The Champs Élysées at Christmastime

     As the Champs Élysées is one of my favorite spots to run, just after Halloween I began to notice booths and stalls being set up and lights being strung, little did I know that a beautiful Christmas market would soon emerge.

Smoked fish stall

     Whether you're cold, hungry, craving something sweet, in need of souvenirs, jewelry or any other sort of knickknack or homemade craft you're sure to find it among the stalls on either side of the street. The whole market is sensational. As soon as you arrive you're greeted with the dreamy smells of warm soup, an array of meats and cheeses, and many scrumptious desserts. There is Christmas music playing from speakers along the way and one can't help but sing along. Each booth is filled with so many wonderful little things that your eyes don't know what to look at first! I walk slowly to try to intake it all.

     Even an ice skating rink holds a place on one side, with it's own soundtrack and even lights.  It has a small section for beginners and bystanders can share in the enjoyment of parents helping their small children skate with what looks like a little chair. One girl that I saw was actually sitting in the seat just being pushed around on the ice by her poor mum! And a father helping his little boy, holding on to make sure he didn't fall but also trying to let go and let the child try on his own, it was heartwarming! I'm not surprised I wasn't the only one standing there watching with a smile on my face.

    All along the way they give you more things to look at, some fitting the Christmas theme.. 

    While some maybe not so much.. 

Nonetheless, there is a strong Christmas vibe that is felt by any and all in the vicinity. Many walk along warming their hands with mulled wine or hot cocoa while enjoying the different Santa Claus statues set up near the street.  There are even places to sit and enjoy all the tasty foods the market has to offer. When I came a week or so ago, Ellen and I got hot soup to warm our cold bodies! She had carrot and I had broccoli, both of which were delicious and were hard to eat slow enough so as not to scorch our tongues. Today, I tried a strawberry streusel pretzel of sorts, I ate it as I walked along and watched the faces of people I passed who eyed the dessert in my hands as if it were a prize! I do plan to try more and more things in the next few weeks :)

     At the very end of the Champs Élysées there is a massive Ferris wheel. I don't know what it is about them but for me personally, I am not about to go on it but I will admit that it looks quite beautiful and fits as the destination at the end of the market.

    Back the other way, once the market ends at before the stores begin, there is a small area adorned with many lights in an array of colors. During the day you might not realize how gorgeous these lights are but once the sun goes down, their magnificent blues shine brightly.

     Further along some of the shops have gotten into the holiday spirit in one way or another with lights and gifts and trees and even a giant lady that I have yet to grasp the meaning of..

     Taking a long stroll down this street is worth it day or night, it can get anyone in the Christmas spirit!! I'd know because I do it whenever I have free time. ;)

Spread some love today and go out of your way to do something kind for another human being :)

Thanksgiving

     Unfortunately Thanksgiving is a holiday not celebrated in Europe; no Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, moms famous corn casserole, and of course pumpkin pie, but even without the food traditions I still like to spend today being thankful for all the wonderful gifts I've been given in my life.

Jesse and Ciara and I in Florence

     I am so incredibly thankful for my huge family! Growing up with five siblings and loving parents was more of a blessing than I realized. It's so uplifting having people around you that will support and love you no matter. For example, when I made my decision to stop going to college and to travel instead, when I told my mother, instead of telling me I was making a bad decision or that my education was more important, she told me to go for it, to live my dreams and have a great time exploring! That was a great boost of confidence that helped me along my way. In the end they even came to visit me while I was in Italy and we had an incredible time together! Of course we fight and argue like any family does, but putting that aside we have so much fun and love each other dearly. I am also grateful for the huge extended family I have as well! Tons of cousins, aunts, uncles, and wonderful grandparents here and departed. Alisha, a cousin of mine, and I have always had a great relationship and along with being family, I'd say she's one of my very best friends! We have a pretty similar quirky personality, come to think of it, one great thing about my entire family is how fun they are! There is never a dull moment.

Kids in Greece

 

     I'm thankful for the blessed and fortunate life I have been able to lead thus far. Having spent last year working in Italy and traveling around it, the last few months here in Paris and big plans for Southeast Asia in my future. Not to mention all the vacations I've been on with my family in the past and the three weeks I spent on a missions trip in Bolivia. I love to travel and it is far beyond exciting. All the new experiences and lessons I learn, along with meeting magnificent new people and getting to be fully immersed in new cultures. I couldn't be happier.

     I am so very thankful for my friends.Friends from home that I've known and loved for years, and friends that I've met on the road that have become part of my life. My best friend Sydney who is there for me anytime I need her!And whenever I return home, we pick up right where we left off, as if I'd never even left. Also my boyfriend Tyler, we first dated when we were 11, and now all these years later having been friends this whole time, have found our way back to each other. He's kind and fun and loves me for everything that I am and everything that I'm not, and he's also a total babe ;) Living in a small town you keep many of the same friends for years and years and I am grateful for long standing friendships such as those. In the time I've lived abroad, I've become friends with people from all over the world! Some of these girls I feel as though I've known forever. I've met so many wonderful people in my life and I am so happy to know them and I love thinking of all the adventures and great times we have had and will continue to have! Friends make life sweeter and it's much more fulfilling to share in life's pleasures than to do them alone.

  I'm thankful for Jesus and the fact that He died on the cross to save me. I'm thankful every day for the gifts the Lord has given me in my life and will continue to provide. I love the way He made me me, with a strong will, a deep compassion for others, and a love for all life around me! I'm grateful for this earth He's given us to live on and that which I will do my best to help protect! I'm thankful for the opportunities He provides and the plan He has for me.

Everything in life can be a blessing if we choose to perceive it as such.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Provins

A short distance from the hustle and bustle of crowded Parisian streets, there lays a small medieval town called Provins just waiting to be explored. This little sleepy village has much to offer any type of traveler, from its magnificent 12^th century cathedrals to its scrumptious patisseries and picturesque waterways.

Life in the village seemed dormant and quiet when we arrived, but then again the day we decided to visit was an incredibly cold and wet fall day. Nonetheless after a little over an hour on the train, we followed the giant looming cathedral on the hill and were happily surprised along the way. Snaking behind houses and in-between streets are some little rivers that almost give you the feel of being hundreds of miles away amongst the water ways of Venice. But we’re brought back to France by the lovely medieval houses adorning the streets. With old wood work and an array of colors, the walk through the new city and up to the old is quite pleasant and after making our way up a small hill we reached the Saint- Quiriace cathedral built in the 12^th century. The pink marble inlayed around the center of the dome’s interior stood out as something not often seen in the cathedrals I’ve been to around Europe. It was quiet and the remnants of paint on the walls makes you wonder what this church must have looked like when it was built, nearly a thousand years ago.

                Just across the square and up a small hill there is another looming building which resembles a fortress and is called Caesar’s Tower. It was once used as a prison but is now the bell tower for the church. We tried to enter but found out that tours didn’t start for another hour or so and decided to find someplace to eat before going back to view the inside.

 Just a couple minutes’ walk away is the big old town square, fortunately adorned with little restaurants on all four sides. We made our choice and gladly accepted the warmth upon entering. After reading the menu, which was in both French and English, we decided on their special. Crepe with onions, potatoes, sausage and gravy as well as a warm mug of rose hot chocolate. This little town is known for their roses but I’d never had hot chocolate flavored with them and as a lover of hot chocolate, I was very pleased with its rich flavor.

                We’d spent enough time refueling and warming up that we were now ready to enter the Tower. There were many different levels and each one offered a gorgeous view of the little town and surrounding areas, as you went higher and higher up, the panoramic picture just got more and more beautiful to look at. The rooftops were interlaced with trees in all shades of fall colors; reds, oranges, yellows and golds. Those made it even harder to pull ourselves away and explore the innards of the structure. There was a large main circular room and smaller ones that opened up at different points along the circle. The highest level housed the bell or two actually, and is surrounded by wooden planks so we weren’t sure at first what we were looking at till I spotted a bell behind all the crisscrossing wooden beams. We stayed up there enjoying the view as long as we possibly could but once our extremities started to go numb, we reluctantly left to finish wandering the town.

                One of the best ways to experience a European city is to stop in a local bakery or, in France’s case, a patisserie. So we purchased a few deliciously odd looking items to enjoy on the train ride home. Walking along we found a few more incredibly interesting churches like Saint Crioxe, laced with statues of all sorts and gothic architecture as well as the bell tower of Notre Dame- du- Val. Eventually wandering too far and reaching a park where we stopped to feed some ducks, we realized we needed to be at the train station quite soon and had no idea where we were. So after asking directions quite a few times, we were running through the town, trying to take it all in one last time as we sped by! I yelled a good bye and thank you to one of my new favorite little towns, and upon reaching the station with a few minutes to spare; we caught our breath and boarded the train. On the way home I enjoyed my pistachio éclair while being mesmerized by the brilliant orange sun setting over the hills in the distance.

Paris

   Can't believe how long it's been since I've written on here! Anyways the big city of Paris is my current home, but only for the next 4 weeks or so. Then I'll be headed on a two week vacation around Europe with my family, and when that's over I'll be spending a couple weeks with friends in England before flying to Southeast Asia for a few months. I am so excited!! But for now, Paris is my home and a beautiful one at that.
   After visiting all the big and famous monuments in Paris like; the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and so on, I had to start looking harder for interesting things to see. I used TripAdvisor and created a list of all the extra things to see around this grand city. So over the last few months my list has taken me to the most visited cemetery in the world, Pere Lachaise, which is the final resting place for a few famous people such as Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein. I've seen a few other cemeteries as well, all quite interesting and very grand, much larger than any I've seen in America with some very interesting graves. This photo is from the cemetery monmartre.

I explored the 2km long underground catacombs beneath the city, the entire pathway was lined high on either side with hundreds and thousands of bones, some set decoratively into the walls. With my love for the outdoors, I had to explore every park I could find. Park Andre Citroen is very modern with a hot air balloon, giant fountain, and contemporary spaces used by many for relaxation. Parc Monceau, one of my favorites for its relative closeness to me, is a lovely park used by many joggers that has a few odd structural pieces like a pyramid and an archway as well as a row of columns in the pond. This park is a sweet and peaceful place to chat on a park bench, enjoy a baguette for lunch, or read a book. Sadly Parc des Buttes- chaumont is so far from me or I would likely spend much of my time walking around the giant cliff surrounded by water and taking in the breathtaking views of the whole park and city from the top of that cliff. There are also many small random green spaces in Paris that I walk through whenever I spot them.
  
















I've been through the home of Victor Hugo, many different museums and dozens of churches. Every street in Paris seems to hold something aesthetically interesting. One of my favorite churches that I went through after reading the DaVinci Code, was the church Saint Sulpice, very similar to Notre Dame but housing some notable paintings and also playing choir music that sounds enchanting in the giant cathedral.
   Food in Paris is quite different for each person. Often around lunch time you see people walking down the streets eating a baguette as they go, seemingly in too much of a hurry to sit down and eat their meal. But on the other hand, there are many restaurants and braserries, where people sit outside and enjoy their company and their meal slowly and peacefully, not leaving out their espresso or cigarette. I haven't had the opportunity to eat much French food besides the occasional baguette for lunch. I have though been able to try some of their delicious pastries. From fruit tarts and chocolate croissants to eclairs and flan, French pastry is something to be savored and enjoyed.

Ellen and I enjoying a strawberry tart and piece of flan

   One of my favorite things about my life here is the gorgeous view I have just outside my window. When I first arrived in September, the trees outside my window gave me a small view of the top of the Eiffel Tower, but as fall progressed and the leaves began to fall from the trees, my view got bigger and bigger. Whether it be in the morning when the sun has come up or on a foggy day when I have to strain my eyes to see it, or at night when it glows brightly making the entire sky a slight shade of orange, I love this view and am so thankful for it.