Jesus

Change. It's something I'm not particularly fond of, yet it's necessary. I know that things have to move forward and I love so many of the new aspects of my life. I'm going to begin documenting what brings me joy. Embracing the change.

jesus

his word

my husband

my littles

community

research

zfinding a good deal

subscription boxes

a good meal

reading

a new restaurant

a new experience

an old friend

an old memory

Au revoir Paris

As Caleb and I get ready to embark on our next adventure in Italy, I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on my month in Paris. It's been wonderful. Now that the others have left, it does feel a bit lonely. Thanks for the good times my friends! See you back in Chi-town!

Things I don't want to leave:

• Fromage - endless options!
• Baguette, baguette, baguette!
• Crepes: especially those with coconut & Nutella
• Rich history in a city with many architectural gems
• Picnics on the River Seine
• Beautiful and extravagant chateaux where we imagined what life was like and actually owning one! I think my favorite was Chenonceau - fantastic kitchens!
• Croissant aux amandes
• Rue Xavier Privas - our humble abode
• Exploring
• Bastille Day - the most fantastic fireworks display I have ever seen!
• Les Papilles - the most amazing restaurant in the city ( that we could afford ). Wonderful daily menu, served family style.
• The gardens - loved sitting, picnicking, and people watching.
• Tours - bike tours, walking tours, and boat cruises were so informative and fun!
• The museums - I found most of them to be fantastic!
• As you can see, it's probably a good thing I am leaving. Food takes up most of my list!
  

I am happy to leave behind:

• Smoking - it seems they have not heard of lung cancer over here. All the cool kids do it.
• Metro - although this is incredibly convenient, it is also trés chaude or EXTREMELY hot. Will not miss sweating on the train.
• The smell of urine - by the river, on the metro, in the metro stations, random places while walking. It seems it is not a faux pas to conveniently pee wherever your little heart desires. Jaime has pictures to prove it!
• Paying for gas - as Americans, we do not have the appropriate chip in our credit cards to make them useful in Europe. Filling our rental car with gas proved to be a nightmare. We could not rent bikes and many other small inconveniences just because we are from the US. Oh well. What's a few extra euros?
• Renting a car in Paris - apparently, getting to work at the scheduled time is an inconvenience. Very bizarre.... almost axed our Loire Valley excursion. Luckily we are patient!
• Cutting in line - this is how everyone gets things done. Very frustrating for us as polite Americans who spoke very little French! :)
• Tourist food - it seems to abound in our neighborhood. This encouraged wandering around other neighborhoods looking for good food.

Randoms

It's been quite some time since I have updated this blog here in Paris... so here are some random photos taken during several days of sightseeing. My computer is no longer allowing me to store pictures... it's an old one and I have made good use of all it's memory.

I love all the cute cafes!

Vineyard at Jardin des Plantes. Incredible gardens growing almost everything you could imagine!

Jardin du Luxembourg

Jardin du Luxembourg. Looks a bit overcast. No rain!

The Cluny Museum - A Roman/Medieval Experience
These are old pieces from Notre Dame.

An old Roman collosseum...not much left here.

Catacombs

Today was extremely hot and sunny so we decided to try something that would keep us cool. Look at your own risk!





Bizarre right? They decided to make this artwork...it's a museum now. We found that out when they told us, "This is not a playground. It's a museum. Please be quiet." The guy jumped right out of a dark corner. Over 600,000 Parisians are located in this catacomb. They emptied all the cemeteries in the 1800s because of disease. Creates a rather gruesome sight today.

Back to Paris

Today we finished our Amsterdam trip. We got to see the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Museum, and we also had a wonderful lunch at a place called Homemade. It was nice to eat fresh fruits and veggies! Jaime and I wandered around for a bit until we headed back to the train station. "Harry" was our driver back to the station and our luggage added extra kilograms. He definitely got a good workout! I can still see his hair blowing in the breeze.

Amsterdam Day 2

Another bike tour! We had so much fun checking out the sights and sounds of Amsterdam riding bikes with about 30 other people. It was rather insane trying to keep everyone together, but in the end no one was lost or damaged during the tour. They say there are well of 600,000 bikes in the city and they can be seen everywhere. They also say that every year they have to clear the canals of bikes that are thrown in and the number is staggering.... 40,000 bikes a year. The city refurbishes them and then sells them back to locals.

Amsterdam