Bon mardi!
Today I’m writing live...from New York! After three years and three months of living in Paris, Michael and I finally moved back to the East Coast. We stayed in Europe a good year and a half longer than we intended to, and we’ve finally ended the jokes about us never coming back as we packed up and headed stateside on June 3rd.
So what is it like to be back? Well, let’s just say that living in the midst of Midtown is a bit different than the Marais. (And if you’re interested in the Marais, check out my guest post on Expat Edna to see just why I loved my neighborhood so much!) It’s noisy, both on the streets and in restaurants, life is fast-paced, and it’s crowded. But it’s also air-conditioned, spacious, and convenient living with stores open 24/7 and English being the primary language and all. It’s been less than a week and I know it will take many more to transition back to this American life.
And while you may be wondering about the move, you might also be questioning the future of Simply Sara Travel. It’s a great question, and one that I would love to answer today. New York is now my day-to-day reality, and I may be sharing some of it occasionally here. But my primary focus still remains - I intend to use this space to continue writing about Paris, France, and all the places I have traveled to in Europe. There is so much still to share - just wait until we start to talk about our amazing “Tour de France” we embarked on during the month of May! (I should mention, if you are ever moving, I highly recommend taking a month off for travel if you can swing it! But more on that later.)
More to come on our month-long adventure through France! Here we are, celebrating our 12 year dating anniversary in the adorable town of Gordes, France - a place I never dreamed we would be together 12 years prior!
Thank you for patiently waiting for me to get things in swing again! I hope you will follow along even if my adventures aren’t unfolding in real-time. And in the meantime, please let me know if you have any tips for Manhattan! I’m looking for cute coffee shops to write in, little parks and quiet corners to get reprieve from the noise, smaller museums to discover, rooftop bars, and...I’m on a quest to see if I can find a bagel that compares to New Jersey’s! And any ideas for things to do in the city this summer :-) It’s good to be back!