Au Revoir, Paris!

It's taken me 5 weeks to write this post. Every time I thought about it, I just couldn't bring myself to do it...the last blog entry! But alas, it's time to officially close the door on this chapter of our lives and embrace the new one.

Dîner en Blanc

Photo courtesy of Pictours Paris

Just a few days before our departure from France, we were lucky enough to be able to attend the famous Dîner en Blanc, a flash-mob picnic with a white theme. A perfect way to cap of our Paris adventure!

5 Things I Will and Won't Miss the Most about Paris

Sadly, our time in Paris is quickly coming to an end. It's been an amazing ride of 2.5 years, filled with ups and downs, new friends, new experiences, and we've grown a lot. While there's a lot of things I will miss about living in Paris {and some I won't}, these are my top 5 of each. {And some of my favorite Paris photos!}

Sunsets in Paris

As I was looking back at all the photos we've taken in Paris over the past two and a half years, I was struck by how many beautiful sunsets this city has provided us. So, what better way to recap our time here than a look back at some of these beauties!

The majority of these were taken with the iPhone since that's usually what we had when we were out and about, but they still captured the moment well. Many involved the Eiffel Tower, of course, but the river makes a great backdrop too.

A Night at the Opera

After hearing Lillian rave about their time at the Opera, we decided it needed to be added to our must-do-before-leaving-Paris-list. Turns out, it's not as easy as just buying tickets online when you please, but it was well worth the trouble for a fancy evening out!

A Holiday Weekend...in Paris!

Last weekend was a four day weekend {well, if you faire du pont, or make the bridge, with 1 vacation day like Nick did}, and believe it or not, we didn't go anywhere! Instead, we decided to stay in Paris and take advantage of some much needed relaxation time.

Vélib' Vendredi: Butte aux Cailles

So, I have a confession to make, this Vélib' Vendredi didn't actually involve a Vélib'. Maybe these posts should be called something like Exploring Fridays instead. Oh well, regardless, it's made me get out more and see new parts of the city. This week, I visited the neighborhood of Butte aux Cailles, which is in the southern part of Paris.

One Month, Four Goodbyes

This past month as been a sad one. We said goodbye to not one, not even two, but four different couples this month! This is an inevitable part of ex-pat life, but it doesn't make it any easier, especially when so many leave all at once!

Rock en Seine & Paris

This weekend was Paris's annual music festival, which draws 100,000+ visitors from all over. We missed it last year because of our cruise, so this year we made sure to buy tickets for one night.

June Visitors Round 1

In addition to being a busy travel month, June is also a busy month for visitors for us.  We're not complaining though! :)  It's fun to be a tourist in your own city sometimes, and thanks to a visit from Mom and Dad, and Nick's cousin, Chris, and his girlfriend, Lindsay, we were able to do just that!

Goodbyes are Never Easy!

A few months ago (how is it already been that long?) we said goodbye to two of our dear friends here in Paris, Maygan and Kyle.  This is a bit of a delayed post for two reasons: one, blogging is much harder when the weather is nice and you're out and about doing things and two, I didn't really want to accept that these two really left!

L'automne à Paris

It feels like it's been a crazy last 6 months with visitors and trips almost back to back the entire time.  The past few months we've had several weeks in Paris.  So what have we been up to, you might ask?  Aside from relaxing, catching up on U.S. tv (aka Breaking Bad and the Office), we've also been out enjoying Paris!

Be sure to check out all of our pictures from fall in Paris here.

6 Months...Oh La La!

Today officially marks the 6 month mark of living here.  As I think back to that day we stepped off the plane, jet-lagged and preparing to live with an air mattress as our only piece of furniture for the next 3 weeks, it now seems like a lifetime ago.  We've been able to experience so many things and meet so many awesome people since then, and I can't imagine life any other way.  And at the same time, these 6 months seemed to have flown by in the blink of an eye.  I'm trying not to think about how this means our time left here is shrinking! :(

Top of Paris

One of the best things about having visitors come is that you can check out things you've been wanting to do for a while!

During my parents' week-long visit to Paris, I think, subconsciously, we were on a mission to find the best possible view of Paris. 

So which place has the best view? I'll let you be the judge of that...