I have been to France four times and Paris 3 times and I have never seen the Eiffel Tower. And I mean with my own two eyes in its presence. I’ve see photos and the tower far off in the distance, but before I leave I told myself I had to see it for real. And I am so glad I did.

Wedding is over! It was so wonderful to see the family and see you walk the aisle with the other brides maids. You all looked beautiful. I hope you had a great time. I will admit I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve grown up so much! It feels like just yesterday that we were staying up all night on Christmas Eve watching Elf and other movies in the living room by the Christmas tree in 2021.

I can’t believe it! in 48 hours we will be together, the whole family! Are you excited for the wedding? You’ve got a big job to do too, Junior Bride’s Maid, not everyone can say that! We are going to have so much fun, but first I have to pack. I want to bring some french snacks and specialties for the family to taste and have a whole little party about it. But to do that I gotta go get those things.

I’m back at the Louvre, after my first visit and getting lost, I realized that a single visit at the louvre wasn’t going to be enough. Especially if I wanted to see all the museum has to offer. Every entry is 17€ which can get expensive fast so I bough an annual pass. I have to go five times to make it worth it but I know I’ll go every week, maybe even twice a week!

Last time I was in Paris I didn’t get the chance to do much sight seeing. On the top of my list was the Palais Garnier (or The Opera), it’s where the ballet and opera perform. It is also where the legend of the phantom of the opera started. You know, the musical… well this is where it is set! The theatres in toronto are decorated, but the Palais Garnier is opulent.

It’s FASHION WEEK! I have always wanted to go to a fashion week. Toronto has one in the fall too I think but the fun stuff is always when I have work. With Paris being a fashion capital, not only are there fashion shows, there’s exhibitions, installations, museum events, galleries, swag rooms and masterclasses all throughout the city and the best part… most things are open to the public.

Finally had time to do some touristy things. This weekend I went to the Musee des arts decoratifs and the louvre. At the Musee they had an exhibit about fashion and sports. It was so cool! The way it was set up was that you would walk through time and see how the fashion for the most popular sports at the time have evolved. What I found really fascinating is that almost all sports were played by women competitively before men even had the thought to turn it into their carriers.

I’ve been doing a couple cooking classes these last few weeks. Well the school calls them “Atelier Cuisine”. I’m always the only one, all on my own with an activities staff. But they are so cool, Lina and Brahim are so funny. We talk a lot about the difference between France French and Canadian French, the differences are numerous and make for hysterical miscommunications. I made a dish called Welsh… apparently it’s French… but I was skeptical. I’m told it’s a regional dish from Lille and it is very popular. It’s country bread with mustard and ham covered in a cheese beer sauce and topped with a fried egg.

The clouds have lifted… I think. I’m feeling more at home now in Paris and I’m making friends. Met a girl from California, she’s really cool and we went for lunch at one of my restaurants Paul & Julienne. It was nice to be talking with someone other than the thoughts in my head. She works in marketing which gives her the flexibility to do a trip like this to Paris.

I’m still feeling a little not like myself but i’ve already spent too much time at home. I need to get out, even just for an hour. This week at school I started to explore the lunch options in the area. I had made a list of all the restaurants and cafes that were recommended on line and saved them in Google Maps. What a great little tool, I now have a tab called “Paris Eats” and if ever I am hungry I open it up and it shows me which is closest to my location.