English vacations and a Paris staycation

Sometimes, traveling gets in the way of blogging. As much as I enjoy writing and updating the site, there are a few things that take precedence.

Like seeing my fiancé for the first time in five months.

Or my mom for the first time in a year.

My job is tied to the French school schedule, so I recently had 2.5 weeks off for the fall mid-term break. In that time, I hosted three guests, all back-to-back-to-back.

Thanks to them, I went to London twice and the Louvre three times in a week; and Versailles twice in three days. I was out walking from morning to night (so much so that after only a week I’d already visibly lost weight). Which was fine, because I ate more macarons and crepes than I can count.

I didn’t check my email, I hardly updated social media; I simply basked in the company of loved ones and the joy of travel, and rediscovered Paris.

So that’s where I’ve been for the past two and a half weeks: on what I’ve dubbed the “Fall 2012 Family and Friends Tour.”

Here’s a quick recap, with more detailed posts to follow in the coming weeks:

Wedding weekend in Bristol

The traveling kicked off beautifully with a trip to England. Mike’s oldest brother was getting married, so we met up in his hometown of Bristol to attend the wedding. It was a weekend of firsts: going to Bristol, meeting the future in-laws, seeing Mike behind the wheel of a car (the odd result of meeting as expats: I’d never seen him drive). I’m happy to report that Bristol was lovely, I LOVE Mike’s family, and his driving skills are excellent.

Two days in London

From Bristol we took a train to London. I’d loved the city when I was there this summer for the Olympics and wanted to see if I would still enjoy it after the celebrations were over and the weather was colder — which I did. Plus, there were still some things I needed to cross off my London sightseeing list that I didn’t have time for during the Olympics, like having scones with proper cream (which I did find, and they were heavenly).

Mike in Paris

We returned to Paris for a few days, where we basically just ate ourselves silly, as you do when you live in Paris and have no need to go sightseeing. We had a second round of engagement photos taken, which I’m super excited to post soon. And we caught some ridiculous sunsets.

Mom in Paris

The day my Mom arrived was Mike’s last day in Paris, so we had one day as a sightseeing trio before I had to say goodbye to Mike for another two months. Then for the next six days my mom and I proceeded to do every single touristy thing possible in Paris. Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, that hop-on hop-off boat cruise tour — you name it, we did it. It was so marvelous to see her after a year, and to be able to treat her to Paris — especially since it was her first time in Europe! (But the best part about having her in town? Having home-cooked meals again.)

Oh, and we found a Gangnam Style flashmob that turned into a concert by PSY. It was pretty awesome.

One day in London

It’s kind of unbelievable to think about coming from a large and isolated country like the United States, where a trip to London requires planning and vacation time and flights, but from Paris it’s so easy to do London as a day trip. For my mom’s first time in the UK we managed to squeeze in a ridiculous amount of sightseeing; I was so happy to be able to show my mom the highlights of London — and all in under 12 hours.

Versailles

Versailles was an excursion I’d been putting off for eleven months because I honestly did not know how to get there (the RER sounded complicated, okay?) but thanks to my mom’s desire to see it, I finally had to learn. And that’s when I found out that it is ridiculously easy to get to Versailles if you take the bus. Also, that going at 9 am on a cold day in November means much smaller crowds.

Girls’ weekend in Paris

I was saved from a mental breakdown after my mom left thanks to an old friend from London: immediately after I saw my mom off at the airport, I headed straight back into town to pick my friend up from the train station for a girls’ weekend in Paris. We (wearily) managed to fit the city highlights into a whirlwind 48 hours.

Versailles, round two

My friend loves Marie Antoinette (both the historical figure and the movie) so for the second time in three days, I took the bus out to Versailles. Touring the chateau was a bit quicker this round as she takes few photos, so we had time to explore the Queen’s Hamlet, something my mom and I had to skip as we ran out of time. It was so beautiful, I didn’t mind the second trip out (besides, I get free entry to Versailles as an EU resident under 26).

One last night

My friend left on Monday afternoon, and I thought that was the end of the tour — but thanks to Instagram I discovered a long-time acquaintance was in town, and as it was his last night we met up for a drink. The night started off with an almost-fight with a Frenchman over his terrible shoes, and only got better from there. An exciting and memorable way to end my insanely busy two and a half weeks.

What’s next

So now I’m in catchup mode: on sleep, on emails, on posts. I still have loads to write about Azerbaijan, so that’ll be coming soon, as well as more detailed posts about all of the adventures above. It feels good to be back.