I said "Hola" on Monday, "Bonjour" on Tuesday, and now I am back to the good-old "Hallo" in what I have come to call home for the past four months. And, I will stick with "Hallo" for the next few days as I am shockingly in Utrecht for a week straight. Until Istanbul that is...

As for Paris... what a fabulous way to spend 26 hours (literally). I got into Paris around 5:30 on Tuesday afternoon and decided that I was going to take the metro and then get on a bus to meet my friend Rachel at her hotel. When I told my Dad that I successfully managed to get to the hotel on my own using the metro and bus system in a country where English is not the spoken language, he said, "You what?!?" Enough said.

We went straight to dinner on Tuesday night with her parents where we got a lovely surprise come dessert time: a candle! It was mine and Rachel's half birthdays on Tuesday. I know, what a great half birthday. Rachel and I decided we should try to make this a tradition but for some strange reason I am not really sure I will be able to convince my parents I should come to Paris to celebrate my half birthday each year. Whatevaaaa.

After dinner we went on a boat cruise around the Seine, which was super beautiful, especially at night time, except it was mutually agreed upon that the cruise would be much more enjoyable if the automated voice didn't feel the need to announce what we were passing in six different languages every two minutes. "On your left, is the Eiffel Tower, built in...." Like, duh that's the Eiffel Tower... 

The next day we had an early start and got to see the wonderful Manet exhibit at the Musee d'Orsay, which recently opened, and was definitely a treat. We then had some lunch, did some walking and window-shopping, and ended up at my favorite spot in Paris, Laduree. For those who do not know what Laduree is, I suggest you visit their website: http://www.laduree.fr/en/scene. Better yet, I suggest you go visit the real thing, but if not, find someone who you know is going to Paris and tell them the only thing you want is a box of macaroons, or else. My personal favorites are raspberry, dark chocolate, and coffee.  I could probably sit here and write about how delicious they are for a seriously long time so I will trust that you will somehow manage to get a taste of one yourself, rather than be bored by my rantings. But, seriously, they are that good. Go to Paris. Now. Eiffel Tower, Schmieffel Tower. Macaroons are where it's at.

But in case you do want to see the Eiffel Tower....