au revoir :(

all of the other assistant blogs i've been following this year have started posting their last goodbyes, so as much as i've wanted to put it off i guess its about time. 

classic

i'm thinking of starting another blog, because i've loved sharing my travel experiences here in Europe so much...but will there be enough to write about in Connecticut?

so much love

anyways, thank you to everyone who has read this the past year! i cannot, seriously cannot, believe that it's over. the whole year went by faster than i could have imagined! 

paris

i started typing this up back in march, so let's get sentimental:

- Stuff I can bring back with me to USA: un carafe d’eau, wine jug/pichet/carafe on table, tables set nicely, cheese course at end of meal, apertif (vermouth, champagne, fino, sherry and any still, dry, light white wine), amuse-bouche (crackers, cheese, pâté or olives), digestif/café, the word “truc”, saying bon appétit before eating a meal, never leaving the house in sweats or dressed sloppily unless i'm going to the gym, walking a lot, shopping every couple days & not doing one huge trip, eating fresh produce, frequenting the farmers market...

colors in nice

- Things I wish I could take back to the USA: chèvre, macarons, quality red wine for only a few euros, regional foods & wines, daily fresh food market only a 5 minute walk away, sunny winters, daily exposure to the French language, the French train system (even with it’s occasional irregularities), 2 hour lunches, faire la bise (the cheek-kissing greeting), old French men playing pétanque in les jardins, all my friends, & the constant challenge of listening to and speaking French...

french & food

-Things I won’t miss about France: the dog poop on the streets, massive amounts of smokers, having to figure out whether to use “tu” or “vous” with a person, lack of cozy café/bookshops where it’s not crazy to take out a laptop & get some work done aaand that's about it!

garden picnics & friends

lots of love & bises :)

the last leg of a life-changing journey

from washington d.c.....

"the hill after the hill"

KKG (and good ole lincoln)

bigger is better = america

... and back to chicago for some summertime chi

beaches

skyscrapers

bises

our nations capital

traveling lives on! 

i'm in america & it all feels familiar and foreign at the same time. it's very very strange. 

after a relatively uneventful flight from paris to iceland to new york, mk and i had a bit of a time getting from baggage to our hotel (various obstacles). funny how even when you're in your country and everyone speaks your language things can still go wrong. 

things i've noticed: everything really is bigger. houses, starbucks cups, yards, food supplies, cars, streets, trees...some people. the american accent isn't as grating when you're only listening to american accents. dollar bills are light. and one color. and a little bit boring. skippy peanut butter is fantastic, especially with pretzels. driving around again after 8 months came naturally & i know how to whiz around a roundabout now. people smile a lot. it's weird being able to understand everyones conversations again without having to work at it. 

i'm in dc now visiting family & friends & absolutely loving it. this was the perfect stop-over and i'm very grateful for the time i get to spend with my cousins, aunt & uncle as well as seeing some college friends in their new dc lives. 

i miss french. a lot. mk & i came into the same terminal etc that we left from so coming back was suuuupeer weird. like we were only leaving yesterday or none of this really happened. i swing between being incredibly sad to have left europe & being content being back. looking forward to being a bit of a tourist in my own country on sunday with friends! 

bises

henry miller

america is my country and paris is my hometown

i have had two wonderful days in paris

i stayed three nights, each one with a different friend

first in malakoff with an american couple who have lived here for 25 years, she teaches english and he's an engineer. they raised their kids in paris and now have dual citizenship. i definitely consider them to be an inspiration.

my first full day in paris: breakfast in malakoff, dropped my stuff off at my home for the next night, and then off around town! walked nearly the whole blvd st germain, classy classy place that blvd. had lunch at a little brasserie, ordered my favorite salad (chevre) but it wasn't nearly as good as the ones i had down south. 

weird bike event, nearly a thousand bikers went by, taking up the whole street.

everyone was dressed up! berets, baguettes, dresses, suspenders...no clue what it was for but fun to see!

then continued walking (think i walked for over an hour)

made it to les invalides, surprisingly gorgeous!

then musée rodin

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_Rodin)

sculptures, gardens, roses, and i met an old couple from new york city on a garden bench and chatted with them awhile about paris, nyc, art

then canal st martin!

cute little canal on the right bank kinda north of the bastille

everyone was lounging outside since it was like 16 degrees (celcius)

cute bridges across the canal with quite the view - it was killing me that i have no camera!

walk along the seine...the crowds were overwhelming though so soon left that for odéon area. succumbed to starbucks and read for awhile

montparnasse area

luxembourg gardens for near-sunset!

anthony's at la place

nice dinner in and a little how i met your mother before bed

arrived at carly's this morning around 9:30 to drop off my stuff

we shopped a bit near l'opéra

then walked all the way to le marais neighborhood for a delicious falafel lunch!

ate outside in a little garden of the national library

we then split and i made my way to jardin des tulieries, walked around a bit

musée de l'orangerie! 

museum of monet, paul guillaume, rousseau, modigliani, laurencin, matisse, picasso, derain, utrillo & soutine

now my favorite musuem in paris...all of the paintings were impressive, lots of information, and a beautiful space. 

walked to the seine and took a seat on the side of the river in the sun to read & soak in the beauty for awhile

back to l'opéra and then carly's!

now resting a bit before we all go out for my last (tear) dinner in france/europe. 

à plus tard!

bises

Scotland, Paris, Montpellier, Perpignan, Nimes, Paris!

Well, after a fantastic 10 days in scotland I really wasnt ready to get on a plane back to france. since ive got no camera there are no pictures at the moment so ill just catch up with writing! first off - im on a french laptop and their keyboards are different so this is slow-going. second - WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!? I am in Paris, have two days left in this fantastic country and on this inspiring continent. seriously, has it already been a year since college graduation? a full 8 months of european glory? 


this is going to be a bit random of a post because i am far behind in updates, mostly due to the fact that i left my computer with my luggage in paris over two weeks ago. bit harder to work on blog posts. 


anyhow lets try to catch up:
april 27th sarah and i left nimes to take the TGV up to paris, dropped off my luggage at carlys, hung out in the jardin des tulieries, and then hiked it over to beauvais airport. fun fact: we took every form of transportation that day except a boat.
arrived in edinburgh and did all sorts of fab things in scotland for 10 days. i dont have pictures, so ill just do a quick blurb. scotland is FANTASTIC. edinburgh museums, bus tour, park, sun. glasgow night out. whiskey tour. philliben family bonding. walking their adorable dog buddy in the park. stirling castle. runs around the university campus lake. fish n chips. lots and lots of love for that country and family for hosting me twice!


(beginning of photoshoot...)


PARIS!!

chillin'

may 6th: depart glasgow prestwick for paris beauvais. cried a little in airport upon leaving sarah and scotland. arrived in paris and greeted by asia and her friend! hollande elected president, paris is going crazy with parties.
may 7th: photoshoot with asia in jardin des tulieries..... :)

loooove her!

voyager c'est vivre

yes, that is the louvre behind me

so that was a fantastic morning, and then i took the train south! montpellier is where i spent the next 4 nights. did a day trip to perpignan, very cool city.
shall do a post just on that plus tard. 
may 11: surprise! back to nimes for a night!
may 12: parisparisparis. made a lovely friend on the TGV ride up from nimes. retired french man who worked in milwaukee for 4 years so knew evanston! such a small world. anyways, we talked geography, history, french culture...it was a perfect last trip up to paris.


and that brings us to today! i am spending all day today and tomorrow around paris. i am getting a late start today because of this post, but figured i was way behind on this blog and wanted to give you all a little update. more to come either tonight or tomorrow!!


bises