seize semaines.

     After a restless night of insomnia, joy, I awoke after my two hours sleep at on Wednesday at 4:45 to catch the train to meet Grammy and bring her back to my place. I was able to find her with no problems, so we stacked and gathered her belongings and made our way to the train. Forty minutes later, we were in the city (Bienvenue Grammy!) and made our way from the station through the park to my place. A bit of an epic trek with all of Grammy's belongings, but we made it with no major problems, success! Ma and dad successfully non revved and arrived at my place about 30 minutes after us, just enough time to get Grammy a little settled and for me to make her some eggs and coffee for breakfast.
     Once the parentals arrived, we all settled into our cozy living for the next week. One 260 square foot studio and four people over one week, we'd make for an impressive reality show or social experiment (we were completely fine, just had to get creative with maneuvering around the place an all of our stuff.) I gave them the lay of the land, showed them some of my Christmas décor for the season, and in order to fight the jet lag they decided to hit the ground running and see a bit of my neighborhood by picking up a Christmas tree for me from a florist just up the street. After successfully finding Charles (spoken with a French accent of course) and taking an only slightly embarrassing and obligatory photo on the street to commemorate my first independent Christmas tree for the parentals, we trekked back to my place to set him up and decorate with the few ornaments, ribbons, and lights that I'd purchased in preparation.
     Hungry from their journey, ma and I trekked up the street to the boulangerie and market to pick up a baguette and some other essentials for the week that I hadn't been able to pick up yet while Grammy and dad got to work on the tree. When we got back, we all enjoyed some cheese and baguette before the weary travelers crashed for a little nap. While they were sleeping, I hopped on the metro to meet up with Nora for an hour to catch up since she had just arrived back in the city. When the family messaged that they were up, we headed back to my place where she quickly met everyone and was able to grab some of her things that I'd been storing for her.


One course from our "humble" café dinner

    By then, the fam was ready to grab some dinner, so I looked up a good restaurant nearby that was recommended by school and we began our walk there. Unfortunately, despite what they said online, they were closed at this point, so, in order to avoid another long walk for Grammy who was already being such a trooper for the day wandering, we found a small café just around the corner. The beauty of Paris, even the tiniest café with a little pre-fixe menu provides a world class meal. The family was sufficiently impressed and surprised by the beautifully presented dishes from this quaint little kitchen, and so in the end it worked out perfectly. They were already seeing one of the many reasons that I love this city.
     After the meal we grabbed a cab back to my place where everyone crashed for the evening having traveled a long way and finally giving into the jet lag. On Thursday, everyone woke refreshed and ready to go. Ma wandered to the bakery down the street and picked up some croissants for everyone to have with their coffee while I made Grammy some eggs. Once we were all fed and ready, we ordered an Uber and headed to Boulevard Haussman so that the parentals could return to and Grammy could see Galerie Lafayette. To re-enact my first few days in the city, we headed up to the third floor to have some champs (dad treated and got the Veuve!) and Pierre Herme macarons to really celebrate and cheers the arrival to Paris. After enjoying our treats and bubbles, we headed up a couple floors to check out Top Shop and some of the other more affordable sections where the family treated me to a felt hat I'd had my eye on for ages, so spoiled, and then found the escalators to the roof so that Grammy could see the view. We took the obligatory selfies, enjoyed the view a bit, and headed back down so that we could catch the metro to Concorde so that they could see and wander the Christmas markets a bit.
     Once we arrived at the Place de Concorde, we started at the food annex towards the end of the markets to grab some soup and sandwiches for lunch before braving the crowds. Once we were warmed and full again, we found some coffee and vin chaud to keep us warm and we wandered and checked out all of the stalls and merriment. At the end of the stalls, trooper that she is Grammy joined to trek up the Champs Elysees a bit to enjoy all of the lit up trees and shops. I had told my parents about the slide that I had found with my friends a couple of weeks prior, and as we passed they couldn't resist either. Ma laughed the whole five stories down, and even dad was beaming ear to ear after his turn. Who can resist, it's just too awesome! After the slide and a bit more walking, we caught the metro and stopped in Saint Germain des Pres on the way home so that I could show them another of my favorite neighborhoods. Since it was dinner time, I decided that we should head to the infamous Les Deux Magots for some salads, coffee, and potentially try some of the amazing chocolat chaud. Once everyone warmed and enjoyed their meal, we walked around the charming streets a bit window shopping at all of the beautiful displays before calling it a night and heading home. I made everyone some shortbread cookies to enjoy and then we hit the hay ready for the next morning.
     Ma and Dad wanted to check out some of my favorite neighborhoods and Velib a bit, so the three of us woke up early, got ready, and let Grammy have a quiet morning in after a couple of days of lots of walking. We biked over to the Marais where I was able to impress with my navigational streets and I could show them some of my favorite streets to wander. After parking the bikes, we first went to find a café to stop for a little petit dejuner. Dad once again remembered why he loved Paris and French cuisine while he enjoyed his coffee, French bread, eggs, and ham. After a chill hour of eating and people watching on the street, we wandered into the heart of the Marais for some window shopping. We wandered into one of the lovely boutiques with some window displays too beautiful to resist, and spent the next hour with an amazing attendant who instantly grabbed a beautiful forest green sweater just my style. Ma and I proceeded to play dress up with her suggestions, and with her guidance and dad's input, I was treated to the beautiful sweater for my birthday present and Ma found a fabulous skirt and top to rock for Christmas Eve at home.


Montorgueil all lit up.

    By then, it was about 1:30, so we hopped on the metro to meet up with Grammy and head to the cook shops and Rue Montorgueil. A stop at E. Dellerhin had been on the list of to do's in Paris even before everyone arrived, and they were not disappointed by the epic and old school shop. I was able to pick up some of the essentials needed in order to bake some treats for all of them, and Ma and Dad and Grammy were just impressed so see the scale and quantity of the place. We headed to one more shop where we were able to find a new cheesecake spring pan for Ma, and then I got to show them Montorgueil. All of them were instantly charmed as I had been, taking in all of the cafe's, cheese shops, and beautiful chocolate and pastry shops. After some wandering, we stopped at a café for a little coffee as a pick me up, and then made our way back down the street to the metro.
     Dad and I got off one stop early to stop at the market for some wine and salad fixing while Ma and Grammy stopped to pick up a baguette at the bakery and some potatoes and a rotisserie chicken from the boucherie (all en route from the metro to my place, once again, yay Paris!). We timed our meet up just perfectly and all arrived at my place at the same time, just in time to avoid the epic downpour of ran that had started outside. After enjoying our delicious and low maintenance meal, we cleaned and I began prep on a Moka cake for everyone. I finished just in time for everyone to try a little before we called it a night and hit the hay.
     We all slept in a bit on Saturday and took our time getting ready for the day having a quiet breakfast in. Around 12:30, we called for an Uber and made our way up to Sacre Couer. Our driver was extremely friendly and helpful, and dropped us up all the way at the top of Montmartre so we had just a short stroll to the church. Nora met up with us to enjoy the afternoon, and after wandering and appreciating the church, we headed for the artists square so that Grammy could see some of their work and dad could take in some of the charms of the neighborhood.


Affogado trey at Berthillon

Me and Norpa being silly (and creepy) at the concept store.

    After appreciating the arts, we were ready for some lunch, so we headed to downhill to the backside of Montmartre to a café that Nora had read about. When we arrived, it smelled fantastic and looked amazing and promising...but it was too packed to fit the five of us. Nora and I noted that we'd have to come back at some point, and we crossed the street to a different café to get some lunch. After enjoying our meal, Nora suggested that we head to Berthillon for some affogados and chocolat chaud so that the family could try some of the best ice cream in the city. We hopped on the metro and made our way to the Il Saint Louis where we finally settled into a cozy table in the corner. Everyone enjoyed their treats (ice cream for Grammy, chocolat chaud over ice cream for me and Nora, coffee over ice cream for Dad, and chocolat chaud for Ma,) and once again the family got to appreciate a little more of my Paris. We walked over to the corner which has a great little concept store where we wandered and dad got some fun souvenirs before heading back to the metro to my place. The parentals were heading to the hotel that they'd visited for Ma's birthday a few years back for the evening, so once they headed out, Nora Grammy and I settled in for a quiet night. Grammy fell asleep early (we'd been making the woman cover some serious ground) so Nora and I enjoyed some leftovers and I purchased the tickets and made reservations for our next couple of days. Nora and I then watched a movie and fell asleep watching New Girl.


Hall of Mirrors

     Sunday morning Grammy and I said bye to Nora and got ready for the day. I contacted the parentals with plans to meet up at the train station since we would be heading to Versailles for the day. Grammy and I made our way to Montparnasse and reunited with Ma and Dad and we boarded our train out of the city. Twenty minutes later we were trekking through the small town en route to the castle. When we finally made it, we were able to get a chair for Grammy and then took in the grandeur of the castle. It's positively stunning and over the top and completely worth the visit. The Hall of Mirrors is not only impressive and wonderful to behold, but it's also worth it for the history alone. The Peace room at the end of the hall was where they signed the treaty to end World War I, another reason to love where I live, so much history surrounds you on your daily life.


"Highway robbery" tram through the grounds

     After enjoying our tour of the main castle, we went to the café to enjoy some lunch before we took in the grounds a bit. We were going to make our best attempt to see some of Marie Antionette's apartments across the massive grounds, but we were running short on time so instead settled for the insanely expansive tram ride through the gardens (it cost half of the entire entrance ticket, highway robbery as dad said, but in a pinch,). I was floored by the expanse of the gardens, they're flawlessly manicured even in the winters and there's miles of trails to enjoy. I took a mental note and decided that in the spring when the weather turns I could spend many free, (as a student under 25 my ticket is always gratuit :)) sunny afternoons wandering the grounds reading, running, or whatever else I wanted to do.
     After our tour of the grounds, we made our way back to the train station and caught the RER back to Paris. We grabbed a baguette on our way back to the apartment, had another quiet dinner of leftovers and such, and then I set to work on making puff pastry so that we could have Chausson aux Pommes (apple turnovers) in the morning for our "Christmas".
     In the morning, we woke up and I finished the pastries, made mimosas, and opened my presents from the fam. After being spoiled by my lovely family who had already given the biggest present just by coming to Paris to see me, Ma, Dad, and I got ready for the day and headed over to Canal Saint Martin so that Grammy could stay home and start getting ready, packed, and organized for the evening. I showed them around the Canal, we window shopped, stopped at Craft for some cappuccinos, and looked around the charming Antoine et Lili shops. Since Ma and I had had our own little shopping spree earlier in the week, we found a men's clothing store so that Padre could have his turn. The trip was a success and I managed to find Dad a scarf to his liking for Christmas and we helped him pick out a new shirt and sweater for his Christmas Eve attire.


Foggy Eiffel before heading up

     We made our way back to the apartment just in time to pick up Grammy and head to the metro so that the fam could check out Le Cordon Bleu. I pointed out the student bar along the way where a few friends were celebrating completing Intermediate, so they were able to meet the family and I was able to say some goodbyes before the holiday. When we got to the school, since exams were happening going into the kitchens wouldn't be a option, but we did get to see the Winter Gardens and main floor, just seeing where I spend my days was worth the trip for them.
      Grammy had announced at the beginning of the trip that she was going to spoil and treat all of us to dinner at the Eiffel one night, so after checking out the school we hopped back on the metro and got to the tower just in time to make our reservation. We enjoyed a fantastic three course meal with amazing wine, views, and of course company, and it was incredible to be able to go up the tower for the first time and have that experience with the family; truly once in a lifetime. After dinner, we took a lap around the deck to take in the city, and I climbed the steps to the next mezzanine to enjoy the view of my city a little more. I was a very blessed girl indeed!


Just one amazing course from our epic Eiffel meal.

     Once we all met up again, we caught the elevator to the ground again and met up with our waiting Uber to take us home. We spent one more evening in together mostly with everyone preparing for the next day getting packed as they all had early flights to catch. We woke up early on Tuesday where we said our goodbyes and ordered Ubers, and I once again thanked my family for a wonderful week. After only a little stress and confusion, they made it to the airport and safely home.
    I relaxed for the morning and into the afternoon and started to work on a 1000 piece puzzle that the family had given me for Christmas. After a couple of very active weeks it was nice to have a quiet afternoon in. Later in the evening Nora stopped by and we hung at my pace making dinner, watching New Girl and catching up. We made plans to meet for lunch the next day and said goodbye for the evening.
     I woke up today at 1:40pm amazed that I had just slept 14 hours straight, apparently I was in serious need of some catch up sleep. Since I slept through lunch, Nora and I are instead going to meet up at a bookstore that exclusively sells food related books to purchase some Christmas gifts. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks and now that I'm rested up a bit I'm excited to really get into the holiday spirit, but I feel lucky to have had this time in Paris with my family. What an absolute gift!










semaine quinze.

Ola Lisboa!

     As per usual, I had a pretty serious case of insomnia the night before boarding my plane to Lisbon. Such is life, call it excitement I guess? Anywho, after getting all of my things together, I called for an Uber to take me to the airport. The weather had taken a serious turn for the cold, (my bike ride home from Megan and Alex a couple of days prior was seriously numbing,) and snow was a potential that never arrived. Leaving Paris in a freezing, foggy grey. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to see the sunshine in Lisbon, and my Uber driver was also jealous and excited for me. It turns out he was half Portuguese and spent the entire ride in our Franglish interaction singing the praises of Lisbon and Portugal making me even more excited to get there.
     Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Orly and headed inside to get checked in. After wandering a bit to find the right counter, I made my way through security just in time to start boarding the plane. I spent the two and a half hour flight reading How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are (definitely accurate, and worth the read!) and next thing I knew it was Au Revoir grey Paris et Ola sunny Lisbon! I was so excited to see the ocean again, hadn't realized I'd even missed it quite that much, and enjoyed my aerial views of Lisbon's version of Golden Gate bridge and Christ the Redeemer statue. Once I landed, I wandered through to the exit and immediately saw the smiling face of Joana and her sister Maria waiting for me. I gave her a big hug and the three of us headed to the garage to her car. They wanted to show me a delicious, traditional Portuguese sandwich shop, so as we drove through downtown we quickly caught up on all of the goings on from the past couple of weeks since she had left Paris and she pointed out different landmarks and such.
     The meal was definitely no let down, I was starving not having eaten yet that day, and the sandwiches, fries and fresh squeezed juices hit the spot. True to form for our reunion, we ordered a dessert post sandwich, and Joana and I split a passion fruit custard parfait type treat. Delicious. I could already tell, I was gonna love Portugal.
     After lunch, we jumped back in the car and drove Maria back to school so that she could meet up with her study group. As we drove I felt like the more of Lisbon I saw, it seemed like a combination of San Francisco and Lima. The buildings and streets were bringing Peruvian flashbacks, while the hilly streets, bridge, and sights all felt very San Fran. It's a winning combination if you ask me. Once we'd dropped off Maria, we headed to Joana's childhood home in Sesimbra. It's a beach town just outside of Portugal, and it was stunning driving through the hills, blasting music, and taking in the sights of the Atlantic. Joana's home is so beautiful, full of art and yet still homey and cozy. It was lovely meeting her parents and seeing more of her life.


Beautiful Sisimbra

     After settling in, we jumped into the car to drive down to the beach so that I could check out what was the tourist-y area in the summer. It was still in the high 50's even as the sun was setting, quite the improvement from the 25 degree weather I had just left, so we had a pleasant walk taking in the sunset and walking by all of the restaurants and such. It was awesome to be back near the water, to walk through the sand (even in my boots) and to hear and smell the ocean. Since it wasn't tourist season, we had a comical moment when an elderly Portuguese man heard Joana and I speaking in English and he kept turning around in confusion with a look that said, "It's December, what are you doing here?" Once the sun set, we trekked back to the car to go back to her place for dinner.
     We started prepping dinner that her lifelong housekeeper (the woman who inspired Joana's love of cooking, a phenomenal and lovely woman,) had already started for us. Maria surprised the family and showed up just in time for the meal, and we all sat down to the table to enjoy the delicious octopus and rice stew together. Joana had to play translator a bit because while she, her sister and father all spoke excellent English, her mother did not. We spoke mostly in facial expressions, gestures, and mixture of Spanglish and Span-tuguese (my now made up word for Spanish and Portuguese, it was the closest language that both of us had in common.) Joana still had to translate and interpret for both of us, but I knew that her mother was a sweetheart and I was thrilled to spend some time with her parents before they headed off to Turkey the next day. After a delicious almond tart and some tea for dessert, Joana took me upstairs to show me her father's Coca-Cola collection.
     She had joked earlier in the day that they would have to move to make more room for the collection as it kept growing, and she was not kidding. The second that I walked up the stairs, I saw plastic tubing forming a wall stacked with cans of Coke, and that was just the start. The walls were filled with memorabilia and collectible items, posters, specialty bottles, all labeled with the country that they were from. Everything was so well organized and displayed, her dad told me that he's been collecting for over 20 years and he's constantly seeking out new things to add to the collection. I was seriously impressed. The irony though, Joana explained in a mock stage whisper, was that her dad preferred the flavor of Pepsi; go figure. Anywho, after sufficiently gawking over the collection, Joana and I got a fire started in the fireplace and settled in to watch a movie with her family. After a lovely and cozy night, I thanked her parents for their hospitality and wished them safe travels to Turkey as we said goodnight. I settled into my guest room for the night and hit the hay. Needless to say, I was already loving my vacation.


Driving through the hills

Cod fish lunch

     When I woke up the next morning, I found Joana and Maria at the dining room table. Joana was planning out our activities for the week making lists of everywhere we needed to go, and Maria was working on school stuff. First on the list was to go to Joana's favorite bakery for some pastries and coffee. We went into the old part of downtown which has ton of character and tiny streets. The S cookies, custard tarts, and coffee hit the spot and pretty soon we were off to drive through the mountains and take in the sights. We spent a couple of hours driving around the winding streets stopping at different view points for photo breaks and taking in the view. After sufficiently enjoying everything the drive had to offer, we headed back to Joana's to enjoy a traditional cod fish lunch casserole with her housekeeper. After yet another amazing meal and some espresso, we grabbed our things and packed the car to head to Lisbon for the rest of the week.


Taking in the city from the tower

     We hit some traffic on our way back into the city (apparently a rare occurrence, I was a bad luck time when it came to traffic, I think I've carried the bad mojo all the way from Seattle somehow, whoops,) but enjoyed blasting music and singing our whole slow crawl across the bridge. Once we got into the city, we dropped our stuff off at Maria's apartment (also lovely) and headed out to check out some more of Lisbon.


Sunset fortress

     We started down by the waterfront to see one of the oldest churches, stunning, and then walked along the boulevard. We climbed the tower to take in the sights from the top which commemorates the discovery period and explorers from Portugal. Next we walked the rest of the boardwalk to take in the beautiful sunset at the fortress Torre de Belem. Seriously amazing. I think I took about 5000 pictures.


Egg tarts!

    Being the dedicated students we are, it was time to take in the most famous of Portuguese pastries, the egg tarts from Pasteis de Belem. We were fortunate enough to find a table and sat enjoying our warm and awesome pastries while people watching and seeing literally carts full of egg tarts motoring from the kitchen to the counter where they were supplying the dozens of customers in the to go line. Another classic Lisbon moment, checked off the to do list, I had the best tour guide ever. After our treats and a quick detour at Starbucks to pick up another city mug for my collection, we drove back to Maria's to change and get ready for the evening. We were going to hit the town with the other Joana.


Dinner time.

     (My) Joana was taking me to one of her favorite haunts, a hole in the wall so to speak with excellent food and a hipster vibe. We metro'd into downtown, and as we walked up the hill to the end of the street, Joana assured me that despite the sketchy look of the alley and entrance, she was not completing the most elaborate rouse to sell me into slavery or some other unsavory demise. Trusting my fellow foodie, I followed her up the stairs and across a basketball court (yes, it was a weird entrance,) into a really cute little café restaurant for our meal. We split an arugula salad starter, some sweet potatoes, and some chicken fritters with some local beer to wash it down. The entire thing cost less than 20 Euros each, I was really starting to dig Lisbon, as was my wallet. As we were winding down our meal, the other Joana arrived ready to join us for our night out.
     We were going to all be in search of some new favorite spots in the city for them since their previous haunts had changed and lost their favorite bartenders and friends since they'd graduated. We found some prospects but mostly just enjoyed each other's company taking in the people watching of the crowded and hilly streets all while enjoying a couple 1 or 2 Euro half liters of beer (again, Paris could learn a thing or two from Lisbon pricing, I was getting spoiled here.) After a couple of hours of people watching and great girl talk, we called it a night, caught a cab, and headed back to Maria's to crash.


Basilica Estrela

     I woke up the next morning to find Joana baking up some scones for our breakfast. Once they were ready, we enjoyed our fresh treats with some coffee and fresh fruit. I was feeling seriously spoiled at this point, and the day was just beginning. We showered and got ready to venture the city. Maria was joining us for the first half of the day, and we hopped on the metro to head over to the part of town Joana wanted to show me. When we got off the train, we enjoyed the sunshine walking through a beautiful park en route to a beautiful church, Basilica da Estrela (Church of Stars). The light was mixed with a beautiful smoky quality from the candles lit everywhere, and some beautiful hymns were being played to add to the majestic mood. The stone work in Lisbon churches was seriously impressive.


Just 1 course from food crawl

     When we stepped back into the sunshine, we walked another 20 minutes or so to our destination for lunch, an indoor market that has tons of counters with all different varieties of cuisine and beverage. For less that 20 Euros each, we were able to have about five or six different things split between the three of us including seafood dip, ham sandwiches, sushi, fresh juices, and traditional savory tarts. Amazing. To continue our impressive food crawl, we walked up to Aloma, which is famous for having the best egg tarts in the city (they win the national contests every year.) They absolutely lived up to the hype. Now sufficiently stuffed, we said goodbye to Maria who had to head back to school and caught the tram to head up to Joana's favorite view point in the city.


Our epic tram selfie. We were pretty proud of ourselves.

     The tram ride was awesome, a wonderful way to see the city and another great typical Lisbon moment. The tram climbed the hills expertly, and as we reached the top I realized why Joana wanted to bring me here. We walked to the view point that was Joana's favorite view of the city and spent a really pleasant half hour quietly enjoying the sunshine and the city, where Joana pointed out all of the places we'd already been. After seizing our photo ops, we began our descent towards the waterfront again, but made sure to take in the sights on the hill on our way down. We toured the oldest church in the city that's a popular wedding destination on their independence day every year, stopped for photo ops at more amazing view points (the light at sunset and twilight in Lisbon is insanely hard to beat, it really can't even be described in words) and I took a billion pictures everywhere of the sights and beautifully tiled facades of all of the buildings. When we got back down to the waterfront, there was an odd festival thing happening at the square right on the water, and we weaved through the crowds to take in the sunset right on the water. Tired from our epic day of sightseeing, we grabbed the metro and headed back to the apartment. We ordered some pizza and enjoyed a quite night in watching movies.


Another amazing sunset.

     On Sunday we woke up, had some breakfast, and got ready for another day of sight seeing. We started in an area called LX Factory, which is a street and market area that is super hipster but also kitschy and fun. After miraculously finding parking, we wandered the main drag that had a bunch of street vendors out for the day selling clothing and jewelry and such. We poked around some shops and enjoyed wandering and then stepped into a bookstore at the end of the street. The place was ginormous, and despite my inability to read Portuguese, it was awesome to be surrounded by so much awesome literature. We made our way to the top floor which we realized was a small museum of sorts, and boy did we luck out!


Book heaven.

     We had arrived just in time to find a little old man who's an inventor and engineer of sorts who was giving a tour and description of his installations and pieces on display in the shop. Joana did her best to play interpreter and translator when she could, but mostly I just admired his pieces and the amount of care, work, and inventiveness that went into all of his work. He had a back story for each piece, and I could only admire this man and his incredible skill and creativity. My favorite story was for a large installation that connected the book shelves to the top of the annex where the rest of his work was on display. It was a white silhouette of a man on a unicycle that moved up and down on the wire in pursuit of reaching the moon because the man was a dreamer. He than joked that if he eventually did reach the moon, he would no longer be just a dreamer, but an American. I loved this man. After our 30 minute tour through his pieces, we thanked him for his time and headed back out into the street, our lives just a little richer just by meeting him and seeing his work.


Worth the wait?

      Right across the street was an adorable restaurant with an impressive, affordable, and delicious sounding menu so we decided it was as good a place as any to stop for lunch. Our food, when it eventually arrived, was delicious, but there was some sort of mix up in the kitchen with our ticket, so it took over an hour and a half for them to actually get us our meal. They gave us some free juice to pass the time, and we were patient since working in the hospitality industry we understood, but it was slightly irritating. At the end of our meal, the main quickly asked if we wanted dessert, and as we were saying no, I realized that he had mentioned the words on us...too late. We were mad at ourselves for our misfortune of turning down the free dessert, but decided to head out in pursuit of ice cream from Joana's favorite place instead.


We all scream for ice cream

Funny sign from our café dinner.

     We hopped back in the car and drove up to more of the shopping district in the city. After parking in the garage, we wandered a few shops, did some window shopping, and eventually landed at the ice cream shop. Winter-shminter, the treats were delicious and worth it. After another long day of adventures, we headed back to the apartment, picked up Maria, and decided it was time for some coffee and a snack. We went to this excellent café with quite the wait, but the fresh veggie sandwich and delicious latte were worth the wait. After enjoying our light dinner, we headed back to the apartment for another quiet night in where we hung out with the other Joana watching Disney movies and friends and staying up talking until 2am. The next day was my last since my flight left in the evening, so we finally said our goodbyes and headed for bed.


Last meal in Lisbon.

     After sleeping in a bit, we got ready and headed back up to the hills again on the tram from a couple days prior to have brunch at Joana's favorite café in the summertime. Once again, it took a bit for our meals and coffee to arrive, but it was a small kitchen and we didn't mind since we were enjoying the afternoon and people watching. The other Joana arrived, with egg tarts in hand (she lives right near the infamous bakery from my first day in town) so after we finished our burgers and coffee, we wandered the streets while enjoying my last egg tart before departing.


Bonjour Paris!

     We got back to Maria's apartment just in time for me to pack my things and hop in the car to head to the airport. I said my goodbyes, and after realizing I was at the wrong terminal, grabbed the bus to the other section of the airport. After the bit of confusion, I made it through security and to my gate just in time to board. Lucky girl! I was already missing my friend and was so grateful for my phenomenal few days in Portugal, but I was pleasantly surprised by the excitement I felt at hearing the familiarity of French aboard the flight. I was heading home just in time to welcome my family for their visit.
     I spent all day today unpacking, cleaning, shopping, and running errands in preparation for the fam (finding an air mattress is trickier than you would think!) but finally have the apartment fully stocked and ready for the parentals and Grammy who arrive early tomorrow morning. Looking forward to showing all of them a little of my Paris!
    
    













quatorze semaines.

     I spent most of Thanksgiving at home cooking. I bought an insane, not normal amount of bread at the bakery up the street, (I needed three loaves for my stuffing, and the 8 Euro minimum for using a card forced me to purchase 2 additional baguettes. Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, one small girl purchasing 5 loaves of bread looks slightly ridiculous. It is what it is.) And proceeded to prepare my mashed potatoes and stuffing. After a few hours of cooking, I showered, got ready, packed my 5 pounds of food, and headed for the metro. Even though it's the least convenient way to get to my friends' place, logistically packing all of my dishes in my bike basket didn't seem like it was worth the risk.

Our "Thankful" board

     When I finally arrived at Alex and Megan's festively decorated apartment (a little late, as per usual, whoops,) I unpacked my food, met some new people, and got to work with some of the fellow LCB kids in the kitchen. Surprise, surprise, the culinary students spent our time at work in the kitchen (voluntarily and happily mind you.) After a little getting to know you over champagne, bread, and cheese, it was time to sit down to dinner. We had quite the international bunch as usual, with the 3 of us from the U.S. explaining the history behind the holiday to our friends from Finland, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, and Greece. We had a delicious and very traditional meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams with marshmallows, and homemade rolls (Nora, Alex, and my contribution from a couple of days earlier). The company and food could not have been better, and we all felt thankful and blessed to be surrounded by friends who felt like family and made the city feel that much more like home for the holiday.
    After we enjoyed some dessert of pumpkin pie, apple tart, and a delicious chocolate layer cake (I tried a couple bites of each, but was so stuffed finishing them at this point was beyond my capabilities,) we cleared the table and moved into the living room to play some games. We also wrote what we were thankful for and posted them on the awesome board that Megan had made. The overwhelming commonality was that we were all extremely grateful to be living here, but especially to have so many phenomenal people and friends that truly made Paris home. I then went to their guest room to Skype the family and wish them a Happy Turkey day, and when I'd returned I joined in the fun and began playing Cards Against Humanity with everyone. After some solid laughs, Nora went to the kitchen to finish prepping her contribution of Finnish cinnamon rolls (I told you, serious feasting), Megan and some of her friends and co-workers had to call it a night. It was a Thursday and they did have work the next day after all. That's the trouble of celebrating American National holidays abroad, the traditions carry, the four day weekend, not so much.


Dessert!

     Once the gainfully employed of the bunch left, those of us still on break (the LCB crew essentially) enjoyed some more vin and played some games. After a bit of hilarity, my family called me back on Skype again so that I could say hello to the tribe from their Thanksgiving meal, and after a few rounds of games they somewhat chaotically were able to meet my friends over Skype. We were slightly ridiculous and perhaps obnoxious, but loving life, and for me it was fun to have my worlds collide a bit, even for only 10 minutes.
     We hung out awhile longer, and then said our goodbyes for the evening. Since Nora lived closer to Alex, I crashed at her place for the evening to avoid the late night bike trek home. When we woke up the next morning, we had some breakfast and made plans to meet up later in the afternoon with a friend for lunch, and I went home to get ready for the day. Once I made it home and showered though, the exhaustion set in and I decided to hang home for the afternoon and evening. Nora understood, and I met up with her the next morning to help her pack up and clean her apartment before she headed back to Finland for a week.

My lovely goodbye from my Parisian brothers.

     Thank goodness her friend who was fluent in French was there for the arrival of her landlady, because aside from catching bits and pieces here and there about her power being turned off now, we were at a loss. We then said our farewells to her lovely little apartment that had served so well, grabbed an Uber to pack all of her things, and trekked back to my place. The three of us were making light and laughing and joking on the 10 minute ride, but there was definitely a somber mood in the car as well since we didn't want to say our goodbyes, even just for the week. (Thank goodness she'd already purchased her ticket and made the decision to return to Paris for the two weeks before heading to the Alps.)
      When we arrived at my place, we lugged all of her things up to my place (most of it staying stored at my apartment until she was back, everything was making it's way to Finland and the Alps in rotations,) we hung out watching New Girl and enjoying some homemade pasta once ordering a pizza was a bust. Around 4pm, we had to say our good-byes. Eugene needed to head to a PSG game and Nora needed to catch a cab to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye, we spend so much time together and it was coming to a close in a sense, like the end of an era. She would be back and we would still obviously talk everyday, but since she was no longer going to be at LCB it was it's own little ending. I wished her a safe flight and said goodbye until the next week.
     I spent the next couple of days catching up on chores around the house, reading, watching movies, and preparing for Lisbon. For whatever reason having Nora and Joana out of town made me a bit sentimental, even though I would be seeing them both again very soon, it felt wonderful to have such wonderful friends after such a short time here. We were all lucky to have one another, and it was just another reason to appreciate my time here and to know that I was exactly where I'm supposed to be.
     On Tuesday I biked back up to Alex and Megan's because I had left a few things at their place on Thanksgiving (namely silverware and dishes,) and I had to pick up some things for Nora as well before she returned. We hung out for awhile watching the Blacklist together (where Megan and I realized that we were television spirit animals, we literally watch all of the same shows (and when I say literally, I mean it in its actual definition, not just for exaggeration)). After a lovely evening catching up and admiring their new Christmas tree, I grabbed my things and biked home.
     I spent yesterday and today cleaning and packing, and tomorrow I hop on a plane for Lisbon, I'm so excited! I can't wait to add another country to the passport but I'm especially excited to see Joana, meet her family, and get a tour through her city to see all of the best places (and taste all of the best dishes, of course!)