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?!