Bring out the Bucket List

Bon lundi!

Paris is a very transient city when you live here as an expat.  People constantly come and go, and while it's a joy to live here and constantly welcome new friends, I've also had to become accustomed to saying goodbye.

A close friend of mine just left Paris, and while I could write a month's worth of posts on how much I will miss her, let's focus on the positive: The bucket list. While "bucket list" means to most people "a list of things to do before you die," for any American expat in Paris it has a less tragic meaning: "The list of sights to see, food to eat, and cities to visit before returning to the United States."

That's right, I love the bucket list. It's a way to reflect on what places I love in Paris, discover new things or restaurants that have made it onto other's lists, and if I'm lucky, I get the opportunity to join a friend in checking off items on their own list before they leave.

And now that I've been left behind, the quest of completing a bucket list inspires me to focus on my own. As I mentioned, I'm staying in Paris for the month of August which gives me plenty of time to get out there and cover new ground. While I feel like I've done a decent job making the most of my time here, there is more to discover. Like this square I saw for the first time over the weekend, on my way to Bois de Vincennes. Did you know there are palm trees in Paris?!

Le square des Anciens-Combattants-d’Indochine

This week I'm going to share two activities I've been wanting to do in Paris for over a year, and now checked them off the list! 

Do you have a bucket list for things to do in/near where you live? What's on the list?

Travel Inspiration Realized

Bon lundi! 

I’m back from a trip that encompassed northern Germany, Berlin, and Prague. As expected, I came across many wonderful things: places steeped in history, beautiful architecture, and plenty of well-made beer alongside hearty meat dishes. What I wasn’t expecting were sudden connections to people who inspired me to travel.

Of course, there was the run-in with Rick Steves as he was filming one of his travel shows in Prague. I’ve used his travel guides for years now and have appreciated his mission to make travel to Europe accessible for American tourists to navigate on their own and connect with the culture and history of a place.

It was really neat to see Rick in action. But before I ever watched one of his travel shows, there was another person who inspired me with tales of travel and wanderlust. My grandma.

My grandmother made her morning coffee with a lot of zucker, just one of those little hints of her 12 previous years living in Germany. She would play home videos of her travels throughout Europe for me, giving far more detail to her adventures than Rick Steves ever could. (Not only were her videos narrated by herself on film, but sitting with her she managed to dub over herself and “double narrate” the action, which was so her style.) Seeing the windmills of the Netherlands and the cuckoo clocks from medieval Germany made Europe come to life before my eyes, and I longed to experience all these things.

I never got to travel with her to Europe, but last week my uncle took me to see the two houses where my grandparents lived for the twelve years before I was born. Suddenly and unexpectedly, I felt a connection to the independent woman I lovingly called “my adventure grandma.” She was always up to go somewhere and took me often into New York City on day trips as I was growing up. She taught me to get out and see the world, and nothing held her back or slowed her down. With something as simple as passing by her old home in Germany, I wished that I could tell her about my own adventures in Paris, following in her footsteps and forging my own path to discover Europe. 

Thanks, Grandma, for infecting me with the travel bug at a young age!

The statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen 

What or who is your travel inspiration?

Surprise Weekend

Bon lundi!

I was going to meet my husband for a quick lunch at his office on Friday. Not thinking anything of it, I arrived, he took me to drop my bag off at a table, and that's when it happened. Sitting with their backs to me were my brother, David, and his girlfriend, Carissa. Who had apparently flown in from New York City that morning to surprise me.

Given how I screamed when Michael threw me a surprise party last year, I tried not to make a scene in his workplace. (I somewhat succeeded.) I never imagined David could take off time from work again to visit me in Paris. Yet here he was, telling me that the four of us had plans to go on a weekend trip to the Loire Valley that had been completely orchestrated without me knowing a thing. Someone learned a few things from Simply Sara!

More details on our trip to follow, but here's a quick look at what the chateaus of the Loire look like during springtime.

Château de Cheverny

Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire

On a related note...anyone have recommendations for a short girls' trip to London?? 

Food. Eating. And the art of the meal.

Celebrating my two-year anniversary of living in France has made me reflect on the ways this country has changed me. So this post is a personal look at how my view on food has been impacted:

March 15 is popularly known as “the Ides of March” but to me it will always signify the day I boarded a plane with a one-way ticket to Paris. As I celebrate my two year “Paris-versary” of living here, I can’t help but reflect on who I was two years ago and barely recognize the girl at the boarding gate that evening in Newark, NJ.

I can list off many ways I've changed. I arrived two years ago without a job, without speaking a word of French, without a notion of what living abroad really meant. An identity crisis later and constant lessons in patience and humility bear marks on who I am today. There is a badge of confidence and independence that I think all expats wear as the scars of fumbling through a different culture and making a fool of themselves fade (or just start to feel less severe).

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and there is way too much to share on how I've grown during the past two years. So today I’ll leave you with one aspect of life that French culture has pressed upon me, one I will take away with me whenever my time to leave this country comes.

Food. Eating. And the art of the meal.

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Still here

"We're still here," Michael said to me a month after landing in Paris. And on the first morning we woke up in our apartment. Again months later under the awning of a café watching the rain fall on a Saturday afternoon. And those words were certainly uttered that time we walked past the Louvre en route to a New Year's Eve party.

This Saturday we celebrated our two-year Paris-versary. And the one thing I kept thinking is, "We're still here." It's been our phrase to express the wonderment and amazement that we in fact call this city home. But it really hit me at our party, because we weren't supposed to still be here.

Part of the party spread...minus the late appearance of stuffed mushrooms and macarons

The plan was to move back to the US at the end of Michael's 21-month assignment. To make Paris a home base to travel throughout Europe as much as possible. Not to find a way to extend our stay, to fall deeply in love with this city. 

Yet here we are, still here. And there was no better way to celebrate than with an apartment full of friends who have made this place home. I'm a firm believer that people make a place, and without all the incredible friends we have made throughout our time here, friends who have become family, Paris would never have become home to me.

So here's to still being here! Hope you will stick around to follow all that's to come :-)

Homemade macarons with Almond, Nocino (walnut-flavored liqueur), and Limoncello fillings