take me back tuesday: la tour eiffel

so this post is comin' at you a little late in the day.

just too much lounging around to do this winter break.

but here comes the second edition of

take me back tuesday

highlighting my favorite part about europe: la tour eiffel

aka the eiffel tower

aka the place where dreams come true

aka future-fiance-to-be-you-better-propose-to-me-there-or-else.

the entire time i was in paris, i don't think i went more than three days without visiting the monument. the first day i saw it, i went there twice. real life.

there is no more romantic place in the world.

sometimes i just dream that i am sitting on the grass, tan and happy, drinking wine with my friends.

doesn't that sound just tres fabuleux?

la tour eiffel, a bientot!

She's a good girl, loves her mama, loves Jesus...

and America too.

I'm home! After more than 24 hours of waiting in airports, standing in long lines, and luxuriating in a 4-star Paris hotel, I survived and made it back to the States!

Regularly scheduled programming on the ol' blog from here on out.

Things I'm looking forward to now that I'm stateside:

fruits and vegetables!

my 21st birthday

Las Vegas

cuddling with Riley

exercise

Cannot wait to share all my memories! I'll be starting a new series next week so that I can share things one at a time.

JK, Paris. We're not over yet.

Remember when I said I was leaving Paris today?

Yeah, me too.

Well, the Air France pilots had other plans for me

and decided to strike.

My flight got cancelled (naturally)

so I got stuck in Paris another night.

Though I suppose maybe stuck isn't the right word

considering the fact that it's Paris.

There are far worse places to have to spend an extra night.

So for now, I'm lounging in a bathrobe, laying on my uber comfy bed, eating a Kinder Bueno (try one immediately) and trying to stay awake late so that I can sleep on the plane tomorrow.

Paris, it's okay if you don't want to see me go. I'll be back again very soon.

photo above is just a little teaser for all the fab photos i'm about to send your way :)

Goodbye.

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 moveable feast.

I can't believe this month is over. I feel so different but so the same. Paris is a place that moves you. It's nearly impossible not to fall in love--with the sights, the history, the food, the people on the streets. Paris is inside me, an inextricable part of my heart and soul. Wherever I go from now on, I carry a little piece of Paris with me.

Au revoir, Paris. Until next time.

Grateful for everything.

This trip has made me truly grateful for everything.

Grateful for macarons, crepes, and paninis.

Grateful for the Metro, the Louvre, and LIDL (the French Costco).

Grateful for my friends, my body, and my mind.

But mostly it's made me grateful for my parents

who have allowed me to have this incredible experience.

The memories I've made and will continue to make are ones that I will never ever forget.

And that's more than enough.

I don't know if it's the rain or this 15 page paper,

but I'm feeling tremendously introspective today.

I love my life.

Top: Me at the Opera Garnier

Middle: Notre Dame at sunrise

Bottom: Panoramic of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Random Monday musings

Friends, I survived my weekend in Amsterdam!

It was seriously so incredible.

I can't wait to share all the photos.

And I still have Bastille Day photos to post too!

I'm about to be one busy blogger.

For now, I'm stuck writing a 15 page paper.

(and by that, I really mean exploring Pinterest all day)

And wishing that Paris would be sunny and hot again!

I've got cute skirts and dresses I still need to wear.

What did you all do this weekend?

Happy Monday!

Five Things Friday: Paris (are you guys sick of this yet?!)

I officially leave in two weeks.

That means I have 14 days to find a French man to marry

or come up with another legit excuse to stay here forever.

As my time here is winding down,

Kate and I are crafting a list of all the things we still need to do.

Five Things Friday:

5 More Things We Must Do in Paris

1. Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I can only imagine the photos.

2. Go to mass at the Notre Dame. I would feel like such a terrible Catholic if I didn't do it!

3. Shop on the Champs-Elysees. We decided to save this for the end of the trip so we'd have a better idea of how much money we have left.

4. Go to the Sorbonne and buy a t-shirt. We didn't study there, but no one (except you all) has to know that.

and one thing that was on our list but we just completed last night (more details to come!):

5. Stay out all night until the Metro reopens at 5:30 am. We watched the sunrise over Notre Dame and had a photo shoot on the Seine. The most wonderful night of my whole life.

Off to Amsterdam!

Bon week-end, mes petits!

Framboise

Kate and I stumbled upon a Mickey D's in Paris today that serves mini macaroons!

Aaaand I discovered this awesome new flash feature on my camera.

Today was such a win.

I see a little silhuetto of a man...

Last week my friends and I went to an Irish pub and this live French band was playing (American) music.

Bohemian Rhapsody came on and I sang along. It was one of the best moments of my life.

Good beer.

Good friends.

Good music.

That's about all I need.

Barca via iPhone and why I'm about to have the best week of my life...

1. View from the balcony of our hostel

2. Legit spray paint on a wall--so euro

3. My polka dotted shirt!

4. In the plaza where we ate dinner all three nights

sangria and walnut cake--life doesn't get much tastier.

Friends, have you ever been to Barcelona?

Spain's city on the water is the most popular place for people from my school to go abroad.

Kate and I jetted there for the weekend.

We feel like mortal sinners for admitting this and I know my generation will collectively disown me but

...we didn't like it.

The humidity was oppressive, the city was really dirty, and it's very Americanized.

We did manage to have some fun and got to see a friend from school, so I'm very happy we made the trip.

I'm going to try to upload more photos, and I have a restaurant review planned, but I have a very busy week ahead of me so it might have to wait until next week.

You may have noticed the title of this blog post...here's what I got cookin' this week:

Tomorrow: (post-midterm...the only gray cloud on an entire week of sunshine) Shopping on the Champs-Elysees, then seeing Harry Potter at midnight (because France is baller and releases movies on Wednesdays)

Wednesday: one of our friends in our program is turning 21! And Bastille celebrations start Wednesday night.

Thursday: BASTILLE DAY. Since I missed out on the 4th in America, I plan to live vicariously through France and its independence day. Red, white, and blue, get ready!

Friday: Amsterdam!

It's okay to be jealous of me. I'm jealous of me too!

Five Things Friday: Paris II

Kate and I are running around Barca this weekend!

While I'm a little sad about leaving my wonderful Paris,

I'm thrilled about soaking up some Spanish sun.

Today's Five Things Friday

is Parisian-themed again,

just like last week.

(okay, let's be real...this whole blog is Parisian themed, at least for the next month)

This week I'm sharing five of the most amazing things I've seen in this gorgeous city so far.

Trust me, this isn't even the half of it.

I hope I'll be able to fill you in on everything,

but that could take a while.

Like maybe until December.

But we'll see what we can do.

1. The pyramids outside the Louvre. I felt like Tom Hanks in The da Vinci Code (just with better hair). They are visually stunning and completely stand out from the traditional Parisian architecture. And the big one is sneaky--it's actually an entrance to the museum, which I never realized.

2. The Mona Lisa. Everyone told me seeing it would be disappointing, and it definitely was (it's tiny, you can't get that close, etc) but it was so exciting to see something so famous! And my boy Leo was pretty damn talented, even if the Mona Lisa is kind of a let down.

3. A whole windowsill dedicated to macarons. If I could choose any dessert in the world to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be those bad boys.

4. The religious iconography in the front of the Notre Dame. The detail that the 13th-century sculptors put into it is just astounding.

and last but certainly not least...

5. The Eiffel Tower light show at night. The highlight of my life thus far. If you've seen it, hopefully you know what I mean. If you haven't, I can't describe it, except to say that it is incredibly amazing and you need to get your booty to Paris. Visually stunning, and it made me feel like a part of something really special.

Adios!

Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

I promise to show you the highlights of Barcelona next week.

Don't you Louvre it?

So I've been getting some feedback.

And y'all seem to like all this Paris nonsense I've been rambling on about.

I figure, you gotta give the people what they want!

So fret not, I'll continue to speak of Paris

24/7

365.

Today's adventure covers

Le Louvre.

What is especially cool about the Louvre is that it is free for art history students (which my ID proudly boasts--I'm studying the history of Paris through its architecture, y'all!). A group of my friends and I took advantage of this sweet deal and headed to the palace on the Right Bank on our third night in the city. It was the second-coolest highlight of my trip thus far (you'll see the first tomorrow!). The Louvre is the most exquisite combination of modernity and ancient history that one can imagine. I could ramble on for hours on end about its magnificence, but I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Pretty dang cool.

I still have a museum wish list:

Musee d'Orsay

Ann Frank's House (Amsterdam)

Van Gough Museum (Amsterdam)

Paris: A Foodie Perspective

Food. A topic on which I could ramble forever. It's just so dang good.

In the months leading up to my trip to Paris I was really strict about what I ate.

Tryin' to make room for some Parisian food, y'all.

And boy have I made up for it in these 6 days.

One important point, though: Paris does not love vegetarians.

I'm making do, but most menus don't include any just veggie options at all.

crepes, sandwiches, macarons,

oh my.

my favorite thing so far was the croque madame sandwich (directly above) without the ham.

i got it after my orientation at a cafe right down the street from my school.

guess where i'm going tomorrow.

also, new goal for the trip: eat at least one crepe or macaron per day.

it will be a miracle if i haven't gained 300 pounds by the time i get back.

First Purchase in Paris!

Good news, friends.

July is the unofficial sale month for pretty much all of the stores in Paris.

Meaning every store you walk by

has SOLDES

written in big letters.

I plan to take full advantage.

These shoes only set me back 21 euro

which I am telling myself is less than $30.

Too hard to say no!

how will i go back to real life after this?

paris, je t'aime.

Five Things Friday: Paris Edition!

Hello blogosphere!

Happy July!

I'm in Paris!

For the past two days I haven't had internet access, but I just got it set up in my dorm and am so excited to upload pic

tures and catch up on blogs!

This week's Five Things Friday

consists of all the things I had heard about Paris that have turned out to be true thus far.

1. The food is amazing. oh.em.gee. It will be an absolute miracle if I don't gain 500 million pounds during this month. We've had wine and dessert with every meal thus far. Yesterday we walked around St. Germain eating a baguette, and we bought three boxes of Petit Ecoliers (my favorite cookie, even in America!), which were only one euro! For lunch today I had a Croque Madame, mais pas de jambon. Parfait! I am literally dying over the fact that I still have a month left of this food!

The first dinner: quiche au saumon (salmon quiche) with a delish salad

2. Everything is beautiful. Like literally anywhere you look. The architecture is tres magnifique, and I cannot wait to start my class (which is History of Paris: An Architectural Perspective). I haven't even seen the big stuff yet (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe), so I know I have lots more gaping to do.

Kate and I in front of the Notre Dame

3. French people smoke...a lot. It hasn't bothered me so much, except when you are walking behind someone who is smoking and they get ash on you.

4. The metro is dirty. Seriously, it puts BART's level of gross to shame. It's dirty and smelly, and always tremendously crowded. But it's so convenient and fast that it makes it worth it. Today we lugged dishes and groceries all over Paris, but the metro made it much easier.

5. One thing I've found not to be accurate: the notion that Parisians are rude to Americans. We always speak French as a greeting, but I suppose our accents must not be very good because the French always respond to us in English. They have been nothing but absolutely lovely so far!

I am absolutely loving this city so far.

I am so grateful to have this opportunity!

Tonight we are going to Le Louvre (because people under age 25 get in for free on Friday nights! Gettin' my Mona Lisa fix) and then out to a bar near the Notre Dame with people from our program.

Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour of the city (I'll post pictures of all the amazing things I see!), and on Sunday, we're going to...Eurodisney!!! (The little girl in me is dying!)

Au revoir!

All's well that ends well.

Remember when Kendall had to go the emergency room the night before her graduation? When I said that in my family, whatever can go wrong will go wrong?

Well, friends, nothing was different in my preparations for my trip to France.

Yesterday afternoon I was with my sister Paige going to Target to get some last minute things.

I was in my mom's car,

and she had less than a quarter of a tank,

so I decided to fill up for her.

Just to be nice.

When I thought the pump was done pumping,

I pulled the pump out of my car.

What I didn't know was

the pump was not done.

So there was about 30 seconds where I got entirely doused with gasoline.

My left eye took it the hardest, unfortunately.

So I spent my evening in the ER,

getting my eye flushed out with the most uncomfortable little contact thing.

It was awful.

And I really smelled like gasoline.

It was bad.

But after two hours at the hospital,

I got discharged,

free and clear,

good to go on my trip!

So I came home to a bouquet of flowers (shown above) from my darlin' sister Kendall.

My best friends Morgan and Kevin came over, bearing patriotic going away gifts. (photos coming later!)

The perfect evening (post-hospital).

I'm leaving my house in an hour for the airport!

Next post coming at you from Paris, France.

Tomorrow!

Soon enough I will have a photo just like this--that I took myself!

The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American. It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. France has the only two things toward which we drift as we grow older--intelligence and good manners.

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

It seems only fitting that my favorite author would send me off on my journey abroad!

I am ecstatic about my trip, and cannot wait to share every detail with all of you.

I am so excited for the eating,

sightseeing,

conversing en Francais,

taking an obscene amount of photos,

making both American and French friends,

and most of all, living as if I were French for a month.

A bientot! (wish I knew how to type accents...)

Paris Blog!

Exciting news! I have officially established my travel blog, Jordan Goes to Paris. I am so so so excited to embark on my abroad journey!

I will, of course, still be here bloggin' away on the happy list!

Hope you've all been well over the past week, and I cannot wait to share photos of my incredible weekend with you all!

be well.

Lent 2011: I'm Doin Me Week 3

Today concludes week three of Lent. My agreement for this year (didn't give anything up!) was to do one selfish thing everyday. So far it's been a fun challenge! Check out Weeks 1 and 2 before you read on about week 3.

• Monday: I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up Water for Elephants. I LOVELOVELOVE Reese Witherspoon and am quite fond of Robert Pattinson as well. ;) I cannot wait to see the movie, but I love to read books first, because the movies never measure up. I’m about a third of the way through, and it’s heartbreaking and intriguing and genuine and unique all at the same time.
• Tuesday: I gave myself a day off from the treadmill. Always good to let your body recoup.
• Wednesday: I got a massage J My favorite pastime, which I would partake in much more frequently if it were a cheaper hobby. I carry a lot of stress in my upper back, so it felt amazing to have all that tension worked out. If ever you find your self in little ol’ Hollister, CA, make sure to hit up Tranquility Day Spa.
• Thursday: I did my favorite form of cardio—shopping. There is really something to be said about retail therapy.
• Friday: I ran four miles. It was such a challenge to my body, but I got through it and am stronger because of it.
• Saturday: I got a pedicure. This week was certainly full of pampering. I think I deserved it though, so I don’t feel guilty. Now my toes are a pretty shade of pink and will hopefully stay nice until I’m home for summer!
• Sunday: I made my whole family breakfast (recipe coming soon!). This wasn’t selfish and was hardly just for me, but I really love being in the kitchen and am enjoying learning to cook! I consider it self-improvement.

More exciting news! Yesterday I paid for my Paris program in full and booked my flight. I can't believe I'm really going! I absolutely cannot wait. Sometime this week I'm going to be launching a separate travel blog specifically for to do lists, wish lists, and of course, updates when I'm abroad. I can hardly contain my excitement about all of it.

be well!