instadujour // sounds good to me.

"be as beautiful as you can be, for yourself first, and then to anyone else with enough good sense to see it too."
- maya angelou 

things i learned in paris // this weekend.

{les catacombes}

{honey + goat cheese crepes = life changing}

{eiffel tower // les invalides strolling}

{montmartre for le sacre-coeur // 

{flea market at porte de clignancourt}

o1. never say "meet at vague pre-determined point" when you are in a tourist-ridden city and "pre-determined" is the sacre-coeur, a church that probably receives millions of visitors a year.  we arrived to one of the many entrances of the church without cell service and proceeded to wait 45 minutes while we hoped and prayed that our friends had sought the same entrance as well.

o2. i was afraid that i wouldn't be able to survive without peanut butter in paris before i arrived, but then i decided that i would forgo my favorite spread all summer to live a la parisians. and theeeeeeen i found speculoos.

o3. the eiffel tower = times square paris

o4. parisian dogs are SO OBEDIENT! about 80% walk next to their owners sans leash, and follow his or her every move on the street. and i'm talking little dogs, too! not just the smart ones!

o5. i paid a little less than 2 euros to use the bathroom this weekend. does this mean my pee is worth that much too?

some recent favorites:

the most delicious french dinner at cafe constant

creperie josselin for goat cheese + honey crepes

chocolatier maison georges larnicol in montmartre

"be someone who makes someone else look forward to tomorrow."

- anonymous 

19/52

{a last week with my J // village wandering and taco eating}

a view from where i stand, every week, every month, this year.

"hope is the thing with feathers 

that perches in the soul 

and sings the tune without the words 

and never stops at all." 

- emily dickinson

paris // week 1

{a train into paris // a window view}

{l'ile de la cite // on my way to work}

{pont des arts}

{post-work exploring in la marais, st. germain, the latin quarter...}

{a french onion soup in which i ate ALL of the cheese // some exploring of le musee de louvre}

a week of 9-to-5 after two semesters of schoolwork came at us quickly after we landed in paris - but just as quickly i forgave the city as i realized how each part of it was so well connected.  we can walk from the pont des artes all the way to the jardin du luxembourg all while checking out the arc de triomphe and the eiffel tower in the distance.  i'm lucky enough to not be alone on my adventures here in paris, yet i can still relate to a quote via the new york times that was published at the perfect moment: 

"it was easy in paris to surrender to the moment. but why? what alchemy transmuted ordinary activities, be it a walk across a bridge or the unwrapping of butter, into a pleasure? my default speed in new york is “hurtle,” yet in paris i dragged the edge of a fork across an oyster with a care better suited to sliding a bow across a violin.

this was not simply because i was in paris, though it has long held a kind of magic for many americans. it was because i was there on my own. in a city that has been perfecting beauty since the reign of napoleon III, there are innumerable sensual details — patterns, textures, colors, sounds — that can be diluted, even missed, when chattering with someone or collaborating on an itinerary. alone one becomes acutely aware of the hollow clack of pétanque balls in a park; the patina of maillol’s bronze “baigneuse se coiffant” that makes her look wet even on a cloudless day in the tuileries; how each of the empty wine bottles beside sidewalk recycling bins is the embodiment of someone’s good time. there is a paris that deeply rewards the solo traveler."

- stephanie rosenblum

some recent favorites:

gelato at bertillon 

the french onion soup at au pied de cochon 

a maison-kayser croissant (or two)  

a well-dressed sandwich at cosi (not the american one :)

initial thoughts on paris, bread, and cheese.

{view from my room // catching the golden hour}

things i have learned from my 2 days in Paris, thus far:

1. parisians are SO QUIET.  well, compared to the new yorkers that i'm used to.  while waiting in line for train tickets at the charles de gaulle airport, there were probably 20 people in line and i probably could have heard a pin drop.  

2. my home stay is 3 rue de XXXX, not 2.  i spent two full hours knocking on apartment doors in the wrong building thanks to the company that sent me and my roommate the wrong address.  when i realized that i didn't have internet connection and couldn't call anyone, i was that crazy american asking strangers if i could use their phone to call my home stay.  a third of them said "non," until some nice monsieur took pity on me and decided that it would benefit everyone if the crazy american was helped off the stoop of his apartment building.  

3. you actually do look like a tourist if you wear shorts.  after finally finding my home stay, and meeting the wonderful and stylish 80-year-old parisian who would be housing me for the summer, i decided to venture out to find a bank and exchange for some euros.  as i was opening the door in the shorts and t-shirt i had changed into, she told me to be careful of the men on the street.  "to a french man, you are naked." i quickly changed into pants. 

4. it gets dark here at 10:00 pm.  and i really can't tell if that's a good or bad thing for my jet-lag.  i feel as if i'm walking around in a daze, as 2 pm here is 8 am there, and at lunch i want breakfast and at dinner i want lunch. but i won't complain about the amazing food because....  

5. bread is EVERYWHERE. literally. everywhere. and cheese.  i wouldn't find it weird if i saw a parisian down a whole baguette as an afternoon snack, and then lose 5 pounds from the act of chomping down.  

i'm uncomfortable, and feel out of my element, but i ride and die (<- i'm saying that ironically, by the way) by the idea that making yourself uncomfortable is the only way to grow. sounds like a miley cyrus song lyric but gotta find that joie de vivre from something. 

today was our first day of work of meta-analysis and other epidemiology things. we'll be interning at the hospital hotel dieu on l'ile de la cite, and i can't wait to walk through a horde full of tourists everyday as i pass the notre dame on my way to work.  a bientot! 

"whenever you find yourself on the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

- mark twain 

18/52

{the last of those cherry blooms & some sweaty summer weather}

"be steady and well-ordered in your life so you can be fierce and original in your work."

- gustave flanbert

# amygoesabroad

{BUT YOU'RE SO PRETTY, NEW YORK}

i'm glad i already run this little space on the interwebs, or else i'd have to make a new blog.  alternative titles for the travel-abroad blog that unfortunately will never come to fruition: 

• "my summer without peanut butter"
• "random french words learned in duo lingo"
• "i didn't pack shorts because french people don't and i'm trying to fit in"
• "the summer i forced dairy upon my stomach" 

spring came and went and i was too busy in the library to notice... and according to the library thermometer it's still winter.  in conclusion my internal temperature is going bonkers.

i'm having a bit of a ridiculous time trying to get a visa for my trip to switzerland amidst these final exams, and GUYS, it's just a pain! can't my mother just write the swiss consulate a letter vouching for my character? i swear the worst thing i've done isn't even half as bad as my brother locking me in the closet and force feeding me dog food.

french words are really hard to pronounce, especially when i'm primed to put a spanish accent on everything i say in a language that is not my own.  yo tengo pantelones, s'il vous plait!

and finally, a thank you to new york: for everything you've taught me thus far. i'll be gone half as long as i've been in you (what), but you'll always be my number 1. keep cool this summer (doubtful, because global warming).

"see the light in others, and treat them as if that is all you see."

- wayne dyer