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The backstory to all of this is that I'd been struggling for a while about coming back in the fall. I have always felt that the reason I was in Paris was because I felt that was where God has been calling me to be. Everything always happened in such perfect timing and in such perfect ways, even if I didn't view it that way immediately, that I knew it was always just right. And I always said I wanted to be there "a jamais" forever and the French government would have to kick me out of the country before I'd voluntarily leave. But with so many unknowns, there was no way of knowing how long "forever in Paris" would last. I knew I didn't want to be a nanny forever and I knew it wasn't really a possibility based on the visa I was on and the amount of money I had in my bank account. This past year has been a real rough one, if any of you have regularly read my blog you would have read about it. It's been a year of rough jobs, unemployment, cold winter, the unknown and lots of moves. When i got this job in February and started in March I thought I had the perfect job. It was a family that two of my good friends had previously worked for so I knew they couldn't be that bad and I knew the apartment was a great apartment and the pay wasn't half bad and the hours were pretty fair. But when I started this job I realized that things had changed. My heart had changed, my direction had changed, my mind had changed, my interests had changed. Everything had changed. I wanted to blame the family but the more I allowed myself to look inward, I realized that everything was leaning towards a change in my life. God had changed the course of direction and I needed to change to be on the same page. But i struggled heavily with the fact that I had given my word to this family to come back to nanny for them in the fall. I am, or I try my hardest to be, a woman of my word. It stressed me out to think about "quitting" the job, even if it was to go back to the States to get a real job and start a career. I, also, at this point was struggling with the fact that my visa had run out and I was now in the country without a legal status. That mixed with the fact that I could not come up with a way to get another visa for the fall and you have all the signs pointing the opposite direction. I so badly wanted to stay in Paris with every fiber  of my being and yet I couldn't find a single way. I didn't realize I was so stubborn until recently when I have come to notice that I will not give up until I have exhausted all my options. I banged on every door possible to stay in Paris and when none of them opened I started to look else where to see where my life could be headed now. I then started to job search in the states. I started to get my resume together and practiced writing cover letter. I started researching what jobs I qualified for and what jobs I was interested in. And I started to get excited about the opportunities in front of me.

and then it all changes..

As does everything in Paris happen like this, or should I say, in my life, the tables turned...

It was the Tuesday of the second week in the month of June when I sat down to have a discussion with the parents of the family I have been working for. The conversation didn't go at all how I had imagined. I had thought I'd let them know my frustrations with the job and they'd tell me things maybe they saw I could change to fit their family better and we'd collectively come to some solutions and that would be that. But how it really happened was that I barely got a word in edgewise and I sat there not knowing how to interject anything I wanted to say without sounding impolite. Half way through this discussion the mom started going off on a tangent that I truly believe was from a higher power. She started talking about how she thought we should reassess this relationship at the end of June before I leave to go home for the summer and see if it fits us still. She didnt think I was fit to be a nanny for the rest of my life and that she knows I am not that young anymore and she thought I should go back to the US and start my career and chase my dreams. This is what she would tell her own daughter if I were her. She told me many other things along the same line and if I hadn't already been struggling with coming back and what decision I was going to make then I would have been offended. She told me she felt guilty that she had me commit to come back in the fall when she's not sure thats what I want to do and that if I choose not to then she would not be mad at me but that she would understand. In all honesty, that was the scariest yet most liberating (and awkward) conversation of my entire life. This lady had NO idea what was going through my head, she had no idea that I was struggling with this exact topic, and she had no idea that I was desperately needing to hear the words that had just come out of her mouth. She had just let me off the hook I had been dangling from and couldn't figure how to get off of. Wow. I walked home just stunned. How in the world did she know? What just happened? What? whaaaaaaa....

With my mind made up (almost) I called one of my best friends in Paris and told her. "Caroline, there is a 99% chance that I am not coming back in the fall...." The other end of the line was a little quiet and then I heard a very serious "are you serious?" "yes! I just had the most incredible conversation with the mom and I know its what I need to do" I spent the next hour just talking to Caroline about how I felt and how the conversation with the mom had gone and what was on my heart. Caroline has been one of my closest friends this past year in Paris and it was the hardest thing to realize that in making this decision I would be leaving her and the rest of my amazing friends, but you know you have the real deal when your friend supports you through such a major decision. I left that phone called really excited. Excited that I had finally made a decision. And excited for my future (in America...).

 So embarrassing but a while ago we had a massive downpour over a day or two and i got stuck in it with my cute black ballet flats and they were already going downhill with the amount I was walking in them (as have all my shoes) and the torrential downpour ended the life of my cute little shoes. I had no other shoes left at this point except my tennis shoes (besides high heels which would've been even more worthless in almost flooded paris). I was so embarrassed to wear these out in public when i wasn't working out but I had no other option. 

The things we (are forced to) do sometimes. Not in the name of fashion. 

Paris on a good day. With blue skies. AND the sun. not very often. sadly.

This is Skye and Alix. Alix has been my little girl since I started my new job in March and Skye is a little boy who I pick up every Tuesday and take with us to painting class. He is your typical 8 yr old boy if not more energetic. He and Alix did not always get along, they were always starved, and had the attention span of nothing and I had 15 minutes to convince them they wanted to walk to their art class which was more than 15 minutes away. Tuesdays were usually a lot of work. This day we walked past a Hummer, a bright yellow one actually, and they posed in front of it. Such French kids who have no clue how to smile for a camera. 

To add to random photos taken throughout Paris, I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while and we sat and caught up in front of the Eiffel Tower as you do and we were getting too distracted by all the tourists taking touristy photos so we decided to join 'em. Here I am copying what other people were doing around me. 

The view from my apartment window.

The view if you looked out my window and to the right. This view is not as good as my last apartment but not half bad either. 

Adios amigos!

Free Museum Sunday

The first Sunday of every month in Paris is free museum Sunday and since this was my last free museum sunday before I was to go home for the summer I decided to actually take advantage of it. The weather was still sort of nice and I wanted to see one more museum: Musee l'Orangerie. It's a museum that is in the Jardin Tuilleries which is the park in front of the Louvre. It is a beautiful museum but is not terribly obvious like the Louvre or Musee D'orsay that sit on the bank of the Seine but it is a famous museum that is a must when visiting Paris. The reason I wanted to go was because it is home to the most famous paintings of one of my favorite artists: Mr. Claude Monet. Musee l'Orangerie is home to his water lilly paintings that take up the whole wall. 

Monet was an incredible artist. His painting make me go "wow" when I see them. He had such an imagination and ability to paint, it was incredible. Besides the fact that his house and garden in Vernon are my favorite place to go!

The last two paintings are pictures I snuck because I loved them. One is called a turkey and a tomato and they are just ridiculous. You just never know what you're going to find when you go to a museum.

Thats all.

post Meredith

I guess I was still in tourist mode after Meredith left or something because the following weekend my friend Jordan and I stayed busy ALL weekend long.

Friday night we went to a new park that is incredibly beautiful and situated on a hill and so remote and different from all the other parks I'd gone to in Paris. we sat there with our friend Grace and painted our nails, ate macaroons, drank tea, and watched the sun set. It was a bit of paradise.




Saturday Jordan and I set out on one of the busiest and exhausting days in Paris. Maybe not, but it sure seemed like it. First we went to the Catacombs. If you don't know what that is, let me explain: Paris does not have but 3 (i think) cemetery's because of various reasons but there used to a cemetery in the center of Paris near Chatelet back in the day and all the bodies started to contaminate the water so they decided to dig up the graves and and create underground graveyards which is where we went. After that all cemetery's were dug up and all bodies were moved to these underground catacombs. It is considered a museum but its a part of the catacombs that you can pay to go see. Pay to go see bones stacked? sounds like fun, right? And apparently its a popular place because Jordan and I had to wait 90 minutes to get in. Once in it was one of the creepiest experiences of my life. You have to walk down many steps to get deep into the earth where its moist and dark and the hallway feels like its caving in on you and you walk for about 10 minutes before you reach the catacombs. Once there you walk for about 40 minutes between floor to ceiling stacked bones: skulls, arms, legs, etc, and in the dark. There are signs with each group of bones telling you which cemetery these bodies came from which is interesting to know where cemetery's used to be in Paris.

A little over an hour after entering the catacombs we exited to the sunny sun sun and we couldn't be more thankful to have made it out of that creepy experience alive. If you are into that type of thing then I highly recommend it otherwise I'd say live vicariously through my pictures and call it a day.

 After our morning spent with the bones of old Paris we were starved and headed to a place I'd been dying to try since I'd learned of its existence a few weeks prior. Apparently American food is the new fad here. You can find cookies, cupcakes, and mexican food creeping up all over the city and this is just one of those things that has taken Paris by storm. It's called Le Camion Qui Fume and its a food truck. The title translates to the Smoking Truck and its a burger truck that changes locations daily. It was started by a California girl who studied at Le Cordon Bleu (a culinary school here in Paris) and she decided she wanted to do something different I guess. I read that it took her several years and lots of French administration and red tape to get this approved by the city and even then I've read that its still very regulated meaning she can't just drive the truck around, it changes locations daily but they are all approved ahead of time by the city and it stays there for the day. The truck was a hit from the beginning and on the website it states that it only sells what they have and once they are sold out they are done for the day. Usually the hours are 11-2 for lunch and then they do dinner as well. You ought to go early as the lines are long because word has gotten around that the food is good. Let me just tell you that this was the best burger I'd had in the 2 years I'd lived in Paris. BEST BURGER! If you are in Paris and want a good burger I'd highly recommend it! Highly! It was such a great experience.

Then Jordan and I decided to explore the city by foot as you do on a sunny day in Paris. It's a rare occasion so you must soak up every second you can.

This is a door I really loved. Bright red.

 Then we explored we park that is just across from the Louvre that I'd heard about but never been to. It was beautiful and peaceful but not my favorite of parks by far. The best part about a sunny weekend and parks (or just Paris for that matter) is that people are out, musicians are out, entertainers are out, families are out, everyone is out. People were tanning, reading their books, listening to musicians trying to make a few euros. I love Paris in the sun.

A lot of times I am baffled by the way the French think and do business and live life and this one was another added to that list... please explain to me how a Dr. Pepper that is imported from the US is cheaper than a diet coke which is an international brand??

And Jordan and I ended our evening by being let down by another park we wanted to explore which turned out to be a dud. There are few parks in Paris that seem to be neglected by the city but this was one. It is called Jardin Atlantique and it was ugly. I do not suggest wasting any of your time there. I had heard about it and it seemed enticing as its a park built atop the Montparnasse train station and I thought it'd be nice with a view and a pleasant, quiet place to picnic and it was nothing of the like. It was ugly and weed filled and with no view whatsoever.

This day overall was such a great day. Although the last park we explored was a dud, it didn't ruin the wonderful day we spent together under the Parisian sun which is known to not make many appearances. I'll just say I slept well that night.

Meredith visits Paris: the finale!

Meredith's last day in Paris she took a bike tour (by herself) while I stayed in bed until I had to work. She got to meet Alix, the 7 yr old girl who I have been nannying and got to see what a day in my life is like. (super rough, ha) That night I took her to one last monument, le Sacre Coeur, another great church that is up on a hill and overlooks all of Paris. It's one of my favorite places in Paris, so beautiful and serene.

I am so grateful that my sister was able to come to Paris for a week. We had a great time and were able to spend a whole week, just the two of us, living out of my itty bitty apartment and still want to be friends haha. Thats what I call success!

Over a month later and I have finally completed the series "Meredith visits Paris". yipee.