HOME!!!

So, after 5 months in Paris, I am finally home!!!

The last week was AMAZING! After finishing all my work, I got to play with Nikki and just hang out and eat and enjoy Paris. Finally, VACATION!!!

Friday, Nikki and I met for lunch at Erwan's restaurant in the 16th, Zebra Square. Lunch turned into four hours of amazing food and hanging out with le chef. Champagne, foie gras, yummy soft-boiled eggs with mushrooms, shrimp dumplings, and sashimi! Of course, followed by the most AMAZING sundae! I tend to steer clear of strawberry sauce (I am a chocolate girl!), but Erwan's strawberry sauce was to die for! Essentially amazing strawberry jam, cooked down and then mixed with fresh strawberries, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and too much whipped cream... YUM! We were full for the next twelve hours, but it was great! After "lunch", which ended around 6:30, we went to Galeries Lafayette/Zara/H&M to find Nikki some work clothes. Most of the stores close at 8pm so we were a little short on time, but it was so fun. We were too full to do anything else, so we called it an early night. Many more adventures to squeeze in for our last few days!

Saturday started with a trip to Giverny. It's SO gorgeous, even in the rain. We weren't there for very long (you can thank awkward weekend train schedules and a delayed bus for that), but we made the most of it! Back in Paris, of course we SHOPPED! We explored Printemps, the fabulous department store right next to Galeries Lafayette that is MUCH less popular than Galeries because it is not a tourist attraction. Well lit, spacious, with maps for each floor telling you where you could find each designer... genius! We went to Pink Flamingo in the Marais for pizza. We had passed this place so many times before, and were curious because the restaurant includes a gutted VW van that is parked out front and seats 6 people at a cute little table. Chic/edgy pizza, mmm! The pizza was great, and when we were done, we went to Harry's New York Bar to meet Erwan and Geraldine. The walls are covered in American university pennants. The Columbia one is particularly old (brown and brown instead of blue and white!) so we made plans to return to Paris with a new, pretty pennant for them to hang! Around two, we decided to head home. However, due to the HUGE amount of tourists in Paris for Roland Garros (C'mon Nadal!), we spent an hour waiting before finally finding a cab. No worries, we weren't meeting until 2:30 on Sunday!

Sunday, we met Soso in the Marais for lunch, then wandered to shop a little and enjoy my last full day in Paris. I got some awesome headphones and a present for my host mom, and was happy to see Soso one more time. After a very welcome afternoon nap, we went to Café le Baron for dinner and drinks, and had these amazing cocktails called Canon Balls: Champagne, vodka, crème de framboise (raspberry), and crème de fraise (strawberry). SO GOOD! And the food was great, too! It was sad to say goodbye after dinner, but I was definitely ready to come home!

On Monday, I headed to Charles de Gaulle at around 10am. By 11:15 I was in line to check my bags, however they were overweight. While trying to get at least one bag to be under the weight limit, the zipper on one of my bags broke, so I had to have it wrapped in plastic so it could go on the plane! With the crisis averted, I checked in and made it to the gate. The flight was alright, rather long but I got some reading done and watched Julie and Julia, and was so excited to get home! Once I got my bags and got through Customs, I saw my parents and someone I didn't recognize hiding behind a "Welcome Home Jaimie!" sign with balloons... It was JP! Because Monday was Memorial Day, he had driven to MA to meet me at the airport! Once we got home, I found Manuel in the kitchen making homemade macaroni and cheese, and preparing for a huge bbq with the Whalens. What a great welcome home party!!! I was exhausted, so when JP left to drive home, I basically got right in bed. I'm not totally over my jet-lag yet, but I'm working on it!

Thanks for following my France adventures! I hope you had as much fun reading as I had experiencing it!!!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie