Une Semaine.

     It's been almost a week since my arrival and so far I'm feeling wonderful about the move. There are moments where I feel slightly out of place (mainly due to my lack of French) but overall I feel extremely comfortable in the city. I thought that it would be much more overwhelming, but the vibe and pace of the city allows you to take everything in and fully absorb and enjoy it at your own pace.
      After landing last Monday, I gathered my bags and waited for word from the Madre about her arrival so that we could meet up and taxi over to my apartment. She landed in a different terminal, so after waiting about an hour she picked me up in a cab and we were off. Our cab driver was nice, but quite possibly the slowest driver ever. We FINALLY arrived to my apartment (after a way too expensive tab, and about 40 minutes late for my walk through) but the first thing we saw were the smiling faces of my landlord and his daughter. We were apologetic for our late arrival but they could not have been more gracious. They immediately helped us schlep all of my belongings upstairs (it took a few rounds, we have an elevator in my building but, this is Europe so it's small) and proceeded to show me the place. It's fantastic. Small, but it's only me so I don't need much. It was my landlord's daughter's place but she's moving for school so I'll be renting while she's away. It's fully furnished and they were kind enough to show me any quirks of the place, how to operate appliances, and where to get the best deals for markets etc. As fate would have it, there's even a canvas of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's on the wall (one of my all time favorites.) I was home.

    Ma and I were able to unpack all of my things in about two hours which we were pretty proud of. There were minor adjustments here and there but the major work was done so we decided to venture out a bit to run some errands. We wandered the neighborhood and did my first round of grocery shopping with only minor hiccups (you have to weigh all of your produce BEFORE the check-out counter, whoops). We trekked back to the apartment, unloaded the groceries, and looked up a good place to eat nearby. We found a little café just up the road and enjoyed our first Parisian meal, which having realized we had not eaten all day, was much needed. After heading home, we turned on the TV and drifted off to French chatter...for all of three hours. Despite the rigorous travel schedule, and lack of sleep, we were still thrown off and had serious insomnia. We finally drifted off again around 6am and slept for another three hours.
    Once we woke up, we had some coffee, got ready, and decided to venture out and enjoy Paris. We had the whole next day to take care of some other necessary things to get me settled before ma left, so I wanted to make sure we had a tourist-y day so that she had some fun in the city as well. We started by walking, in the rain, all the way to the Eiffel tower. We were basically drowned rats by the time we were in range after our trek, so we stopped at a café for lunch and coffee before heading to the actual tower. We enjoyed some delicious salads to fuel us for the day and wandered to see the monument.

 

     As luck would have it, the clouds broke during our meal and the sunshine arrived just it time to take in the glorious sites. It was pretty surreal to see the Eiffel Tower in person, and it really solidified that after all of the planning, I had finally arrived in Paris, and for the next ten months, this was home. Since we had more things on our list to see, we wandered the park for a bit, snapped some pictures, and went on our way. Ma had already climbed the tower, and I will have plenty of time to do so soon, so we wanted to keep moving. We walked along the Seine for a bit, and then rented our Velibs (rental bike sharing system in Paris) to get us to our next location.

     Last time Madre was here, she never got to see or go to Montmartre, so it was high on her list of locales to see. While making our way there, we were able to walk the Champs-Elysees, see the Arc de Triomphe, and the Moulin Rouge.

     We walked quite a bit, obviously, but it was great because I was able to get my bearings and really get a feel for the city. Thank goodness for my sense of direction (not necessarily ma's strong suit, but it's all good!) because after a long day of walking and biking, we made it to Montmartre. It was worth the trek for the view alone, but we also got to take in some of the charm of the neighborhood and see a beautiful church, the Basilique du Sacre-Couur de Montmartre.

     We had had a long day and had seen so much that it was time to make the long trek home. We started by walking back to the Champs-Elysees but since the rain started we attempted to Metro rest of the way home. We were booted from our train after two stops because due to construction they were no longer running our line, so long story short, after a failed attempt to get back on track, we found some bikes again and started making our way back to my apartment. After about an hour, we were starving and stopped for dinner, and finally, decided to take a taxi the last mile or so home. Ma didn't want me to have to navigate and it was after 11pm so we were over walking. We crashed exhausted and ready to take on the next day.

     I woke up at about 8 to Ma Skyping Padre, Grammy and Aubs back home. Normally I'd be super excited, but after our long day and my cold medicine induced sleep haze (I'd been fighting something since CT) I was not the most exciting or enthusiastic person to chat with. We showed them my apartment, enjoyed some coffee and pastries, and got ready for the day ahead.

     Our main priority was to do a trial run for my commute to school. We mapped it, rented our Velibs, and headed to the school. The commute is joyously easy and direct, just a 15 minute fairly straight shot on the bicycle, a little walking, and I'm there. Off the bikes, we grabbed some snacks from a Boulangerie and headed to the school. We wandered in to the front offices to check it out and were greeted by a very friendly woman at the front desk. She asked when I was starting and what program, and then gave us an excellent recommendation for dinner just around the corner.

    We walked the neighborhood for a bit, stopped for some coffee,

and headed back to my apartment to map our way for our next destination (with no cell data it takes a little extra planning to get from place to place until I get my international plan squared away). Ma wanted to go with me to see the Galeries Lafayette, one of her favorite places from her last trip here. It's a shopping mall in a stunning building and totally worth the trip.

 Not only is the building clearly stunning, but the fashion eye candy was equally amazing. Each floor has something incredible to offer with some of the best designers in the world. There's even one or two floors with clothing that is actually slightly affordable (so I might be able to find an excuse to head back, for presents perhaps ;) ) We were in the mood for a snack, and saw a counter on the third or fourth floor with some beautiful Macarons. We hadn't had any yet, and decided, we already had coffee, why not enjoy some cookies and champagne? When in Paris, right?

     After or lunch of champions, we wandered up to the top of the building to take in the view. Which was alright I guess...

 



      We wanted to make it back to the apartment in time to freshen up for dinner so we trekked to some Velibs and rode home. We had just enough time to drop off our stuff and get ready to make our 8pm reservation. When we had stopped in earlier that day, the Chef was super friendly and informed us that there would be live music to accompany our meal. Lucky for us, The waiter was equally as lovely and helped us select our meals as well as a delicious wine. The musician arrived and the restaurant began to fill up. The musician played his acoustic guitar and played nothing but American covers (everything from Bob Dylan to Mungo Jerry) so we were already pretty excited. Singing along to the music, we were ready for our very classic French meal as promised, and we were not disappointed.



 

   I started with white asparagus which was perfectly cooked and seasoned, a filet served with mashed potatoes (with butter of course) and bone marrow (delicious) and a marvelous dessert of pistachio crème brulee. Heaven. If this is what the people of my school are suggesting, then I chose correctly because clearly they love and appreciate food and ambiance. This, is why I chose to study in France. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the apartment for mom's last night in the city.

    I woke up around 6 about 15 minutes before her departure and we said our goodbyes. Her cab arrived on time and she was off to the airport, where she thankfully made her flight, (she was non-revving so it wasn't a sure thing).

    I spent the next few hours hanging out in the apartment, re-organizing some things, cleaning, and planning for some errands etc. I got ready and headed out a few hours later and found what I am now calling my French version of Target (much smaller, obviously) to pick up some essentials. I was happier than I should have been wandering the aisles, but it was fun to explore and see my options.

    I laid low at the house most of the afternoon figuring out my international phone plan, how to stream TV and movies abroad, and cooked my first meal in the apartment (I had only really eaten out with the Madre, spoiled I know). 

     Yesterday, I trekked to finalize some visa details, wandered my neighborhood some more, and slept, a lot. I guess I'm still getting over this bug so I'm taking advantage of the down time before school starts Monday.

     After sleeping in again today, (seriously, have I been this sleep deprived?) I took my time having breakfast, getting ready, and mapping my adventures for the day. After successfully making it to the Post Office to learn that it was closed, I decided to wander my neighborhood a little more to get a feel for everything. I enjoyed a fresh strawberry pastry (so spoiled by options here) and made my way to the park just up the street from my apartment. I lazily wandered taking it all in; people watching, gathering the lay of the land, but mostly just smiling to myself that this is my neighborhood and my new way of life.

I now live in a place where it's not only acceptable to stroll through the park for no reason but to enjoy the day, eat a pastry, and read a book but it's encouraged and totally normal. I even had one woman come up to me and ask me for directions, in French, which meant that I was mistaken for a local, by a local. Despite the fact that my French is terrible and I couldn't really help, it seemed like a small victory. I might just get the hang of this.

    School starts Monday so tomorrow, I'll take advantage of the down time, continue my lazy streak, and maybe have a Sunday Funday. Macarons at Laduree perhaps? Or maybe scour some vintage shops that I read about online. Who knows, I've got options! I miss everyone at home a lot, but it still feels selfishly wonderful to be here and enjoy and take everything in. Okay, enough with the novel. I'm shocked if anyone is still reading at this point, I won't make all of them this long, promise! Until next time!

Goodbye USA, Bonjour France!

     It's been a little over two years since my last post, and now it's time for another adventure, in arguably the grandest of my life thus far. The last trip was a three week whirlwind, and I'm so excited to see what these next ten months will bring. I expect to be challenged in many ways but that's the beauty of travel and expanding your horizons. I've been talking about doing this for so long that it seems surreal that it's finally here. I've been sitting and reflecting about the last couple of weeks (or months or years really) leading up to this trip, and while there's been stress, worry, fear, and even some doubt about all the steps to get to this point, I've never for one second felt that this wasn't the right decision for me.
     Saying goodbye to everyone was difficult but it was a wonderful reminder of how blessed I am to be surrounded and loved by so many phenomenal, supportive people. Sitting at the terminal waiting to board my flight, I feel incredibly at peace and all of the stress and worry has disappeared for the time being; just when I thought it would hit an all time high. I know that this is partly because I'm exactly where I need to be at this point, but it's largely due to all of the love and prayers being sent my way.  I thank family, friends, and tribe for that.
     Any who, now that I've been ridiculously sentimental, (I promise I'll be posting things that are much less of a downer)  here's to this new chapter! The French is a work in progress to say the least and navigating to the apartment with about twice my body weight in luggage will be an adventure all it's own, but I for one can't wait! I'll do my best to post fairly regularly to share some highlights from my time in France, and I'm sure some food stories and culinary school geek out moments will frequently join the mix. So, for now, Bon Voyage USA and Viva la France!

As quickly as it began the adventure is now coming to a close. It seems insane that we're already our way home, but we had a fantastic trip and I would not have traded it for anything.
Each week and place was so fantastically different and we have so many stories and new friends from every one. I will miss insane moto taxis and nights spent dancing at el cumplejo in Iquitos, crazy rubber boot treks through the amazon, the phenomenal wonder that is Machu Picchu, craziness in wonderful Cusco, and the ever expansive Lima. I've crossed off so many bucket list items on this trip and the list has only grown exponentially for new places and adventures to be had.
I've had a whirlwind three week introduction and I've officially been bitten by the travel bug. We felt so safe and at ease the entire time and we were blessed in so many ways along the ride. Could not have asked for anything more.
We're going home with lots of new friends, unforgettable memories, and a long list of places to visit next time we get to South America. Thanks so much again for all of the prayers and love that made our adventure possible.
So, until the next trip...iCiao!

Checking into Pariwana we met James, our friend Eve from Cusco's friend from California. He helped us get settled in and then we were reunited with Eve. We all hung out and chilled celebrating the 4th and then a group of us ventured out to buy some groceries to BBQ some burgers. We had a great meal and spent the evening playing games with new and old friends at the hostel.
After a few hours we decided to go out downtown to try dancing, but on a Wednesday we had no luck and went to a place where we all hung out for a bit outside the hostel. We ended up running into our friend Alfredo
from Iquitos, such a small world. Lizzy was tired a little sooner then me and Chels so cabbed it back to Pariwana with one of our friends and Chels and I followed suit about an hour later.
We were really hungry when we got back and got directions from the people at the front desk to a sandwich place and two of the security guys walked with us to make sure we were safe. We messed up the directions and had to settle with getting instant cup of noodles from a gas station instead. It was a comic outing to say the least, but we enjoyed our makeshift meal and went to bed.
The next morning we all woke up, got ready, packed, stored our luggage, and grabbed Eve so that we could grab some food and watch the changing of the guards downtown. We made it just in the knick of time, but unfortunately the whole scene was overshadowed a bit by a woman who passed out in the street. The guards and paramedics acted quickly and were able to help her but it was quite eventful.
The four of us then walked across the square for a quick, cheap lunch at a cafe. We all got really excited after seeing a horse carriage in the square, learned it was only 4 soles and person, and had Juan the driver and Charlie the horse taking us for a spin around the square. We were quite pleased with our decision and enjoyed our moment to be majestic and touristy all at once.
After our wonderful ride with Charlie, we ran around taking silly tourist pictures and shopping around in some markets and stuff for more souviners before taking a taxi back to the hostel.
We spent the afternoon lounging and hanging out with our friends. In the evening we grabbed some sandwiches from a great place across the street from ten hostel. We ate them on a bench in the park that is filled with cats, (which Eve loved since she's all about the cats,) and then walked back to the hostel just in time to gather our things and take a cab to the water park.
Chels, Lizzy, Eve, and I enjoyed seeing all of the different fountains and taking lots of fun pictures. Once we'd finished up, we enjoyed some Anticuchos and took a taxi back to the hostel.
Sadly, we had just enough time to gather our bags, call a cab, and say goodbye to our friends before heading to the airport for the end of our trip.

When we arrived in Lima our flight was delayed once again getting in but Chelsey's family friends Juan and Denise were waiting for us when we left baggage claim. They took us straight to a wonderful restaurant owned by a top 30 chef for a belated birthday celebration lunch for Chels. I still wasn't feeling well so food wasn't super appealing unfortunately, but I had some pork chops with apples honey and a side of mashed potatoes that were delicious. I ate as much as I could and we all appreciated such a treat from Juan and Denise.
We went back to their apartment and got the lay of the land, met their lovely dogs Larry and Lola, and settled in to chat and watch a movie. I went to bed pretty early hoping to feel a bit better since we wanted to go to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) the next day. I woke up nearly the next day still feeling under the weather but showered, got ready and laid low until we left. Since it was close we walked to the Museum and it was really interesting. There's everything from weapons to jewelry to textiles and it was amazing to take all of it in. The craziest is that the entire collection belongs to one man since it was so extensive.
After we finished walking through the museum, we took a taxi down to Laco Mar, a really cute outdoor shopping mall with lots of cute cafes overlooking the water. We enjoyed a nice lunch together and walked around a few of the stores before catching another cab back to Juan and Denise's. We were pretty tired and I was still under the weather so we spent a lazy evening watching movies once again and enjoying dinner that Denise was kind enough to prepare for us. I headed to bed once again hopeful that I would feel better for our bike ride the next day.
I awoke on our second morning finally having broken my fever and feeling well enough to take our bike tour of Lima thank goodness. We rode for a few hours along the water in Barrancas and enjoyed a nice lunch at a cute little green cafe along the way. After our ride we walked into Mira Flores to shop around in the Incan Market for some more souvenirs. It was about 6:30 when we hopped in a cab to get back to the apartment where Denise had cooked Peruvian for us for dinner. It was delicious, and I was happy to have my appetite back a bit after having been sick. We enjoyed another nice movie night and and went to bed excited for the 4th the next day.
We decided to head to the Pariwana Lima for our last couple days and night to see some of our friends from Cusco and celebrate the 4th. We said our goodbyes to Juan and Denise, thanked them for their marvelous hospitality, and cabbed it to Mira Flores for Pariwana.

Cusco

     After returning to Pariwana from our Machu Picchu adventures, we stayed in for the night catching up on some much needed sleep. Wednesday we woke up, had breakfast, and went to look around the city with a couple of Australian girls we had met at our hostel. We had a good time looking around the markets to see some souvenir options and such. After a couple hours of wandering we all got lunch together at a cute little cafe in downtown. We wanted to wander a bit more so Chels, Lizzy and I walked through some other parts of town. We stopped at a chocolate shop for some treats and then stumbled upon the best jewelry shop. The women running the store is the kindest, most wonderful person. She spoke very little English which gave Chels and I some good Spanish practice, and her store was full of beautiful handmade jewlery that she had done herself. She had American pop hits blasting through the stereo and started dancing a bit with us for her love of musica de moda. Not to mention, her prices were the most reasonable we´ve found anywhere, and we were stoked to support this lovely women. She individually packed all of our purchases in bags for safer travel because it´s her love, and hugged and kissed all of us call us her amors before we left the shop. We all wanted to adopt her into our families she´s so fantastic.
     We wandered for a bit more around the city before heading back to the hostel. We grabbed a quick bite at the hostel and then hung out with some new friends that we'd made. There was a quiz night held for the activity that night and me, Chels, and three girls that we had met from Canada teamed up and ended up winning! We were pretty stoked and used our free beverage prize to make some more friends in the hostel. After waking Lizzy from her nap, we all geared up for our first night out dancing in Cusco. We had a great time living it up with all of our new friends and settled in to our new Cusco familia.
     The next day we woke up to head to the Chocolate Museum. We first planned to wander and check it all out, but once we got there we talked to one of the guys who worked there and he encouraged us to sign up for the lall that lets you make chocolate from bean to the bar.  We went back at 1:30 and started our class and lucky us the VIP treatment continued and we were able to take the class with no one but the three of us which was really fun. We learned a lot about the chocolate and got to make our own flavored candies. I also won the competition that our instructior had made for us and got some free cocoa tea which was awesome.
     We went for some lunch after finishing our class and then returned to pick up our chocolate. The evening class had about 20 people in it so we were stoked at how spoiled we had been. We spent the night in hanging out with all of our friends and enjoying the performances of our hostel buddies and a bachelor party that was now staying at Pariwana. An entertaining night to say the least. Lizzy even convinced Chels and I to see a Ke$ha song with her at one point for a break in the Spanish ballads.
     The next day we woke up and chilled reading and hanging with some of our friends before wandering out into the city. We wanted to check out some churches and stuff and our friend Nathan decided to take us up to a church on a hill over looking the city. The view was spectacular. We snapped some photos and hung out for a bit before wandering parts of Cusco that we hadn't explored yet and checking out new markets and churches and such. I was feeling a little tired so spent the rest of the afternoon reading and chilling until getting ready with Chels and Lizzy for our "splurge" dinner at this amazing restaurant called Fallen Angel. We'd heard really great things and had stopped by to chek it out and the decor and vibe were awesome. The meal didn't disappoint and we really enjoyed ourselves, I even got adventerous and tried alpaca and it was well worth it!
     We got back to the hostel and met up with our friends hanging out for the evening before we all decided to go out dancing for the night. It was another great night at Mythology with our friends with fantastic music, and we all wandered back later to crash after another wonderful day.
     On our last day in Cusco we went to the black market with our friend Jay to see if we could find some iPods or iPhones for Jay and Lizzy who had both lost technology since travelling. There was no luck at the market but it was definitely an experience to check out the culture that way. We wandered to the San Pedro market as well to see what else Cusco had to offer because we heard it was a must do. After wandering for a good part of the afternoon I wasn't feeling very well because (what I now know was an ear infection) was really starting to get to me and a fever setting in. I went back to the room and read and napped for most of the afternoon.
     In the evening I wandered out to find Chelsey and Lizzy and found our friend Margaret who was also feeling a bit under the weather. We decided to stay in and watch a movie together so a small group of us enjoyed The Departed together. Feverish and exhausted I called it a night and went to bed while Lizzy and Chels enjoyed our last night in Cusco with our friends. The next morning we woke up, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed to the airport. It was bittersweet since we had made such fantastic friends and really enjoyed our time there. Definitely will have to go back some day!

Like a Boss

     On Tuesday morning we woke up at 4am once again so that we could catch the bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30 in order to make it to our hike for Huyanapicchu at 7. Once we got into the park, we made our way towards the gate to Huyanapicchu, but not before stopping to hang out and have a photo op with some llamas. Chels and I like creatures, what can I say? We arrived at the gate at about 6:30 and we were just behind a couple of girls from Nebraska who were really nice. One had hiked it last year and gave us some ideas for what to expect. We signed into the log at 7 and started our trek.
     We were told that it was a pretty intense hike and that it should take about 45 minutes to an hour. Our guide fom the day before dared us to beat his 45 minute record since we were young and in shape. It was intense with the altitude, but once we made it to the top we realized that we beasted it in just over 30 minutes. Needless to say we felt pretty accomplished. The view from the top is positively stunning. Huyanapicchu is situated so that you can see all of the ruins from the view, and since we were the first three at the top we had about 15-20 minutes to ourselves just to enjoy the view and take it all in. It was super majestic that morning because we were literally in a cloud and it made the whole experience super surreal.
     After more people started to arrive at the peak and we had gotten all of the desired pictures, we decided to hike to the Grand Cavern at the bottom of the mountain since we had plenty of time to explore. Our legs were pretty tired after our long hike and the downhill was pretty rough on our joints but it was cool to be able to see the cavern once we finally made it down. I´m more and more impressed by these Incas the more I see let me tell you. We hung out at the bottom for awhile to recover a bit once we realized that it was a 90 minute hike back up the mountain to Machu Picchu. It was a rough go since our legs were quite jello-y  at that point but we made it back to the main ruins in about 40 minutes. Our main motivation at that point was food since after three hours of intense hiking we did not have near enough in our systems.
     After some seriously overpriced sandwiches, we headed back to the ruins to get some more pictures that we had wanted and just take it all in for a little longer. Around 1:00, we said our goodbyes to Machu Picchu and loaded the bus back to Aguas Calientes. We picked up our stuff from the hostel, went to a cafe to read and hang out for a bit, and then did some browsing in the markets before heading back to the train station for our return to Cusco.
     After our 4 hour journey to Cusco, we arrived back at about 9pm and showered and got ready for bed after a couple of long, exhausting days. It was beyond worth it though. We all agreed that Huyanapicchu was the best hike we´ve ever done in our lives and don´t know when or where we could top it at this point. Overall, our two days at Machu Picchu were some of the most rewarding and fulfilling days we´ve ever experienced. I still can´t believe that we actually did it, so good thing there´s proof in pictures to affirm it for myself. We´re some lucky ladies to say the least.