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.

I made it to Milan! The flight was actually quite enjoyable. Took the train to the city Center. Had a late lunch with my friend and relaxed in my hotel the evening. I watched an Italian game show. Weird game show. Kind of like the Asian game shows. I’m surprised by how much I understood of it.  All my Italian is coming back. I went to the grocery store and got my yogurts for my breakfast and some snacks that Caspianne requested for her wedding.

I am going to Milan Italy for the weekend. I didn’t have the chance whilst in Rome and I really wanted to get my dress for Caspianne’s wedding here. Going to go to some ateliers but I’ll probably end up with something from Zara or H&M, the fast fashion here in Europe is far superior than in the US and Canada. The style is top notch.

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.

Finally in Paris and well…. I’m already skeptical about France and this is my last destination so I really want to end on a high note. When I arrived at my host, she wasn’t even home, she took a 3 week holiday. Only her adult children are home, her youngest is 17 years old which isn’t far off from Jacquelyn and Zoe and her son is 22, which made me the oldest in the apartment by nearly ten years.

It’s been a week now at this third (and last) host. Even with her rules, I am making it work. I’m out exploring a bit more, definitely trying some new restaurants. my two favourites are Mr. Mathieu and Maison Celine. Mr. Mathieu is a sandwich shop that only makes baguette sandwiches. Their most famous is the Mr. Poulet, it is amazing. Crispy baguette, roast chicken, butter, herbs, dijon mustard, and gruyere cheese, all melty and delicious.

They found me a place. It is clean, but again I am met with a xenophobia I haven’t experience in Berlin or in Rome. When I arrived at this woman’s house she told me to leave my bags outside until she talks with me to decide if she will allow me to stay. Thankfully I was “allowed” to stay and moved in. She then handed me a pamphlet with the house rules.

I never thought I would get to this point on my trip, but I just want to come home. I give up on Nice. The school has no interest in helping me. When I spoke to them about my “requirements” for a host. I told them I just want what I paid for: a room in a host family, in a clean house that is 60 minutes or less away from the school. Their follow up question again was: what is more important, being close to school or that the place is clean.

The school has placed me in a new host family. It’s so far from the school, like an hour and a half by bus away from the school, which includes a 20 minute hike in the mountains. Thankfully my dad and Sarvy are visiting for a couple days. It will keep my mind off this disappointing situation.

I am so happy I got a week in Vienna, there is no way I would have survived living in that rooming house for another moment. The hotel in Vienna was gorgeous! Absolute luxury. It’s all Paris themed which is very à propos. Im sharing my room with my bonus sister Tara. The hotel has a great restaurant but the highlight is the bakery downstairs. It’s famous in the area. It’s called Moto Brot, and I lived in that little bakery. The croissants were French, your dad would have loved them. Buttery and flakey, oh and the almond croissants were to die for!

I have arrived in Nice and it’s starting to feel a bit like a repeat of Berlin. I arrived right on time went to the little EF school kiosk and no one was there. Not a soul. I called the transfer number and they said that they already picked me up.

My time in Rome has come to a close. How three months go by so fast! When I arrived in mid-April I was so anxious that I would have a rough experience like in Berlin, but I was so wrong. Rome was amazing, I would even call it home!

I can’t believe it! I’m sick, again!! Thankfully it’s just a cold but man I miss those three years of not being sick. The most annoying part is that my ears are all stuffed which makes my balance questionable.

In my 31 years I have never had a birthday that wasn’t in Toronto, or at home with family. I figured it would be a little lonely, maybe anti climactic, but actually it was lovely. No I did not have the big birthday dinner I normally have with family, but my friend Ruth took me out for a gelato before class. Then during class school staff came in singing with a little cupcake with a candle. It was so nice!

I’m so excited! Today I’m hanging out with my friend!!! The English woman, her name is Catherine and we went to Castel San Angelo. She’s a bit of an early riser, and we made plans to meet at 10am. I woke up already waited for the bus…. But it never came.

It took a little convincing, actually none, but Catherine is joining the pasta cooking class. It’s at a different restaurant than the last, this one is in Trastevere, the food district of Rome. We had so much FUN!!

Summer is here! Well nearly, the locals tell me that this week’s 24-27°c weather is nothing in comparison to a Roman summer. Not sure how I will survive… especially without air conditioning.

Every Monday we get a whole new set of students, which is very exciting, more opportunities to meet new people. This cohort again was many short stay students, most of which seemed to have joined my A2 class. We had a Belgian girl, an American woman, two Dutch girls and a woman who is English but lives in France. No new Canadians. I have actually only met one other Canadian and she left weeks ago.

It’s been a weird week without Mamie. A little lonely if I’m being honest. You don’t realize how important something is till it’s gone, and with Mamie here I had a companion. Making friends in Rome is a bit harder than in Berlin because the students are mostly short term, and the long term students were smart and came in the cooler months.

This week my classes are all in the afternoon which makes Mamie’s days feel really long since I’m usually home studying in the mornings.

After Napoli, Mamie and I decided that with the unpredictable weather it was best to cancel our trip to Venice and take today easy. It is Mother’s Day after all. We started with brunch at Mamie’s favourite cafe near her B&B. She become kind of a celebrity there. Mamie’s time in Rome is coming to an end and there were still a couple things she wanted to do.

Day trip number 2. Today feels different, I’m a bit rundown, Mamie is a bit rundown, the weather is grey and dark. I’m just not feeling it today, but we get to the train station and make our way to Napoli. It’s super close just an hour away. Mamie and I are excited to go to Napoli because this is where everyone told us to get our fill of seafood.