My last day in Paris

This was it.

My official last day of my study abroad in Paris. My flight back to the US was taking off in less than 24 hours so I had one last morning, one last lunchtime, one last dinner, and one last night of sleep before it was all over.

I know this sounds slightly depressing and like I'm expecting to never return to Paris for the rest of my life (completely untrue). But it FELT like that. I was focused all day on trying to burn every remaining feeling into my memory. I have pictures to remind me of the sights, but to me, it was the feeling of living in Paris and being familiar with certain parts which I wanted to remember the most.

First, I had to take care of the packing and moving out of my apartment. My landlord wanted me out a day early so he could move in a new tenant (don't worry, I had a couch to sleep on at Monica's place). I cleaned up everything I could, shipped off my winter clothes to my house (it most definitely would not fit into my luggage), and around lunchtime I met Monica and Catalina for some very delicious pizza near my (now old) apartment.

The next big task was moving my bags to Monica's place across Paris so I could stay the night there. There was no way we were taking the metro for this. My two bags were the size and weight of dairy cows so I opted for a taxi, and it was totally worth it because seeing Paris by car is actually quite beautiful. Anyway, after a lot of struggle and very fatigued hands from gripping the bag handles, we made it to Monica's. By this time, the hard part of my day was over and I was dead tired from it all (my previous paragraphs about how difficult it was to accomplish everything I did really don't do me justice). Monica and Catalina went out for some last minute shopping while I stayed behind and napped for an hour or so. Then Mariel (our friend from Mexico) came over and that's when the reminiscing began...

I wanted to get a few candid photos of us all talking as a group, so I set up my camera on a chair and put it on a timer for a while- the result is a slide show of pictures showing what we all look like when we're just relaxing and having good conversation...

From the left: me, Mariel, and Monica.

Catalina joined us on the right.

I really like photos like these- ones of real life where no one is posing.




But posing isn't so bad sometimes...

It hasn't been that long and I already miss Mariel! She's one of the few people I know who can be the life of the party and make you feel so close as her friend at the same time.

And we couldn't leave Paris without seeing the Tower one more time!

After dark, we brought some wine, cheese, baguettes, and made a little picnic in Champs de Mars, the green space right next to the Eiffel Tower, and Monica's roommate, Nicole, and her friend joined us too.

During our picnic, we all decided to help Monica fulfill one of her promises to a friend back home. She had to take a picture looking as French as possible- meaning she dressed up in a beret and held a bottle of wine, a baguette, and a cigarette in her hand while standing in front of the Eiffel Tower (we bought all the accessories earlier that day).

Here's a video of us all teaming up to make this picture possible...



Obviously, there were Frenchies all around us laughing at the "silly tourists who think they're French"... but we were well aware of how crazy we looked and it only made it funnier! I personally thought it was a bit ironic- here we all are, students who have been living in Paris for almost a year, and some of our last pictures of Paris involve major stereotypes about French people (ha ha). But then again, what better way to conclude an experience like this one than with a big fat joke?

We obviously couldn't stay out too late since both Monica and I had flights the next day, so the time came (too soon) that we had to go back to get some sleep. Of course, we all cried and said long, over-emotional goodbyes to the Tower and Paris and each other.

And the next morning, I was flying home.

Au revoir, Paris, and bisous XOXO!!

So am I Parisian yet?

By this time, the airport anxiety was setting in. By airport anxiety, I mean all the small worries that come from airports and flying back home after several months of being away. How would I get all my stuff back home without going over the baggage weight limit and end up paying a huge fee? Should I take a taxi to the airport? What if my flight is canceled? Did I pack my soup ladle? (I actually did forget that one... damn.)

To take my mind off the airport stresses, I met up with a friend of mine from Georgia Tech who was studying in Paris for a summer in the architecture program they have here. I've known Olivia since my freshman year of college, and it was definitely entertaining catching up with her as we picnicked in the Bastille by one of the canals. One thing about Olivia is that she loves to travel as much as I do, so I wasn't surprised to hear that she had already been practically all over Europe this summer, and would continue her travels every weekend until she had to go back home.

In return for her helping me relax about my own trip to the US, I showed her around my neighborhood and gave her a ton of tips about places to go in Paris for anything from buying a fabulous top for less than 10 euros to where to party on a Saturday night.

It was then that I realized how much I've learned about this city.

If I can go on for an hour or so explaining what to do in Paris, does that make me sort of Parisian?

Well, I don't smoke, I don't know everything about French wine, and I actually do enjoy a good workout. So I guess not.

But I absolutely love good bread, I did admittedly attempt to copy the Parisian fashion, and I did claim to be tired a few times (I can't tell you how often I've heard "Je suis fatigué" since I've been here).

So maybe I do have a claim to this city. I guess it just depends on my mood and who I'm talking to.

Bisous XOXO

From mimes in Montmartre to picnics on ponts...

It was my last Sunday in Paris, and before I left, I HAD to see a mass in Sacré Coeur. It's one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Paris, one of the most well-known, and it's on top of an enormous hill in the Montmartre quarter, making it, in my opinion, the best view of the city.

This was my way to say my farewells to everything at once, so to speak.

I took the Metro to Montmartre and walked up the thigh-muscle-burning hills to get to the church and meet Monica and Catalina before the mass started.





We weren't the only ones dressed in our Sunday best. Check out this very posh lady (the one in black and white)- even in Paris she stood out.




So I went to mass! I was actually surprised by how small the service was. There were maybe 100 people in the pews, and for such a large church, this number only made the ceremony seem empty. Plus, we were outnumbered by tourists. They had to keep to the sides of the cathedral and they weren't allowed to speak or take pictures during the mass. Honestly, it was a little eerie trying to focus on the service while there is a constant flow of people circling you, staring attentively, curious to see how Parisian Catholics behave. But before we knew it the mass was over and we were on to visiting the rest of Montmartre around the church.






As I've said before, Montmartre is basically the artist's part of Paris. Almost anywhere you go, there will be someone there who is capable of sketching a decent portrait of you or your friend, usually depending on who is the girl in your group or who looks the most likely to buy a portrait. Yes, these talented artists are mainly there for the tourists, but to me it's still very charming.





The nice thing about the tourism is that the area really comes alive to accommodate them all. They set up more outdoor seating for the cafes, there were more artists walking around, more music... it was worth the crowds just to see Paris so lively.

And look how adorable the waiters are! I don't care if it's cliché, it's cute. :)

And oh my god, I found a mime.

It's actually a cute little story: on this particular day, Paris was sweltering, so when I saw this mime performing his act with his white makeup forming sweaty droplets on is forehead, my heart went out to the guy and I decided to use my fan (that I bought in Barcelona a while back and that I still use to cool myself on hot days and look fabulous doing it) to bring a bit of cooling relief to him too. The mime, in his 'mime language', expressed his gratitude by engaging me in a silent flirtation. I was twirled...

I had sweet nothings silently whispered in my ear...

I was silently kissed... (ok not quite- he couldn't ruin his already melting makeup!)...

And I was flattered to no end. It was absolutely amazing! What better experience than to engage in a silent fliration with a mime in Paris?

Then we all bought some gelato to cool off a bit more. There is probably nothing more refreshing than gelato on a hot day, and yes it was all gone before you can say "I'm sweating." By the way, that skirt Monica was wearing is cute, isn't it? :)

How about some pictures on the famous Montmartre steps?

Some artsiness in a artsy quarter.

Monica's sister is so precious!

We ended up walking around Montmartre for most of the morning and afternoon, so by the time we had seen everything one final time, we were all pretty hungry. We went to this Chinese restaurant by my apartment and ate outside watching the busy Parisians racing by.

Then, we bought nutella crepes and brought them back to my apartment to enjoy some dessert with tea (it was imperative to eat at least something totally French).

Preparing the tea on my stove.

Dividing up the crepes. And yes, it was so very good.

Later that night, our friend Alejandra was hosting a small get-together at her apartment by the Jardin de Luxembourg for all of us who were leaving Paris soon, including herself.

The next part involves Pont des Arts! I've already mentioned this bridge before, but it's been a while so here's a recap: there is a bridge in the center of the city called Pont des Arts. It's a pedestrian bridge, and it's where all the young Parisians go to have picnics. Most of the time, these picnics are purely for drinking (Parisians and wine go together like cheese and crackers), but don't let this fool you into thinking that this bridge is like a bar late at night... people bring guitars to serenade other pedestrians, there are couples sharing romantic moments, and sometimes even artists humbly sell their work to passers-by. My friends have been there several times for picnics. I have not (I know, what's wrong with me???). So on this night, when Alejandra and everyone decided to go for one last picnic, you can imagine how elated I was.



It was just as I imagined- we all huddled around on the ground with our 'picnic' and reminisced about the past year.

Hanging with the girls!

Me and Monica wanted to lay down on the bridge to get the full effect.

Then we left Pont des Arts to go to another bridge. And we stayed on that new bridge until sunrise. Until sunrise! I know it seems like a ridiculous thing to do for those of us who cherish our full nights of sleep, but honestly, it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Even the small parts about it, such as listening to Catalina's ipod with impromptu dancing as a good reggaeton song came on (we were attached by the ears with one headphone for her and one for me), running off the bridge to find a bush when we realized the effects of too much crème de cassis on our bladders, and jumping up and down to stay warm over the Seine. It was fabulous! It was like a dream! Really, it was like a romance with the city. I don't know any other way to explain it. If you've seen Paris, Je t'aime, it's kind of like that. Like realizing that you can love a city the same way you love a person. I just feel lucky to know how it feels to love both.

And like a true lover, Paris gave me the courtesy of a bike ride home. I hopped on a Velib', got back to my apartment, and fell fast asleep until the next afternoon.

Bisous XOXO

Ending Paris... with style

Day 2 of our adventures with Catalina began with a little bit of shopping! Of course, we wanted to get some summer clothes from Paris while we still had the chance, and it was the perfect time to go shopping since almost every store was having their summer sales. I managed to find 2 super chic tops at Zara and Promod for under 10 euros each! :D




After the shopping, we met up with Nicole and her friend visiting from Canada to eat at a gourmet crêpe restaurant.





It was amazing... it's a crêperie, which is French for all we serve here is crêpes, and the one I ordered came filled with goat cheese, honey, and walnuts!

Monica, Nicole's friend, and Nicole! I loved the restaurant decor, too. It looked like an old artisan crêpe shop.

And it came with a cute waiter! Catalina tried several times to get a picture of him and finally managed to get this shot with Monica doing an awkward job at pretending to be the subject of the picture. The 20 minutes we spent trying to sneak pictures of this random guy made my day... it still makes me laugh just typing this, ha ha...



Then we all went to Versailles! I had seen this advertisement for Versailles in the Metro stations about fireworks shows happening on Saturdays during the summer, and we thought it would be a wonderful outing for Catalina while she was in Paris. So here's everyone waiting for the RER to go to Versailles! From the right: me, Catalina, Monica, Nicole, Nicole's friend from Canada, Moni's friend Anka, and Anka's boyfriend. I love big group outings!

In Versailles now and walking to the château.

Fabulous Versailles architecture along the way.

We made it to the château just as the sun was setting.

Now that it's summer, the gardens were amazing! When we arrived at the ticket booth, we found out that the visit included access to all the fountains, which were lit up in beautiful colors, and the fireworks show after nightfall.




I've never seen Versailles look so beautiful. I felt like I was experiencing something truly special that night.




Everything was glowing, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, so we could see very shade of the sunset.

The icing on the cake...there was classical music playing all around us!

I was so glad to be able to share this experience with people I love!

Adorable! They seem like such great sisters to each other.

And Moni's like family to me! :)

Versailles is so much better when the fountains are running. I remember coming at the beginning of the year during the winter when everything was covered with tarps and turned off, and it just doesn't compare.




They also had bubble machines everywhere for the kids to run around in! I couldn't help but run around in them too. :)




This had to be my favorite fountain that we saw. When you enter this section of the gardens, it looks like a glowing amphitheater where the seats are actually part of the fountain, and the water cascades down its sides. There was fog everywhere, too, so as you walk by it, you feel like you've just stepped into a mystical lair. Amazing.




Then, the announcement came telling everyone to grab a seat and get ready to watch the fireworks!

Four girls ready to watch the show!

The show was absolutely beautiful! They timed the fireworks to play with classical music, and I was amazed by what I saw. I took several clips of the show so I could post them here for you to see too. Enjoy!











Magnifique! It felt like a beautiful finale to my study abroad experience.



We came back to Paris right after the show ended, and while everyone else went home, Monica, Cata and I went to the Eiffel Tower for a midnight picnic and a little Tower light show!

This was Catalina's first time seeing the Tower!

I'm still amazed when I see it.

Before we went to Versailles, we bought all of our goodies for our picnic: peaches, chocolate, and a big bottle of sangria! :)




We even got the chocolates with liquor inside (those are probably my favorite). And since there was liquor, we had to make a toast!




Here's a video that Catalina took of us enjoying our picnic and watching the light show (half of it is in Spanish, but don't worry, they're just describing the scenery..."Here we are at the Eiffel Tower blah blah...":




Like I said, I felt like this day was a kind of grand finale to my study abroad experience... if you're going to leave a place like Paris, you might as well leave with a bang.

Bisous XOXO

Spontaneous adventures from a club to a bike

I finally met Monica's little sister!

Monica has been talking about her sister Catalina so much the past year so I couldn't help but be excited to meet her. And she's adorable! She's like a smaller version of Monica- smart, gorgeous, and she has such a high spirit that it's very difficult to not enjoy her company. :D





The night I met Catalina, we decided to take her out for a night on the town in Paris. Our plan was to go to this très chic nightclub that Moni and I go to often called The VIP Room, where a lot of very famous people tend to party in Paris (one time I was there I met a Mexican singer/actress! She was really nice to us and even invited us to come party with her in the VIP section!).

So here we are in the pictures getting ready for our night. Monica's roommate, Nicole, came out with us, and another friend, Anka, was going to come out but changed her mind last minute.

Moni and Cata! They're so cute together. :D

This is how we wait for trains to come in the Metro.

We didn't realize until we got to the VIP Room that they were having a private party and wouldn't let anyone in unless they had a name on the list (grrrrr), but since it was a Friday night, we decided to walk around the area to try to find another club.

We followed the Michael Jackson music being blasted around the corner (this was during the very first stages of the Parisian mourning process) and ended up in front of Maxim's. We found out later that it's one of the most famous and most exclusive restaurant/clubs in Paris, and that you usually can't even see inside its hallways unless you have an invitation to do so. But as we were standing around trying to figure out if they had a cover charge, one of the guys smoking by the door invited us all to come in!





So here we are, jamming out to Michael Jackson! We realized as we entered that Maxim's is also a gay bar (or at least on this night it was). It became pretty obvious once we noticed the men twirling around with feather boas and more glitter than Liberacci.

We didn't stay long since it was incredibly hot inside the club and all our make-up was melting off, and Nicole went to stay with her boyfriend who lives near the club, so it was just me, Moni, and Catalina left to figure out how to get home.

But then I remembered the Velib's...the Parisian biking system with stations all over the city! It was the perfect way to get back to Monica's apartment and enjoy Paris by night along the way.


So we found a station, rented the bikes, and rode through Paris wearing skirts and heels and all.





It was definitely a unique way to get to Monica's place, and the added bonus was that we didn't have to walk anymore, which you know feels amazing after spending a whole night dancing around in heels!





On the way, we discovered Place Vendome, which is a beautiful square that looks like a grand Italian piazza with the huge open space, the connected buildings encircling it, and of course, a few high-end designer clothing stores occupying the ground floors. This is one of the main things I love about Paris- the fact that even after a year of living here I can still discover something new!

We also stopped for a group picture! (I really like this one.)

We made it back to Monica's apartment, and we all stayed up a little while longer until the Metro reopened so I could take it back to my apartment across the city to get some sleep. I love how this night started out with a plan to just go to a club, but ended up being completely spontaneous, including a very exclusive gay bar, Michael Jackson, and riding bikes through Paris in the middle of the night while half the city is dead asleep (only half since it was a Friday night!). Pas mal. :)

Bisous XOXO