Girl Meets World: juillet 2012

Désolé!! It has been ages since my first acclaimed Paris blog (now turned more relevantly travelers blog) has been updated. The only way I can explain it is that my life here has truly taken a turn into ordinary-ville. I no longer pinch myself while strolling down Rue Rivoli looking up to see the Eiffel Tower popping its head over Parisian apartments, cafes, and boulangeries. Four months into my stay, and I’ve become a master in the arts of faking it ‘til I make it. Although the French language is nowhere near rolling off my tongue and the boys still make fun of my accent, “je parle Francais, un petit peu.” I’ve learned the in’s and out’s of this city... the do’s, the don’ts, and straight up don’t even go there’s. Some examples? DO watch your step at all times, for fear of being one of the 650 people hospitalized annually from having a spill stepping in merde de chien (dog sh*t). Do NOT walk and eat at the same time. Do this and you’ll be hiding the fact that you’re a “tourist” about as incognito as Lindsey Lohan hiding her ankle monitor. And Do NOT even go there... standing on the left side of the escalator. Try this at your own risk and you will experience whiplash faster than you can say “excusez-moi.” This city is no joke. As charming, romantic, clean (for the most part), safe, and wonderlust as it is, I’ve learned being assertive, independent, and partial bitch is imperative, otherwise, the city will swallow you whole. Those that say “treat others as you would like to be treated,” have clearly never lived in Paris.

With all this positive, rosey, optimistic light shed on you, I must say, I love this city for each and every aspect it encompasses. No where else in the world can you find a place like this. A place by day, you can have the French scolding you for smiling too much, and by night, having the French line up just to get a glimpse of those American pearly whites. Okay, so maybe it’s the stuck up, middle aged mother on the metro scolding you and the 20-something intern who can’t get enough, either way, we’ll call it a draw. I love it here and wouldn’t trade this for anything!

So whats been going on as of recently? As I mentioned, life here has become fairly routine. Although I’m constantly going to new places and meeting new people, the experiences I’m having have not seemed ubberly “blog worthy” (or things I’m wanting to share with the world-- and by world I mean all 4.5 people who read this).

French class ended for me last week although I admit the last month (okay, two months) I’ve slacked on going regularly. Whether it be friends coming into town, checking out that cool new exhibit going on, or just simply grabbing lunch with a friend, there never seems to be enough excuses for me to miss class. I guess even after college, old habits die hard. Soccer also ended last week and will pick back up the end of August. It's been amazing and true blessing being back on the pitch and can't wait to start back up and continue improving on my attacking center mid skills. (Those that know me well are probably getting a laugh at this- yes, my field player dreams have come to life)

According to two different groups of friends that have come through Paris on their Eurotrips, I’m the best of the worst tour guides you can get. All I have to say is, you get what you pay for. Want to see all of Paris in a day? Get submerged in the Parisian culture? Hear me speak Franglish? Eat macaroons? Hear facts about buildings/places that are about 72% true? Get lost countless times? ... than I’m your gal! The first group of friends were boys from the Air Force that Leslie and I met in Amsterdam. In the couple days they were here, I got them more excited about going to an american style bar than seeing the Eiffel Tower. The second group consisted of three guys from Danville who began making bets on how many times I’d screw up showing them around. However, when leaving they said I made Paris so much better than they could have ever done on their own... but coming from a group of guys that planned their day around taking a nap and eating crepes, I’m pretty sure anyone could have made their trip better than them on their own. (Just kidding Matt, Sean, and Tim! You guys were great!) After both groups went on to yatch week in Croatia and to run with the bulls in Pamplona, life for me went back to normal. I went to class four times a week (okay, three) instead of only twice, I was able to get more than five hours of sleep, and make it through the day without napping... Although that tends to be an uphill battle regardless. Instead of recapping my day to day life, I’m posting some pictures below to highlight some of my recent happenings.

So what’s up next in the bubble of Aubree’s life? One of the reasons I chose today to blog is because my mom flies in tomorrow!! The next 8 weeks are going to be a complete whirlwind and an anticipated great time. My mom gets here in the afternoon so Thursday I plan to play tour guide again (lucky you, mom!) before heading to Italy on Friday. We’ll be in Italy a total of nine days and plan to hit Pisa, Lucca, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Venice. We’ll then come back to Paris for two more nights before saying “au revoir, see you at Christmas.”

After mom leaves, I’ll get a piffling two day breather before I take the Eurostar up to London to meet up with Grace! She flies into London the same day and we will spend almost an entire month together! Lets hope we don't kill each other. First on the list... Olympics! I'll have to tell you afterwards if this is a good or bad idea considering the fact that I hate crowds. We’ll spend four nights in London doing a mixture of sight-seeing and some Olympics events. We might grab a drink one or two of the nights as well ;) From London, we’ll head back to Paris long enough to take a nap, have a potty break, and have Grace say hello to my host family before heading down to Nice in the south of France for three nights. Beach, boats, and baybreezes... yes please! Leslie and her friend from home, Kelly, will be joining us as well. Just the thought of us four together makes me laugh. After cruising around Nice, St. Tropez, and Monaco, we’ll come back to Paris for a week and have the house all to ourselves while my host family is hanging out in the Alps. As if it can’t get any better, we’ll then jet over to Eastern Europe for a week. Budapest, Hungary - Vienna, Austria - Prague, Czech Republic. Check!! We’ll finish our summer together with another three nights in Paris before Grace leaves and it’s back to reality.

The mere act of typing my itinerary for the next eight weeks is exhausting enough but I have never looked so forward to something in my life! It’s safe to say that after this summer I’m going to need at least three au pair jobs to counteract my dwindling bank account but I know it will be completely worth it.

“Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.”