An American in Paris

Hello my dear friends! Oh it's been so long since I've gotten the chance to blog about my adventures. Since I last wrote, I’ve been on two mission trips: one, to Guyana to live with the Servants of Our Lord Sisters (July 2018) and then most recently in March, I went with my college on a spring break mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I have lots I'd like to say on both of those trips but they will have to be throwback features since I was so busy during the school year! But now, I am a college graduate with lots of time on my hands (who am I kidding?! I am still me and still keeping myself busy) and so excited to get back to documenting my trips! My family and I are once again attending the Chartres Pilgrimage with Remnant Tours. We are walking the 70 miles between Paris and Chartres over Pentecost weekend that originated in the Middle Ages. There is a group of about 100 Americans going but we are joining a group of 10,000+ pilgrims coming from all of Europe. 

The walk begins very early on Saturday morning but we've arrived in Paris a few days early to tour around a bit and try to beat jet lag before we begin the trek. We left Dulles yesterday afternoon and headed to Montreal where we had a two hour layover before our second flight took us to Paris. I was able to nap for 2-3 hours thank goodness! And then chick-flicks entertained me for the rest of the trip. We landed in Paris at 10am this morning, got our passports stamped, and then grabbed a taxi to our hotel. The hotel we were originally supposed to stay in is still undergoing renovations, so we got relocated to the Hyatt Madeleine Hotel. It is very central, about a mile and a half from the major sites. And gorgeous! I will try to get some pictures of it tomorrow.

We rested up for a short bit before three of us (Nathan didn't sleep on the plane so he chose to stay behind) went to check out one of the Churches down the street from us: Church of St. Madeleine which is dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It was huge! It feels amazing to be back in European Churches! I have missed Europe so much since coming home from my study abroad semester, basically counting down the days to this trip since last July.

And it welcomed me back similarly to how I left it, with lots and lots of rain...

We had just walked inside our hotel when the downpour started. Luckily in the afternoon, it let up to just a little drizzle. Nonetheless, I was grateful that last minute I decided to throw my jeans into my suitcase instead of just my sundresses. I traded in my sundress for a hoodie, rain jacket, jeans and an umbrella, yuck! But I refused to let it stop me from exploring. On our last trip to France, Nathan and my dad had to arrive late so they didn't get to see the big sites. So tonight before dinner we set out to see the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

But by then it was raining quite heavily! I wanted to stay out and see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night but since we were soaked and the sun doesn’t set until almost 10pm in Paris, I had to resign myself to seeing it another night. It was one of my biggest regrets the last time that we came, that I never saw it at night, only during the day. So it's on the list for either tomorrow night or Friday.

Macaroons!! No pastry shop is complete without them!

Tomorrow the rest of the Remnant tour group will arrive in time for late afternoon Mass and then group dinner! But first, another Paris bucket list item that couldn't happen last time: the Louvre! I know this was a quick post, but it was really only a half day in Paris and I will write one more time before we begin our walk, but goodnight for now! 

The Brunette

P.S. I know the name of the blog doesn't quite fit anymore, since it will be more solo travel adventures without Emily at my side. But I am hopeful that one day the blonde will once again travel at my side, so for the time being, I am keeping "Abroad with a Blonde and a Brunette"!