Au revoir Paris

As Caleb and I get ready to embark on our next adventure in Italy, I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on my month in Paris. It's been wonderful. Now that the others have left, it does feel a bit lonely. Thanks for the good times my friends! See you back in Chi-town!

Things I don't want to leave:

• Fromage - endless options!
• Baguette, baguette, baguette!
• Crepes: especially those with coconut & Nutella
• Rich history in a city with many architectural gems
• Picnics on the River Seine
• Beautiful and extravagant chateaux where we imagined what life was like and actually owning one! I think my favorite was Chenonceau - fantastic kitchens!
• Croissant aux amandes
• Rue Xavier Privas - our humble abode
• Exploring
• Bastille Day - the most fantastic fireworks display I have ever seen!
• Les Papilles - the most amazing restaurant in the city ( that we could afford ). Wonderful daily menu, served family style.
• The gardens - loved sitting, picnicking, and people watching.
• Tours - bike tours, walking tours, and boat cruises were so informative and fun!
• The museums - I found most of them to be fantastic!
• As you can see, it's probably a good thing I am leaving. Food takes up most of my list!
  

I am happy to leave behind:

• Smoking - it seems they have not heard of lung cancer over here. All the cool kids do it.
• Metro - although this is incredibly convenient, it is also trés chaude or EXTREMELY hot. Will not miss sweating on the train.
• The smell of urine - by the river, on the metro, in the metro stations, random places while walking. It seems it is not a faux pas to conveniently pee wherever your little heart desires. Jaime has pictures to prove it!
• Paying for gas - as Americans, we do not have the appropriate chip in our credit cards to make them useful in Europe. Filling our rental car with gas proved to be a nightmare. We could not rent bikes and many other small inconveniences just because we are from the US. Oh well. What's a few extra euros?
• Renting a car in Paris - apparently, getting to work at the scheduled time is an inconvenience. Very bizarre.... almost axed our Loire Valley excursion. Luckily we are patient!
• Cutting in line - this is how everyone gets things done. Very frustrating for us as polite Americans who spoke very little French! :)
• Tourist food - it seems to abound in our neighborhood. This encouraged wandering around other neighborhoods looking for good food.