Maman et moi

For those of you who don't know, my mother and I have a long history with Paris.  It all started when I was in the 4th grade, and our family decided to host a student from Paris, France.  Catherine was my age, shared all the same interests, and we became instant friends.  Our experience was so incredible that the following summer, Mom and I went to Paris to stay with Catherine and her wonderful family.  We loved it so much, we went back again the next summer.  It was that summer, following 4th grade, that I decided I wanted to study and live in Paris, and here I am, making that dream a reality!  I was lucky enough to return to Paris twice again in high school to study at the American School of Paris, but this spring was Mom's first trip back to Paris in 10 years!  And once again, she loved it so much that she decided to come back to visit me just 2 weeks after visiting with my whole family!  Trani girls truly do have a love affair with Paris :)

I have to admit, her visit was surreal.  When she found a hotel on the same street that we lived on 10 years, I thought it couldn't get any better, but just the two of us in Paris for the 3rd time seemed like a dream!  Being able to enjoy the experience with her again, this time as an adult, was unforgettable.  

We did all of our favorite things from previous trips, and found some new favorites for future trips (maybe a visit if I ever get to move over here?!).  We lounged in the jardins de Luxembourg, shopped in Châtelet and Les Halles, discovered some incredible antiques at a local flea market, and officially became regulars at La Billebaude (the restaurant we discovered when my entire family was visiting earlier this month).  And on Sunday, we spent the entire day in Versailles!  No matter how many times I visit that château, I fall in love with it all over again.  We were really lucky that the weekend we visited was the first weekend of "high season," where they turn the massive fountains on and play classical music throughout the gardens.  We probably walked over 5 miles, from the main palace, to the Grand and Petit Trianons (which were built for Louis XIV's mistresses and Marie Antionette, respectively), and eventually to Marie Antionette's hamlet.  The hamlet is my favorite part of the gardens of Versailles because the story is just so interesting!  Marie Antionette had the hamlet, which consists of various farmhouses, a watermill, gardens, and livestock pastures, built for her personal pleasure.  On weekends, she would take her servants out to the hamlet so that they could "play" like peasants.  Although she actually never said "Let them eat cake!" it is pretty obvious why the starving population in France despised her and Louis XVI's lifestyle so much.

After a great lunch and ice cream (Check out the Cafés, patisseries, and boulangeries tab to see all the great food we ate) on the banks of le Grand Canal, we toured the palace. Thank goodness I brought my camera this time so I could capture some great shots!  Everything is as beautiful and majestic as always, and Mom and I discovered a new part of the palace neither of us had ever toured- the apartments of le Dauphin (prince), la Dauphine (princess), and les Mesdames (the sisters of Louis XIV).  The exhibits are still being completed, but we were able to see the Dauphine's bedchamber, where she gave birth to 3 sons who would all eventually become Kings of France!

And as if this weekend couldn't have been more ideal, I had tickets to see a modern orchestra concert at the Opéra de Paris!  A bunch of us were able to go, and it was an entirely new experience for me.  The conductor of the concert, Bruno Mantovani, actually composed 2 of the pieces that were played! I loved the music, but I have to say that being in the opera house that is the basis of the story of the Phantom of Opera was equally as fascinating.  The Phantom is said to have haunted his own box in the theater- can you imagine what those seats must go for?

I ended my weekend together with my mom in the most picturesque way possible- dinner at a café under le Tour Eiffel, watching it glow and sparkle.  Throughout these past few months in Paris, I constantly feel like I need to pinch myself- the life I'm living is a dream.  Mom's trip last weekend took the cake, for sure.  Everything was absolutely perfect! I was able to relive some of my most fond memories of Paris, and create new ones that will stay with me for the rest of my life.  It just doesn't get much better than that.

The best way to start the weekend? Pâtisseries in the Champs de Mars, of course!

Admiring the antiques at le Marché aux Puces

In the gardens of Versailles

La Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors)

Sitting in the middle of history:

3 kings of France were born in this bedchamber- Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X

Marie Antionette's hamlet, my favorite part of the Versailles gardens!

Dinner at "our" place, La Billebaude. Feels great to be a regular at a Parisian restaurant!

Friends and I in front of L'Opéra de Paris

Left my heart of this street 10 years ago :)

Guest fashion blog, check it out!

My guest post on the Paris blog Prête-Moi Paris is officially online!  Read what my friends Amy, Dina, and I discovered at the Innamorato and Merci Merci presentations here (pretemoiparis.com/2011/04/05/guest-fashion-post-for-innamorato-and-merci-merci)


You can find the main blog at pretemoiparis.com.  The author is the resident director for my study abroad program and writes all about life in Paris, from fashion to food.  If you want to know what it's like to be an American living and working in Paris, you should definitely read more!

Living like royalty aux châteaux de la Loire

I am truly embracing the busy French lifestyle, so-much-so that I have gone too long without updating this blog!  The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for me- my family was visiting, school work was piling up (who thought "study abroad" actually meant studying?), and I spent the entire weekend visiting the châteaus of the Loire valley.  Now that things are starting to unwind a bit, here comes another life update!

The weekend my family came to visit was one of the best weekends I have had in Paris thus far.  We were able to squeeze every last drop out of this city that has SO much to offer it's visitors.  We visited le Tour Eiffel (went to the very top AND had dinner inside!), Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Avenue des Champs Élysées, took a boat ride down the Seine, and ate the most delicious cuisine Paris has to offer!  It was amazing to show the city to Dad and Ali and to relive all of the experiences my mom and I shared 10 years ago!

This past weekend was another great one for me- the opportunity to visit the Loire valley and tour the magnificent châteaus!  I'm a Versailles junkie, I love all of the history behind it, the ornate décor, the vast gardens; etc. so I knew our Loire excursion would be right up my alley.  We first visited le château de Chenonceau, which was built in the 16th century on the Cher River.  The story of the château's ownership involves a love triangle between King Henri II, his wife Catherine de'Medici, and his mistress Diane de Poitiers.  Henri II originally offered Chenonceau to Diane de Poitiers, but after his death in 1559, his wife demanded proper ownership and forced Diane into exile (jealous much?!).  All of the rooms in the château where furnished as they would have been in the 1500s, with elaborate tapestries (which I learned were not just to show off wealth, but to insulate the rooms as well) and beautiful paintings.  My favorite room in Chenonceau, and probably in any of the châteaus I visited, was the massive cuisine (kitchen).  The kitchen itself contained 3 large room- the pantry, butchery, and servants' dining quarters- and I was fascinated by the bread oven that was built into the wall and the copper theme for all of the the cooking utensils.

Our second château, le château d'Amboise, overlooks the Loire River and is the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci!  Da Vinci was invited to Amboise by King Francis I and lived the last three years of his life in the town of Amboise.  Le château is known for its combination of Renaissance and gothic architecture.  The furniture inside was made "portable" for the royal families who moved from château to château in the 15th century- chests doubled as side tables, throne seats opened to store items in, and even the king's bed came apart for easy transportation!  Dining in the town of Amboise was as incredible of an experience as visiting the château was.  We found a great restaurant called L'Amboiserie, where I ordered a warm goat cheese salad with pork, fresh tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, potatoes, and walnuts.  The salad was delicious, but it was dessert that won me over.  Are you all starting to notice a reoccurring theme here?  Every meal I have in France is, in fact, the best of my life.  I had a fresh crêpe served with homemade salted butter caramel, baked apples, and vanilla ice cream.  I understand if you're drooling on your keyboard right now, it was THAT good.

The last stop on our château tour was le château de Chambord, the largest in the Loire Valley.  The grounds of the château are larger than the entire city of Paris, and the municipality of Chambord is the only one in France to be entirely owned by the state.  Chambord was also the inspiration for the Beast's castle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast- the movie was, of course, set in France! 

There are several several floors to the Chambord château; however, only the first was ever used as a residency.  The double-helix staircase leads many historians to question the original architecture of the castle.  Although no official blueprints have been found, many believe Leonardo da Vinci may have designed Chambord before he died.  Several French kings, including François I and Louis XIV, used the château as a hunting lodge, so several rooms are full of mounted animals and antlers.  There were also several cool items on display, like original keys to the château, royal dishes and silverware, and the original royal crown and sceptre!

 Ma famille à Paris :)

 Appartement on Avenue de la Bourdonnais, where Mom and I lived 10 years ago!

 Le château de Chenonceau

 La cuisine au château de Chenonceau. So many copper utensils!

 Le château de Chambord, the largest in the entire valley.

 Royal gear

 The delicious crêpe from L'Amboiserie near le château d'Amboise!  I would go back just for this!

Cultural fact: The French use a grading scale of 1-20, 20 being the highest score; however, it is virtually impossible to receive a 20.  In fact, excellent work is rarely given higher than a 15 here.  I am truly looking forward to getting my Politics in France test back after learning that fun fact...

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast.” Ernest Hemingway

 **Hemingway clearly knew what he was talkin' about :)