After finishing our trip to the Greek islands, my mom and I spent one last day in Athens before we flew back to Paris. We were both exhausted but we wanted to fit a visit to the Louvre in for my mom. I gave her the speedy tour, and for having only 2 hours there, we sure saw a lot. I’d like to think I have perfected my Parisian tour guide skills. My mom flew out the next morning and I came to the awful realization that I am all alone with nothing to do in this city. On my way back from the airport I decided not to get off the train and headed straight for Paris’ shopping district. Retail therapy.

All my friends are leaving or already done with study abroad. I’m practically done with study abroad. Everything is packed up and my flight is in the morning. It’s so depressing. A part of me is ready to go home but then there is the part that doesn’t want to stop traveling. There will be a lot of things I’m going to miss about living in Paris. I’m going to miss…

Picnics by the Eiffel tower.. and for that matter, being able to drink wine in the parks. What’s a picnic without wine to go with your cheese? I love that little picnic gathering in the park are a normal hangout spot. How fun!

Falafel pitas from the Jewish quarter

The gorgeous old bridges across the Seine. Sometimes they are covered in lover’s locks and sometimes they are intricate and gold.

The Montmartre neighborhood. Sacré Coeur was one of my favorite sights (despite the crowds) because the view is amazing. And once you get past the crowds the little winding streets are exactly what you’d expect from Paris.

The gardens behind Notre Dame. I don’t know how many times we visited Notre Dame before we finally explored the 3 sides other than the front! There are gardens, benches, a view of the Seine. Just don’t pay mind to the overly cuddly French couples canoodling on the benches.

Crêpe stands! I guess it’s in my best interest that I can no longer eat Nutella every day but we had a good thing going while it lasted. I will also miss all the cafés in Paris. They are everywhere! I used to hate coffee but after living in Paris I love their delicious café cremes!

It’s so weird looking back over my pictures from the semester. I remember a time when I carried my loyal little guidebook with me everywhere I went. I remember when we were exploring the cities and would stumble upon a beautiful place and have no idea what we were looking at. Once we walked around for about an hour running up to every church we past thinking it was Notre Dame. By sundown we finally found the real Notre Dame and it was so exciting. Now I can walk around and it really feels like I’ve been living here rather than visiting.

Somehow I have fit my life in Paris into three small bags. Okay let’s be honest… my mom already took home the big suitcase with a ton of my stuff. But it’s still a strange thing to see your entire place empty and know that everything that filled it just yesterday is in a suitcase wayy smaller than the apartment. I’ve always said and will always maintain that I hate packing, but all the packing was definitely worth the adventures I got this semester!

Au revoir Paris 🙁 tu vas me manquer. À bientot! xoxo.
-T