My Birthday Wish

So, this was a big year. My 40th birthday. I always knew that I would be spending it in Europe bu thought it would be with a gaggle of friends. Given the craziness of the past few months, that wasn’t possible but I did get to celebrate with a special dinner with The Parisian. Given how special this picture is to me, I wanted to share (but it will likely be one of the only ones I share of The Parisian, smile!)

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The World Through My Eyes

This is what it looks like to “check” your life with Air France. Don’t ask how much it costs….

Outside of my home in Washington, DC. I get a little weepy thinking about this moment so moving on….

The view from my first apartment in Paris. Nothing more need be said, right?

First run along the Seine. I may or may not have been thinking, “WTF did I just do with my life?”

In the terrace at Pompidou Center as I was making my first friend in Paris. You don’t realize how much you take for granted your friendships until they are an ocean away.

Reminder….daily reminder…

An evening stroll outside of Notre Dame. Any time you need an affirmation that everything is going to be ok when moving to Paris, just wander its streets and see its beautiful sites.

Streets of Paris

Sacre Coeur. There are few more special places in Paris. It has a magical energy.

Ile Saint Louis was the very first place in Paris I visited when I was 12/13 and came here with my parents. I go there now when I need / want to feel close to them.

My very own French door to call home!

View from my apartment on avenue Carnot

There really is no comparison

All quiet in the Loire Valley on a Sunday!

Clouds rolling in

Taking the Kasia Dietz handbag workshop!

You will see a repeating theme here with much of the French graffiti (at least in certain parts of town) having a certain designer style to it.

Finished product with the Kasia Dietz workshop

Business development trip to London!

Literally, ALWAYS a good idea!

My mom and I have been going to the Inn at Little Washington every Christmas for the past 5 years. Since she is coming to Paris for Christmas, we had to move up the tradition a bit BUT still keep it alive.

I mean….

I love the big mirrors that literally every French apartment seems to have above the fireplace!

Any time I get a little homesick, I just need to go to Place des Etats-Unis

A beautiful sunset after a winter rain shower

The rainy days bring sunshine and a much needed sign that this is where I am supposed to be

An old picture of my mom on the streets of Paris from a trip we took when I was 12 or 13.

The waters rising on the Seine (hard to see but you can see the level having covered the footpath that the bridge leads down to)

Captured by shadows on a walk home along Rue de Rivoli.

She’s been one of my closest friends for over a decade and was with me the day The Parisian and I met (and encouraged me to stay).

Taking in the scenes of the city

More rising waters on the Seine January 2018

An amazing meal in Berlin with a message (or quote) for every course.

Because when in Berlin for business, you just have to stop and take in the surroundings…

A night out with one of my beautiful friends from San Francisco (whom I met during her Washingtonian days)…

Because Berlin…

On the side of the Conciergerie, those going to the Bastille / La Guillotine would pass the clock on the way and so know almost exactly their time of death…creepy, right?

When the building was the palace of the first kings of France, this was the entrance that nobles would enter from the sandy banks of the Seine.

Official office and residence of the Mayor of Paris. No real words, the picture speaks for itself. They don’t do many private tours of the building and I was lucky enough when they were running a lighting trial for a dinner later.

Can you see the protest? Yeah, these are the first thing I got used to this year. All the protests.

I took a day in February to just explore the grounds and take in the energy of Chartres, one of the most spiritual places in France and considered to be an energy vortex.

Not THE labyrinth but another one of the grounds.

Case in point, here is one of JFK’s official matchbooks and shown to me by one of The Parisian’s friends from the South of France. It was given to him by the son of the owner of a restaurant where JFK left them after dining in exchange for help with a move. Not a bad exchange…

View from the floor of Assemblée Nationale

A view of the Arc de Triomphe during an early Spring snow dusting

This is my, “I am listening to you and getting really annoyed / impatient face” as exhibited during a panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence by Politico in Brussels.

New York street scenes during a short trip back home

Preach…

Still finding a way to practice my French, even in Miami.

Some of my favorites…

Contemplation

Mood….

Also Mood…

Gare du Saint Lazare, as seen from the back...

There really is nothing like them.

French Graffiti is just a little more designer than the rest...

Had an absolute disaster of an experience with the first place we booked. Only in France, though, does that happen and you can find a chateau at 1:30 AM in the morning to rest your head for the night in and wake up to this.

They are just like the seagulls of the rest of the world, only with better taste in cheese and cider.

Catching a theme here?

You can see why the impressionists were drawn here.

Washington and Paris have a long history together and there are constant reminders of that throughout the city. Standing in the room where the Marshall Plan was crafted, currently owned by the US Government but owned previously by the Rothschilds. Amazing to think of all of the layers of history that are in any given place here.

Just taking it in….

My second trip to Normandy happened to be during VE Day weekend and it was amazing to see all of the old military trucks, men dressed in the uniforms of their fathers and grandfathers, and women in the period clothing of their mom’s and grandmothers. ALL stressed to me the authenticity of the clothing and vehicles from the time and importance of that fact.

The Seine running through Jumierges and Normandy was literally the Viking Road to Paris. You can almost see the Viking ships sailing down it today…

Sacked twice by the Normans and Vikings, reconsecrated by William the Conqueror, a base for the Hugenots, and then abandoned during the Revolution when a firm line was drawn between Church and State in France. The abbey has been left alone since abandonment and looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie.

Business trip to Brussels where a friend of mine was determined to show me the beautiful parts of the city. He said to just close my eyes in the places between.

A much needed dose of TLC from some of my favorite DC ladies to celebrate two Gemini birthdays (one of us is much older than the other!)

See what I did there?

It may have been misting all day but it was still beautiful…

Just taking a tour of the world’s largest incubator and accelerator. You know, no big deal.

Only the French would know how to outdo the Americans when it comes to startup life. Most notably with La Felicita, a 1000-seat restaurant (with over 5 different cuisine options) as envisioned by one of the local “food startups,” Big Mamma. One of the coolest parts of it? Well, Station F is in an old train station so they used old train cars to create private dining room options. I mean, come on…

So, I have continually been amused by the fact that there are old friends from Washington that I haven’t seen in years but have been able to reconnect with moving here. Case in point, this little Washingtonian turned San Franciscan turned Swiss expat.

I mean, again, the flowers. I have never gotten a bouquet this large. The Parisian made sure to tell me the meaning behind each one he picked out.

So, this was a big year. My 40th birthday. I always knew that I would be spending it in Europe bu thought it would be with a gaggle of friends. Given the craziness of the past few months, that wasn't possible but I did get to celebrate with a special dinner with The Parisian. Given how special this picture is to me, I wanted to share (but it will likely be one of the only ones I share of The Parisian, smile!)

Through the Tuilleries

Had to document that it does happen, although rarely and generally only at 4 am in the morning, as documented here.

This guy was eavesdropping on my work call..rude.

For the second time in a year, both Washington and Brussels debated im/migration legislation. On one of these days, I was walking by the Palais de Tokyo and was struck by this scene. Says so much…

Visited an aviary preserve during a trip to the Cotswolds to visit a friend and my goddaughter. Two points. First, I would only visit effectively a zoo for my goddaughter (I have a STRONG aversion to them). Second, I couldn’t help but laugh seeing flamingos with swans against a traditional English backdrop. That’s all.

Sitting with my goddaughter to help her with one of her summer projects (write 3 sentences a day about your vacation) to help her with her spelling and writing. I was impressed at all the different ways she tried to get me to do the work for her….and how I almost did!

The monument to Dalida in Montmartre, where apparently people think rubbing her breasts will bring good luck. So much for respect in death…

This was taken just a few minutes after France won the semi-finals…

Taken at 8 AM on the Sunday morning of the World Cup finals (mind you, I saw people begin to line the streets of Champs Elysees around 6 AM that morning)

The Parisian’s mother, who passed away six years ago, was named Madeleine and so it was very special to visit the Eglise de Saint Madeleine in Bagnoles de l’Orne in Lower Normandy on the Day of Saint Madeleine.

In Lower Normandy

Yeah, $30 total for 3 courses prepared by a Michelin-starred chef. I mean. When I think about leaving, I just need to take a look at this picture again.

There was too much cloud cover on the night of the moon to capture the full effect so this mildly creepy picture taken later in the evening will have to do (smile).