Paris

When two friends from Southern California, Jason and Heather Sunukjian (previously seen on Linköpinglivin back in October during a visit to Sweden), called to tell me they would be in Paris and wanted me to join them, I had to think about it for, well, about one minute.

Paris: L' Avenue Champs Elysées, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Musée d'Orsay, Opéra Garnier, Saint Sulpice, Les Invalides, Tuileries Garden, Pont de la Concorde, Hotel de Ville...


Paris: Déscartes, Louis XIV, Monet, Hugo, Renoir, Napolean, Rodin, Marie Antoinette, David, Picasso, Voltaire, Matisse, Manet, Degas, Joan of Arc...


Paris: Croissants, brie, Bordeaux, baguettes, Café au Lait, Sauvignon, Berthillion glacé y sorbet, crepe nutella!


Paris: Ile de la Cité, Ile Saint Louis, Latin Quarter, Marais, Saint Germain des Prés, Paris neighborhoods 1 - 20 known as"Arondissments"...


Paris: What more can I say?

I'm glad you asked. Oui, Bonjour, Bonsoir, A bientot ("See you soon"), Monsieur, Madame, Comment allez-vous ("How are you?"), S'il vous plait ("Please"), Bon Apétite, Bon Voyage, Les Misérables, Creme Brulée, Merci and Au Revoir.

And after four intense days of exploring, eating, walking, gawking, picnicing, drinking, picture taking, reflecting, prioritizing, talking, metro-riding, spending, and even a little bit of sleep, my introduction (because I will return!) to Paris was over. A special "Merci beau-coup" goes out to Veronique and David, two new French friends who put up with three Americans for the weekend. And a much deserved "thank you" to Jason and Heather for happily letting me interrupt their romantic weekend in the City of Love.

*A special note for Americans: If any of you are under the impression that the French are rude, it's simply not true. I have story after story from this weekend to attest to that. I should have been unable to send any postcards and missed the bus to the airport, but because of helpful French, Parisians no less, neither of these things happened. Just like I have to tell Europeans that "not all Americans have guns," I will always tell Americans that not all French fit our stereotype, in fact, I had a hard time finding any...

*A special note for Linköpingsborna: I was so sorry the timing didn't work out for me to be here for the SOF parade on Saturday, especially considering this year's theme, "U.S.A." Colonia had a float and their work on this was tremendous.

Lastly, pictures above:

1. Self-explanatory.
2. River Seine and Notre-Dame at dusk.
3. Shakespeare and Company, arguably the world's most famous English-speaking bookstore found in Paris' Latin Quarter.
4. The brilliant Eiffel Tower at night, an awe-striking sight.
5. Mona and her friends at the Louvre.

Vive la France!