Saturday has officially become our day of exploration--Andréa, Momo, and I. Though today, we had Chris and Alicia join us for once. They normally decline our invitations. We had planned on going to a giant garden maze originally, but the weather in that area was a bit too gloom for the guys' tastes so they suggested a bird zoo in Hyères instead. I'm obviously down for whatever as long as I get to experience something new.
The drive normally takes about 45 minutes but Momo gave Andréa one single bad direction that added about an hour to the trip. Andréa, Momo, and I thought it was kind of funny that the next exit was more than 30 minutes away. Chris was following us with Alicia in his car and hates doing too much driving so he wasn't too happy. He was still able to laugh it off afterward.
The five of us finally found our way to Hyères and stopped at a small grocery store for some snacks. We all inhaled our meals in the cars. Lunch was about two hours late so we were starving. When we got to the zoological garden there was no one there so we were excited about being able to enjoy the park without too much interference. The park was a combination of a bird zoo and a plant garden so everything was very picturesque. It wasn't very big though, and there wasn't very much variety so we took pictures of the same birds over and over again. There were mostly different variations of hornbeaks and a few primates. For a 10 euro entrance fee, you'd expect a bit more than that. It took us about an hour and a half to make it through the entire park, walking slower than a leisurely pace, and sitting down for extended periods of time. The bird garden was kind of boring but at least now I can say I saw it. Plus, I got to see a whole new town and way of life! At least that was interesting...
Chris and Alicia took off back toward Marseille after the bird disaster, ha haha. Poor Chris agreed to go on this boring trip and as a result added unnecessary miles on his car, used up gas that could have been better utilized elsewhere, and paid 10 euros of unneeded tolls. I'm sure that he and Alicia will never agree to go on an outing with us again. But maybe it was fate that they miss out on all of the actual fun stuff the three of us do together. Who knows?
Andréa, Momo, and I hadn't gotten our fill of amusement yet so the two of them decided they would show me an old medieval village called Le Vieux Castellet. The entire town was built on a hilltop so it overlooks a lot of the French countryside. Vieux Castellet reminds me a lot of Eze which was another medieval village built on a high site. Just like Eze, there were also boutiques throughout the historical establishment. There was no door that didn't open to a vendor. I made a few random stops but everything was ridiculously overpriced.
The three of us finally crossed one shop that lured us in. It's called Galeiades. There were enchanting winds of perfume blowing out toward us. Yes, it smelled great, but I had planned to skip it altogether after seeing all of the price tags in the shops below. The guys suggested that I would like the store and should go in anyway, so I obliged them. Andréa and Momo were right! I fell in love with the candles and fragrances inside. All of the perfumes are made from natural essential oils which is why they smell so good, and raw. It was like you were sitting in front of a bunch of fruits and flowers. There was nothing being imitated by the scents. It was the real thing!
The shop-keeper won my heart as well! She was a sweet, mature lady full of life! Extremely enthusiastic and welcoming as well. Somehow she had time to help everyone, make testers, make sales, gift wrap, AND greet everyone that walked in. She had a high-pitched voice which would be annoying on anyone else but honestly, I think she's just the bubbly type--not the annoying sort. She seemed like she really just loves her shop. It was passion in the enthusiasm in her voice! She obviously knows how to be a successful vendor though because she totally sucked me in. She was completely involved with all of the customers in the store without being rude to anyone as she was working with them.
The vendor was orignally working with another couple--trying to help them find the right scent and as she was spraying testers for them, she sprayed them for us as well. It was then that I fell in love with two scents: Mango Passion and Peach Lychee. I bought the first spray for Andréa's apartment and the second one for Céline for Mother's Day. Momo ended up buying two scents as well, for his mother and his grandmother. The cheery saleslady packed each of our perfumes up in separate bags--even the one I bought for personal use. She hand-wrote each recipients' name on each bag in a heart and placed Mother's Day stickers on the bags meant to be given away. The kind woman then dropped an orange-scented pine cone and sweet pea petals into each bag. She finished them off with boutineers of scented leaves and mixed bouquets. The bags were absolutely perfect! I paid 13 euro for each scent and the gift-wrapping was free! I would've thought that since the shop was at the top of the village, that it would have been more expensive than all of the shops below but everything there was half the price. They were even the same items. It really just goes to show that sometimes "good things come to those who wait." ;-)
The drive normally takes about 45 minutes but Momo gave Andréa one single bad direction that added about an hour to the trip. Andréa, Momo, and I thought it was kind of funny that the next exit was more than 30 minutes away. Chris was following us with Alicia in his car and hates doing too much driving so he wasn't too happy. He was still able to laugh it off afterward.
The five of us finally found our way to Hyères and stopped at a small grocery store for some snacks. We all inhaled our meals in the cars. Lunch was about two hours late so we were starving. When we got to the zoological garden there was no one there so we were excited about being able to enjoy the park without too much interference. The park was a combination of a bird zoo and a plant garden so everything was very picturesque. It wasn't very big though, and there wasn't very much variety so we took pictures of the same birds over and over again. There were mostly different variations of hornbeaks and a few primates. For a 10 euro entrance fee, you'd expect a bit more than that. It took us about an hour and a half to make it through the entire park, walking slower than a leisurely pace, and sitting down for extended periods of time. The bird garden was kind of boring but at least now I can say I saw it. Plus, I got to see a whole new town and way of life! At least that was interesting...
Chris and Alicia took off back toward Marseille after the bird disaster, ha haha. Poor Chris agreed to go on this boring trip and as a result added unnecessary miles on his car, used up gas that could have been better utilized elsewhere, and paid 10 euros of unneeded tolls. I'm sure that he and Alicia will never agree to go on an outing with us again. But maybe it was fate that they miss out on all of the actual fun stuff the three of us do together. Who knows?
Andréa, Momo, and I hadn't gotten our fill of amusement yet so the two of them decided they would show me an old medieval village called Le Vieux Castellet. The entire town was built on a hilltop so it overlooks a lot of the French countryside. Vieux Castellet reminds me a lot of Eze which was another medieval village built on a high site. Just like Eze, there were also boutiques throughout the historical establishment. There was no door that didn't open to a vendor. I made a few random stops but everything was ridiculously overpriced.
The three of us finally crossed one shop that lured us in. It's called Galeiades. There were enchanting winds of perfume blowing out toward us. Yes, it smelled great, but I had planned to skip it altogether after seeing all of the price tags in the shops below. The guys suggested that I would like the store and should go in anyway, so I obliged them. Andréa and Momo were right! I fell in love with the candles and fragrances inside. All of the perfumes are made from natural essential oils which is why they smell so good, and raw. It was like you were sitting in front of a bunch of fruits and flowers. There was nothing being imitated by the scents. It was the real thing!
The shop-keeper won my heart as well! She was a sweet, mature lady full of life! Extremely enthusiastic and welcoming as well. Somehow she had time to help everyone, make testers, make sales, gift wrap, AND greet everyone that walked in. She had a high-pitched voice which would be annoying on anyone else but honestly, I think she's just the bubbly type--not the annoying sort. She seemed like she really just loves her shop. It was passion in the enthusiasm in her voice! She obviously knows how to be a successful vendor though because she totally sucked me in. She was completely involved with all of the customers in the store without being rude to anyone as she was working with them.
The vendor was orignally working with another couple--trying to help them find the right scent and as she was spraying testers for them, she sprayed them for us as well. It was then that I fell in love with two scents: Mango Passion and Peach Lychee. I bought the first spray for Andréa's apartment and the second one for Céline for Mother's Day. Momo ended up buying two scents as well, for his mother and his grandmother. The cheery saleslady packed each of our perfumes up in separate bags--even the one I bought for personal use. She hand-wrote each recipients' name on each bag in a heart and placed Mother's Day stickers on the bags meant to be given away. The kind woman then dropped an orange-scented pine cone and sweet pea petals into each bag. She finished them off with boutineers of scented leaves and mixed bouquets. The bags were absolutely perfect! I paid 13 euro for each scent and the gift-wrapping was free! I would've thought that since the shop was at the top of the village, that it would have been more expensive than all of the shops below but everything there was half the price. They were even the same items. It really just goes to show that sometimes "good things come to those who wait." ;-)
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