Ah, back to blogging….I kept warning I would start my blog back up once I got to Paris, and I am true to my word. Well, I am a little ahead of my word.  I actually don’t leave to Paris until tomorrow.  In fact tomorrow morning at this exact moment I will be at the Missoula International Airport checking my 2 gargantuan pieces of luggage and praying that both are under the 50 lb limit -one of my bags was 20 lbs over the limit on the flight from Seattle to Missoula which meant I had to fork over $90 to the Delta agent.  I refuse to do that again as $90 USD is probably good for at least a week’s worth of croissants and baguettes in gay Pairee….however, at the current Euro to $ exchange rate I may be being generous :).

Oh, and YES, I am going to Paris…not Provence as my last blog post suggests.  Paris seemed like the more obvious choice after some research and an inspiring coffee date with a woman author who lived in Paris for over 3 years.  I think the fit will be perfect. Me = Love for food, wine, shopping, people, Paris = great food, wine, shopping, people.  Therefore: Me + Paris = Harmonious Match   🙂  Of course, I do have to learn the language to maximize the experience, which I will.  I plan on spending the first 3 months in an intensive language school broadening my current vocab and mastering the French accent (ha!).  Lets hope the Parisian folks are patient with this American girl.

The above picture is one I took when I was in Paris in November of last year. The weather will be decidedly better when I land on Thursday….temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s!It will be nice to be reminded what sunshine looks and feels like!!!

So with my year long French Vistor Visa (Carte de Sejour) squarely adhered to page 18 of my US passport (I only had to travel to San Fransisco and promise to name my first born son “Sarkozy” for that thing!), a bag of M&Ms, and enough clothes and toiletries to get me through the summer I think I finally feel like I am ready. That feeling of course will change once I land….but I will enjoy it for now.

Me in front of my parents’ pond in Montana.

I am posing with my coveted French Visitor Visa!

I read a quote recently in an article on France that my financial advisor gave me that I think I need to remember as I embark on this journey.  The quote was made by a French Michelin three-star chef to the ariticle’s author.  He said, “Please tell people in America that Parisians are not unpleasant only to them.  They are unpleasant to everyone.”  Well, good to know. Then I won’t take it personally :).

Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  chez soi et à Paris.
(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.)
-Ernest Hemingway

Let’s go find out!