Dear Dad, This is my last letter from Paris. I may even be home before you get it . . .

This title is a quote from the movie Sabrina (the 1995 version with Harrison Ford), but it's also a statement of a fact. Shortly after this blog post goes up, I will get on a plane in this airport and fly home to Washington. 

Away from Paris.

To be perfectly honest, I'm still pretty numb about this fact. So much--so much--has happened in the past three months, and I've only shared a fraction of it on this blog. I honestly can't believe it's already over; yet somehow, at the same time, it seriously does feel like it's gone on forever. When I'm riding on the metro or walking to class I feel like I've been doing it every single day since I was born. And today, I guess, will be a little bit like dying--leaving behind a country, a culture, and many people that I've come to love. 

Well, that's melodramatic.

There's a lot of stuff I'm super excited to see and do once I return home. But I will say this: after Paris, I don't think any place will be quite the same.

I've been doing some thinking about the title of this blog: that one time Alaina went to Paris. I chose it to be a bit of a joke: oh, yeah, remember that one time . . . I went to PARIS???

Reading that title now, though, it makes me a little sad. Because it implies that this is my only shot--my one and only time in Paris. And, yeah, it's true that this study abroad was basically a once-in-a-lifetime event. But somehow, I don't really think I'm totally, 100% done here. 

So just for funsies, I'm amending the title of my blog (just on here--too much work to change the URL) to 'The First Time Alaina went to Paris.' Because 'first' is a wonderful word. It means new beginnings and adventures, but even better, it leaves an opportunity for seconds, and thirds, and fourths and fifths and on up to infinity. 

So with that in mind, let's see what we can do with this new title:

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she discovered that macarons are some of the most heavenly creations in the universe.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she got to climb to the tops of a lot of really really tall buildings and it made her verrry happy.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she spent way too much time sitting in the Opera Garnier and trying to figure out a way to sneak onto the roof.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she found out that sometimes even when you plan everything down to the minute details, something will still go wrong, and all you can really do is laugh about it. (Hysterically. (While stuffing your backpack inside your suitcase.))

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she met some amazing people who made her life 1000 times better.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she had some things happen to her that made her feel very sad and small--that made her wonder if she was a person of any worth at all.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she had to make the decision that yes, she was, and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her otherwise ever again.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she discovered that sometimes in painful and hard situations, the bravest and strongest choice you can make is to not become bitter and mean as a result of the yucky stuff.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she saw more men peeing in public places than she ever, ever wanted to.

(And, mind you, the first time Alaina went to Paris, she only saw two.)

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she learned that fashion doesn't always have rules that make sense--but that doesn't make it less cool. She learned that just because a piece of clothing doesn't exactly fit the style you like doesn't mean it won't look absolutely bomb on you or somebody else.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she spent a lot of time walking on her own.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she also spent a lot of time laughing and talking and learning with some true friends.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she came to study art and language and history.

The first time Alaina went to Paris, she ended up learning a lot about the world--and herself.

 . . . Aaaand the next time Alaina goes to Paris?

Nothing is certain as far as that goes. But she's pretty sure that she won't be climbing any fences.

All right, my plane leaves pretty soon, I'd better go. Last song of the blog is from Sabrina again.

I love you all. I'm so glad I got to be here for these short three months. I know I'll come back to Paris someday--but for now, I'll see you soon.

The Photo Album

So. Um. Going home is happening, apparently.

Yikes.

I'll be honest, it feels extremely surreal to think that I'll be going home so soon. I don't know how or when it happened, exactly, but at some point in this trip it started to feel like I'd lived here for my entire life--like life back in the States was just some kind of strange dream. I know it'll be hard for me to adjust when I get back.

To counteract that, though, we're just not gonna think about it! Instead, I've decided to do something fun for this blog: a photo album! 

Well, sort of. Unfortunately there's no way for me to put them in an actual 'album' format on here. But I thought it would be fun to share with you some highlights of the last few weeks through photos, since something chronological would take longer than I have to write--if it's even possible, I've been busier than ever this past week. So sit back and relax (only not too much because you gotta have that scrolling finger ready) as we fastforward from the weekend after the events of the last blog (see here) up to the present! Wheee!

Because the Opera House is just too gorgeous. (I have a tonnnn of videos I'll probs make into one long Youtube tour at some point, btw)

Those pink polka-dot bread things, called pralulines, were INCREDIBLE. I've had them three times.

Angelina's is always a good idea, esp. when the RER stops running between Paris and the suburbs and you need a power-up before riding a bus home for a literal hour and a half.

I'm so sorry Rachel

Someone should just erect a statue of this goddess, like, yesterday.

Because turnabout is fair play and I, too, am capable of looking horrendous in photos.

This book, found in a bookstore across from the Tuileries, presents an excellent argument for never leaving Paris.

. . . because sometimes you go home to see toilets outside your gate, I guess?

The Seine is a very beautiful lady.

Hello, flowers! *sniff sniff*

*scoops up all the books in the little booths into my arms and runs away cackling*

Whaaaat? Buy a pastry? I couldn't, I simply couldn't . . . 

JK YOU KNOW I GOT ME ONE OF THOSE BIG ONES

This picture isn't great, but there are a bunch of artisan shops in this area that are built into the tunnels of what used to be a train station and now there's tons of cool stuff there (also I almost died twenty seconds after taking this picture because of some maniac car barrelling past me at eleventy billion miles an hour when the Walk light was green)

No joke, both me and Hannah (who was with me and Rachel on a walk) made the same noise when we saw this shop, and it was the most ugly gasp in the world. Like, imagine a belch in reverse, where instead of expelling all that air you suck it in so fast it makes this horrifying wheezing sound on the way in, That was us. The shop was about to close I think but I came THIS CLOSE to just banging on the door and going "LET ME IN I'M HAVING PIANO WITHDRAWALS AHHHH" because that totally would have worked, right?

an ACTUAL VAN GOGH PAINTING that he ACTUALLY PAINTED GAHHH

And speaking of painting, makeup is magical paint because on special nights when I'm gonna go see a ballet at the Paris Opera House, it can turn me from this:

Into this:

This was actually post-Opera party, though, so let's go back to that, because HOLY HECK YOU GUYS

IT WAS AMAZING

I SNUCK UP TO THE TOP FLOOR OF THE GUEST AREA AND THERE WAS A WINDOW WHERE YOU COULD SEE THE ROOF????

(Let's be honest this blog is just a constant spam of Opera House pics and I don't even feel bad)

This picture is blurry but this bookshop is Shakespeare and Co., and it is very famous. Rachel and I had fun here, we spent like two hours shopping and reading, and there's a piano in the upstairs portion that is really out of tune and doesn't have a sustaining pedal but I played it anyway and the little old ladies sitting and reading looked up and told me that it was absolutely beautiful and they loved it, so that made me feel good :)

Because I was so mad about the results of Election Day I went and bought macaroons. The orange one was my favorite because it was delicious but also because it allowed me to imagine I was biting somebody's ugly orange-y head off (nobody in particular, that's just a completely hypothetical and random description I came up with)

I'd never been in this metro station before! Can you say 'steampunk?'

Ah yes, Chinese food. Because it is my comfort food, but also because the color of the noodles is orange and it allowed me to imagine biting somebody's ugly orangey head o--

. . . FBI if you're reading this I love you . . .

When it rains really hard outside the lights look beaauuuutiful :D

Everything is getting Christmassy here--especially in the Galeries Lafayette!!! I love it!

And, of course, next part of this photo album: a trip to Germany! I went with Rachel to visit my Dad's friends, Rob and Amy, who live there. They were soooo nice!

I was OBSESSED with the colors of the trees in Germany. Literally all of them were like this:

Soooo pretty. 

We went and saw some old castles and churches, like so:

And marvelled at the view:

Ughhhh, it was seriously SO GORGEOUS. Literally some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever come across. (Although, side note: it is freaking COLD in Germany, like, WOW. I just brought my one new coat and it was not quite enough. While appreciating the view I was also freezing to death, haaaaha :.D

It was okay, really. The cool pictures I got totally made up for the freezing weather.

We also went to a fun Christmas store, which just got me SUPER PUMPED for Christmas.

CUTE.

On Sunday the 13th, the anniversary of the Paris attacks, all the ads were replaced with these posters. It's Paris' motto: Tossed but not sunk.

Skipping forward a bit because it's late: Wednesday snacktime in a garden is always a good idea.

It's called an escargot, and it has chocolate and pistachio in it. Yummm.

Me in front of the Opera House, because:

There was a Christmas Market along the Champs Elysees, with teeny rollercoasters and creepy mimes and loooots of mulled wine.

(Also GIANT SLABS OF CHOCOLATE.)

Oh yeah, I went to see the Paris temple at Versailles recently:

Aaand lastly, a lil' bit of Eiffel Tower, because I went up it on Friday!! Wheee!

The sky was so blue, it reminded me of what it was like to see the tower on my first day here. *cries*

We got to the top just as the sun was starting to set.

Breathtaking, n'est-ce pas? 

I would have stayed up there forever if it hadn't been so windy I was worried my hairbow might fly off.

This relatively cute (if you ignore the bunny teeth) picture was taken right before I started spitting because a huuuge strand of hair was blown into my mouth by the wind. Classy.

And, of course, the Eiffel Tower at night is an unbeatable sight:

Ugh.

I'm in love with Paris.

I always thought it was cheesy when people said that, but I really, really am. I already know that leaving, even though I'm excited to see my family, is gonna be really, really hard.

But!!! Let's not dwell on that! I still have one more day in Paris, and I intend to make it the best one yet. In order for that to happen, though, I need to sleep a bit, so I'm signing off for now. Our song for today is one that I filmed a couple of weeks ago in front of (you guessed it) the Paris Opera House, when there was a street performer there who actually had an amazing voice. He was cool.

Please enjoy him singing "Imagine" as you imagine, along with me, what it would be like if I could stay in Paris forever and everyone I love could come here too.

All right, that's all from me for now, sorry this post is so all-over-the-place. Hopefully it was still fun??? Kinda?? Maybe???

Anyway, you'll hear from me once more before I end this blog. Stay tuned for what will basically be me bawling onto the keyboard for an hour, I guess. For now, keep being the awesome people I know you are!