A Waking Dream

My Dad, Sister and Kim left early Sunday morning. I was sad to see them go; their trip went by way too fast.
We took the first few days easy while they adjusted to the time change by staying close to home and exploring my neighborhood. We did go on Friday to Trocedaro that has a famous view of the Eiffel Tower and took some shots; including a "Wear in the World" Blazer t-shirt photo with the Eiffel Tower behind us. I sent in two photos with the hope of them being shown during one of the next Blazers games!

On Saturday, my sister and Kim went to Salvokia for four days to visit a friend of theirs who studied abroad at their high school last year. So it was just me and my dad left to explore the city. We were going to try and go to the Loire Valley on Saturday after dropping the girls off at the airport but were exhausted from our five a.m. wake up call and fell asleep for a few hours instead. We ended up going for a tour around the out laying country side around Paris and saw a few Chateaux and an Abby. The Abby was by far my favorite!

For some reason it reminded me of the secret garden and I kept expecting to find a half hidden door behind some ivy.
I took tons of pictures and even imagined having my wedding there...unfortunately, my fiance seems to think that the Abbaye des Vaulx de Cernay is too far for our friends and family to travel. So I spent that afternoon day dreaming and wandering through the green gardens taking photos.


We spent a leisurely Sunday walking through the Jardin de Tuileries starting from the Louvre and going to le Grand Palais. We even stopped to cross the kissing bridge so I could show my dad the spot where Nick proposed.

On our walk, we came across several artists selling their paintings along the river. My dad found one artist in particular that he liked and bought several paintings. We ended our walk at a cafe called Chez Francis that had a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower, and enjoyed some Pierre and home made ice cream.

On Monday, my dad came with me to school to experience the joy of teaching English in a foreign country! We got there and turned out our first class was canceled...of course..so we walked around the little town looking for something to do for an hour and a half. We got back and taught for a half an hour and then found out that the last class was also canceled. So it was back to Paris after a three hour commute for a half an hour class. Oh the joys of being an English assistant. On a positive note they did inform that they would be on strike the next day and I had the day off (yippie)!

Another Fastforward

I know I had another drop off the face-of-the-blogging-world, So I'm going to do a quick catch up (plus try to blog regularly for the next month)!

When I came back from Christmas break, I wrote a few blogs but
really didn't have much positive things to say. I was close to a breaking point and really wanted to return to the states. So instead of blogging about it, I decided to just power through and focus on spending time with my room mates and distracting myself from being desperately homesick...until my next trip home.

My mom was a big support in helping me through the first week back, plus some. I had horrible jet lag and was sick, which made it unable for me to sleep the first four nights back (even with a double the dose of sleeping pills). My mom sat with me for hours on the phone keeping me calm and trying to talk me to sleep. After a week of talking at all hours of the night/day and across the cont, she decided to come visit me in early February and celebrate her birthday here.

So, Mommy saved the day and came to spend eight whole days with me. We had a lovely, lovely time together. We stayed in a hotel a few blocks from the Arc de Triomphe that was close to the train station to my work; we had wonderful French dinners together and shared a glass of wine at each meal; we warmed up over several café viennois; we read four books together and watched Friends laughing late into the night; and we spent a day in Reims and a relaxing weekend in Tours. We survived the bone chilling wind, a random snow storm and the gray skies. We learned through those chilly days that a little sunshine and blue skies transforms Paris into the magic city we all love and dream of.

It was the perfect mother, daughter trip. She brought home to me and helped me make it through the last dreary days of winter.

A week after my mom left, I got to go home for another school break and spend some much needed time with my fiance. While I was back in Portland, we were able to find the location for our wedding (Oh la chance!!), go snowboarding, celebrate my friends birthday, have dinners with family and friends, and go to a Blazers game! A wonderful two weeks.

Again, I found myself dragging my feet to leave again, but I'm very glad I did (many thanks to my very supportive fiance and family), because I've learned a great deal about myself and inner strength. Many people won't be able to understand why living in Paris is so much more than the glamor of it all but a challenge, but I'll know how much I've concord and grown from the experience. I know I can achieve anything now, and that is priceless to have full confidence in oneself.

A Dream Realized

My whole love for Paris and everything French originated from a book my Dad used to read to me called "This is Paris." It was my Dad who got me interested in the architecture in Paris and led to my desire to learn the language. My Dad and I weren't that close when I was growing up, and I had always dreamed of coming to Paris with him and exploring the streets we used to read about together.

Today I realized that dream. I picked my Dad and Sister up from the airport around 7:30 this morning. Originally, I wasn't supposed to be here because we had a scheduling error and I was going to be in Dublin, Ireland for St. Patty's day when they arrived. I decided to stay and see them instead, and it was worth every penny.

They've only been here for a few hours, and are currently napping, but I couldn't be happier and can't wait to take them for a walk around my neighborhood, La place de la Bastille, and show them the life I've been living here for the last six months.