Paris

After leaving Uganda, I was happy to finally completely relax from all of my volunteer work and see family for the first time in nearly 3 months. As a retirement present, I had invited my mother to spend the New Year with me in Paris! We stayed in a little AirBNB on rue Montorgueil in central Paris and had a great time exploring this beautiful little city. Being in Paris during the winter would at first seem unattractive, but I personally thought that it was a beautiful time to be in the city. Walking around in the weeks following Christmas meant that there were beautiful string Christmas lights and joyful holiday spirit. We had the opportunity to stroll through a holiday market where local vendors sold craft goods and delicious foods.

We had such a great time exploring the city that by day three my feet began to throb from all the walking that we did. Since we were spending a week in Paris, we decided to get two all access passes to upwards of 30 museums in central Paris and the outlying towns. We toured all of the infamous museums and buildings like the Louvre, the palace of Versailles, Musee de Orsay, the modern art museum (Centre Pompidou) and more. By the end of our week we were so tired that all we wanted to do was sit down and sleep in. The pieces and architecture that we saw during that week was almost magical; I had appreciated more art during that week than I think I have seen in my life! The art that I was able to view had only been explained to me by professors and in books, but to be able to witness it with the naked eye was something of my dreams.

Paris in the wintertime is something of a dream, but luckily, I get to experience it in the spring again! I had such a great time with my friend Jamie and her friends in Paris were so welcoming that I am excited to go back and visit them again. I will get to sit in the parks having wine during a picnic. Instead of visiting museums, I will really get to walk all around Paris and experience real life there.