(I have decided that I am going to write about this past month in separate posts because its easier for me to focus and get everything down that way.)

Alright. It's been over a month since I've written, so grab a snack and settle in for what I assure you will be a wild ride. When I last left off I was missing my parents and Mac and Cheese and Bloody Marys. Let me tell you all of these need were fulfilled and I will tell you about them in due time.

PARIS

Allix and I went to Paris for the second weekend in December. It was honestly one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I never imagined I would ever find myself in this beautiful city. Since I'm writing this a month later, I've had to check out Allix's blog for some fact checking (myeuropeanadventuresab.blogspot.nl/  if you're interested). We arrived late Friday night and took the Metro to our lodging for the weekend. After being in the Netherlands and experiencing their public transportation, we were spoiled. A one hour ticket in Holland is 3 Euro. In Paris it is 1.70. You get what you pay for, folks. We are staying with a young couple that Allix found through AirBnB. It's a site kind of like Couchsurfing, only you pay for it. It's still way less than a hotel and you get a bit of the local flavor from your hosts.

First stop Saturday was to the Louvre, where we saw the Mona Lisa. It was pretty cool, but pretty underwhelming and anti-climactic. We saw the Venus di Milo and a lot of other iconic pieces that I'm not going to go into detail on.

NEXT STOP. Notre Dame Cathedral. I wanted to throw myself on the steps and shout, "SANCTUARY! PLEASE GIVE US SANCTUARY!" but Allix wouldn't allow me to, so I just sang The Bells of Notre Dame in an obnoxious manner. Classic.

Okay. Back to business. From the top of Notre Dame we saw a Christmas market so we stopped there next. The most bizarre thing was that there was a man dressed as Santa who was greeting people as they entered. We expected a jolly "HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Nope. Santa said "Bonjour!"

It was awful weather so Allix and I planned on visiting the Arch and the Eiffel Tower the following day. After dinner, we picked up a bottle of wine or two to take back and drink at our lodging. We decided since we were in the city we wanted to see the Louvre all lit up. When we got there we could not only see the lovely lights of the Louvre, but also the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Long story short, we trekked the two miles to the Eiffel Tower, grocery bags full of wine in hand. It was worth it. Strolling by the Seine with the city and tower all lit up was unforgettable.

The next morning was foggy so the top part of the Eiffel Tower was obscured from view, but we saw the Arc du Triomphe in all its majestic glory! On the walk we had an authentic French croissant, and I'm now ruined for life. It was so buttery and flaky and delicious.

Even though we were only in Paris for two days, both Allix and I agreed that we missed "home". We were spoiled by the beautiful public transportation and English speakers in Holland.

Coming next....Momma and Poppa O arrive