It Only Took Me a Month..

Our amazing view at Cafe de L'homme the night before we left

The amazing macaroon store Steven told me about from his internship in Paris

If only...

A Longchamp! Thanks Sarah and Nikki!

After a wonderful year!

Birthday Dinner

Rowing the boat at Versailles

Garden jumping picture

Real Cordon Bleu students

We hiked all the way up here and it was so lame!

All.our.luggage.

...to put up the pictures and blog from Paris!

The gals and I spent our last few glorious days in France in the city of light and love. We adore Paris, and for all three of us it was the umpteenth time we'd been there this year.

There were so many things to celebrate in Paris. The end of the most wonderful year abroad, and of course, my 23rd birthday!

Packing and leaving Aix was an emotional experience and we certainly felt the effects as we stuffed (and I mean STUFFED) our suitcases during the week preceding our TGV train trip that would high-speed us to Paris.

I chose to spend my birthday at Versailles. I love the palace, and the darling town that surrounds it. I knew that it would be gorgeous in the weeks before summer, and biking through the gardens would be an experience to remember.

Sarah, Nikki and I jumped on the RER the morning of the anniversary of my birth and headed straight for the gardens at the castle. We rented our cruiser bikes and worked those pedals for nearly 2 hours. It.was.so.fun.

The sun was shining and it was so liberating to know that our classes were over and we had the whole glorious summer lingering ahead to transition us back into real life.

We even took out a paddle boat..something I've always wanted to do!

Our trip to Paris was three days where the world stood still. I like to imagine it now as sacred and protected by our three free spirits untouchable optimism.

The thing about Paris is that it never gets old. Samuel Jackson once said, "when you're tired of London, you're tired of life", and that's exactly how I feel about Paris.

Each and every time my train speeds into Gare de Lyon, I feel a sense of familiarity and overwhelming gratitude for this city that makes me appreciate the beauty of the world, especially Europe.

Paris made me love France, and I will never forget emerging from the train station doors and seeing the apartment buildings with the grey-stone architecture and black metal balcony banisters so classic to Parisian style.

It may seem dramatic, but as the weeks have passed here at home, I sometimes feel a sharp stab of terrible homesickness for Paris. Though Aix-en-Provence was my home for those 9 months, Paris will always be my vision of France.