Quick Fact Sunday, Volume 2

Fact: This trip is not the first time I've been to Paris. 

My first trip was actually pretty epic in that the scope, duration and ridiculousness of the trip was completely accidental. For our semester abroad's spring break, four friends and I decided to split our ten days between Tuscany, Barcelona, and Paris. After flight delays, a reroute to the South of France, and a train ride north, we missed Barcelona entirely and ended up with nearly a week to enjoy Paris! 

We dubbed ourselves "Team Hot Route" after a series of travel catastrophes and starting to wing it. Charlie, Coleen, Kate and Peter were great travel companions, and we had an absolute blast. Claire, Peter's girlfriend at the time, was kind enough to let us stay in her Paris flat in the 11th, so we experimented with cooking (and adventured through French grocery stores!) and bonded with the corner boulangerie's proprietor. 

We did the typical tourist destinations...the Louvre, Versailles, the Musee Rodin, and of course the Eiffel Tower...

...and also branched off the beaten path for nights of absinthe in the Latin Quarter and wandering Montmartre. 

This trip couldn't differ more from that trip to Paris...we were on tight student budgets, we had no tours or planned excursions, and flew by the seat of our pants...but that was half the fun and magic of the trip. I count myself extremely lucky to have memories of experiencing Paris as a 21-year old student...it's truly unlike any other way to travel. 

Bonjour from Paris!

We're HERE!!!!!

Nowhere near enough exclamation points. An entire blog post of exclamation points couldn't capture my excitement. We're jet-lagged as all get-out after being awake for around 24 hours straight, but we're here and that is all that matters. 

No time for a lengthy post...too much exploring and eating and enjoying to do. Just wanted to share this guy quickly, though: 

That's the Louvre, on the right side with the flag on top...as seen from our apartment for the week. THE EFFING LOUVRE IS RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR APARTMENT WINDOW. Eat your hearts out, Mary Kate and Ashley. ("Passport to Paris" ain't got nothing on this!) 

I think I'm still in shock. Off to go find a cappuccino and a cute garçon...not necessarily in that order ;) Ciao for now!

"Allez, viens!"...off to Paris!

Zut alors, campers, the day has finally arrived. The day I've been waiting for since (no joke) last June. We leave for Paris today!

So I'm a huge dork...our French textbooks in high school were called "Allez, viens!," which translates to "Come on, let's go!" That's EXACTLY how I'm feeling this morning...just one big ball of energy kind of zinging around tapping my toes and shouting that in my mind. In just a few short hours, Mom and I are headed to MSP, where we'll catch a flight to Boston and meet up with Em. We arrive in the land of baguettes and berets tomorrow morning, and I can't wait to share everything we have planned with you. 

We've worked so hard to put this trip together...from researching restaurants to planning tours, putting together ridiculously complex Excel spreadsheets and terrorizing (and being terrorized by) the wait staff and elderly women of the city...and I can't wait for it to come to fruition. Although our ten-day forecast looks like it holds lots of rain, I'm already anxious to stroll the streets, wander the museums, and take it all in. The trip's coming at a perfect time, with all the angst and weirdness of April behind me and nothing to worry about but making fantastic memories with my mom and sister. 

While I won't be checking in on social media often (if at all), I've set up scheduled posts while I'm enjoying the City of Light. Check back in for those, or follow along on our adventures via my Instagram and Twitter (@MissSchweg on both!). Au revoir, mes amis--Paris, I'm coming for you!

Best surprise ever? Oui oui!

Hi all! Hope your Fourth was fantastic (and appropriately filled with fireworks and awesome grilled food)...we celebrated with my gorgeous sister Emily, who flew home from Cincinnati for an extended long weekend and her birthday celebration. 

While I had a blast celebrating our nation's independence, the best part of the weekend wasn't exactly America-centric...

WE'RE GOING TO PARIS!

My parents took Em to Italy for ten days this May, and almost as soon as they returned my dad started talking about how fun it would be to send my mom, Em and me to Paris on a girls' trip. Needless to say, my inner Francophile freaked the eff out and I immediately began dreaming of saying "Bonjour!" to one of my favorite cities. I spent a week in Paris during my semester abroad in London in 2010, and I fell in love in the hugest way with the culture, history, and atmosphere. The thought of getting to go back with my mom and sister is so exciting!

Although my mom and I had known about Dad's plan since its inception, Emily had no idea...so, naturally, we had to come up with a creative way to tell her! My mom found the cutest t-shirt at Madewell and promptly bought each of us one. We picked Em up from the airport at 9pm, went home, and "changed into comfy clothes," aka the two of us put on our t-shirts and hid them under sweatshirts. Of course we looked totally ridiculous wearing sweatshirts zipped up to our chins on an 80-degree evening, but fortunately Em didn't notice. She opened all her birthday presents, saving a gift bag that (unbeknownst to her) contained her t-shirt til last. As she prepared to open it, Dad goes, "God, aren't you two hot in sweatshirts?" We oh-so-subtly agreed, and totally cheesily took off our sweatshirts to reveal our matching shirts. Then Dad, bless him, goes "Oh my GOD, you three have the same shirt! That's so dorky. Maybe since you all have shirts that say Paris on them, I should just send you to Paris, like...next April 30th." 

Em had no idea and at first, totally didn't believe him! It took awhile to sink in, but once she finally accepted this wasn't a weird Papa Bear joke (believe me, I could share many), she got just as excited as Mom and I were. We couldn't wait to fill her in on all our planning thus far--we've reserved the cutest pied-a-terre two blocks from the Louvre (!!!!!! Be still, my beating heart!!!), and started investigating day trips to Versailles (bien sur) and Monet's home and gardens at Giverny. 

Although we're nearly a year out from our planned trip next May, I'm already obsessing over brushing up on my (sadly-depleted) French vocabulary and grammar and binge-Pinteresting beautiful cityscapes and details. Emily's on restaurant duty and plans to find all the best out-of-the-way, non-touristy cafes, restaurants and boulangeries for us to taste test. Mom has already figured out flights and is doing super in-depth research on the best tours, day trips and packages for museums and sightseeing. And Dad? He's just gloating that he managed to pull off the best surprise ever. 

Any fellow Francophiles with recommendations of must-sees, places to skip, or secret treasures? I'm all ears!