Après

"Paris is always a good idea." ~Audrey Hepburn

Paris was the best idea. And now it is over, for now. Paris has become a part of me and I will always yearn for it. But now that I am back in the good ol' US of A I have some reflecting to do. I won't go into detail about my last day other then I went to the boulangerie and got myself some goodies and waited at the bus stop for quite some time. But that was the least waiting I did all day. Let's just say that I dearly missed the customer service in the US and I hate Icelandair with a fiery passion. 

My life in Paris was wonderful and I hope that I can one day make it more permanent. It has opened my eyes to the world that I had always hoped was there. I seem to see everything now through a filter and in contrast to the French. I can't even begin to describe what Paris was like for me, I can sorta equate it to a nutella crepe, sometimes it was the best crepe on earth and sometimes all I wanted to do was throw it trash but because it was a nutella crepe I didn't. I said at the being of this blog that I had a romanticized view of Paris and I still do. It is still the perfect city for me even while trip on the little cobble stone that is left and get ridiculously lost on the metro. It is the only city that I could ever imagine living in, and if you know me you know how I don't like the city.

Paris was my teacher but it didn't teach me exactly what I thought it would. It taught me that I talk too much, Europeans must always be dehydrated, I am even more independent than I thought, I need to learn to trust people more and so very much more. All of that along with more tolerance for things not done the "typical" way. Paris has inspired me to strive for my own version of greatness, what that is I still have no idea. It just looks like I will have to go back again and figure it out. This journey has inspired me to write more and learn about things I never would have thought were interesting enough to learn about like Haussmann and the construction of Paris in the 1860's. 

This trip has expanding my view on what can be considered art. I see things in a much more critical way. Not as in looking for faults but looking for meaning. I look at the intricate that are in simple art works or in the simplicity that is contained in a sculpture. I see things rather than look at things. And that is one of the greatest gives that I got out of this adventure. I still love Degas but see him in not such a shiny light and my repertoire of French literature and music has a laundry list of things for me to still experience. 

I was given a list of things by my lovely Aunt Boots about my trip and here are my answers. 
Best food: nutella crepe (I know boring)
Worst food: sweet pickle (can't they just have normal pickles??)or this weird mint ice cream that I had on the smaller island, Ile de St. Louis
Best experience: well disregarding the whole thing as an answer I would have to say Giverny. The way that day was is indescribable.
Most disgusting experience: It's not a eww experience but all the gypsies that were around that tried to get you to sign there petitions so you would be distracted and rob you.  
Best painting: Way too many to choice from but any of the Degas paintings I saw or I really loved the Marie Laurencin paintings that I got to see. 
Best building: Sainte-Chapelle Church. I had never had my breath taken away as I did with that church.
Scariest moment: Getting on the metro the wrong way and heading out to the sketchy suburbs. 

I am going to make my thank you's quick because I can't express how grateful I am in words; they pale in comparison to how I feel. I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to live my dream and doing everything they could to help me achieve it. To my lovely sisters who are so supportive. Along with all of my friends and family who kept up with my blog and listened to me for years go on and on about Paris. I have to give a special thank you to Rachel, you know why and I could never have gotten through that without you. I would also like to thank the best professor Adriana Zabala, you are a truly gifted person and educator. And you the reader who read through my rambles even if you didn't know me, I hope you enjoyed the insight into my world.  Oh and of course to the great country of France and the marvelous city of Paris, she opened her arms to me and guided me though like an old friend. I never felt like a fish out of water, just a confused one once in a while.

Well that's it. I am no long that 19 year old student of the prairie who had never traveled abroad. I am now a 20 year old student of the world who wants to see not only Paris again but the rest of the world as well.

Merci pour tout,
Bisous Janice