miles passing through the US and Canada, discovering many new States, cities, beautiful roads, delicious food, meeting some of our fabulous friends or just spending time together…
I will share some of the highlights of our trip (including some pictures) in the next weeks. A comeback is always a bit bittersweet, happy to be home, to be back in a routine soon (including writing, reading and blogging ) and sad that those particular adventures are over but knowing that those new memories will become cherished ones. Plus, we might be back for a visit in the US next year.
On our way to meet friends…
On the road…
And now, tell me, what made you smile this week?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Posted by Elodie on June 8, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/happy-friday-17-wonderful-times-and-i%c2%b4m-back-d/
This month (well until my honeymoon ), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey…and today is May I tell you something about me?
On Wednesday, hubby aka The Chemical Engineer and I are going on a three-weeks honeymoon (we got married in August). We are flying into NYC, renting one of those babies (well if the renting company actually does have one):
We´re going to visit dear friends of ours and spend quality time together…we´re also going to discover new places along the road, we’re going to create new memories…We will be travelling from NYC – Maryland – Texas – Detroit – Cape Cod – NYC…
He doesn´t believe I will not be blogging while on the road but I most probably won´t (I may pop up on Twitter from times to times though but pshhhh…)..so:
See you soon! A bientôt! Bis Bald!
Posted by Elodie on May 15, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/i%c2%b4ll-be-back/
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Hubby and I spent in France with my family and it was GREAT I have so many happy news that I want to share with you that I have to make a list
Yay!
My mom makes the most beautiful tables doesn´t she? Today, after a delicious brunch prepared by my mom and saying goodbye, we headed back to Germany. I may be turning 31 this year but leaving France is always a tad difficult …On our way back we stopped at Hooters, because well, we love wings! 
Plus it will be after we drive more than 4000 miles around the US so I think we´ll be ready to settle in and really relax for a few days. After Cape Cod, we´ll be off to NYC and watching this:How was your weekend?
Posted by Elodie on April 9, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/monday-smiles/
This month, the YA Book Club (brainchild of the wonderful Tracey) is discussing WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard. I´ll try not be too spoilery (yes, I´m making up words – I´m all for creativity!) for those of you who may not have read it.
WANDERLOVE: It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond?
No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.
I immersed myself in the story quite fast, after a few pages I was already “in” and I really enjoyed reading Bria´s adventure. The swoony elements were…well…SWOONY and I could feel her emotions. Always a wonderful plus in my book!
I re-read the ending several times and there are certain passages which made me react this way:
I did try to look a tad more inspired when I nodded though (promise), especially at this excerpt (and what better way to have the author actually read it for us – thanks for the magic of the internet and youtube):
This excerpt resonated in me. I left France when I just turned 19. Left my country, my family for an entire year to live with an American family and to take care of children. I thought I could maybe “reinvent” myself. Nobody knew me there, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I ended up pretty much staying who I already was but I did grow up a lot during that year…
The main reason why I truly enjoyed this story (apart from the swoony bits) is the self-discovery part and for me it could have happened anywhere in the world. She could have been in a resort instead of backpacking and still go through the same emotions.
Having said that, I did really like how Kirsten enabled us to “see” the places Bria went to…I could visualize them and “feel” the water. I virtually traveled with all of them and for that I´m very grateful!
So tell me: what did you think of WANDERLOVE?
How important is the setting of a story for you in general?
Posted by Elodie on March 30, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/ya-book-club-loving-wanderlove/
If you have not entered my “I love reading” giveaway, you can still do it : You can win 2 books (up to a total of $30): one for you and one for a teenager or a child or a baby you want to share your love of books with.The giveaway is open to all countries that The Book Depository ships to. Just fill out the entry form by Friday March 16th.
Today is Road Trip Wednesday RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
This week´s topic: In honor of the release of Kirsten’s WANDERLOVE yesterday–which is amazing, by the way; get yourselves to a bookstore if you haven’t!–we bring you a travel-themed RTW prompt today! If you could wander anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?
If you´re planning on reading WANDERLOVE soon, you should join in Tracey´s wonderful YA Book Club as it is the pick for March
Now, onto the question…where would I go?
A castle about 25 minutes away from my small village
First I would not go alone, I´d take my hubby with me
We would go to my “home” in France. It is pretty. It´s a small village an hour north from Paris, it does have beautiful landmarks around it (see example above) but the reason why I would wander there is simple: we´d spend time with my family, have coffee at my grandmother´s, have breakfast with my parents, go to the movies with my sisters and brother-in-law, spend time with my niece and nephew…see my aunts, give a call to my friends…maybe even pass by my old High school to go visit the teacher who influenced my love for languages.
We would also wander back to the US, again to visit our dear friends…
Now, if we´re talking about a place I´d like to visit: Italy…I´d like to see for Tuscany, Rome, Pompeii…
Tuscany - Sunset (thank you Microsoft Clip)
Where would YOU go?
Posted by Elodie on March 14, 2012
http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/where-would-you-go/
