An American Girl in Paris

Stop everything. Don't think. Just take it all in. You're in Paris. Why would you think about anything else right now? It's so easy to be preoccupied with past and future concerns and obligations. Why not pay attention to what's right in front of you? It's pretty incredible if you just look up.

The best piece of advice I received in preparation for visiting Paris was simply to look up, because there is so much to see everywhere. I wanted to remember everything about my first trip to Paris forever, so I watched and observed every wonderful detail. And let me tell you, the pictures I've seen in the past have nothing on the real deal. The things I saw were pretty darn magical, even in the rainy and cold weather.

Notre Dame:

This entertaining sign at our hostel:

The Lourve:

 

 

The Mona Lisa:

 

 

The EIFFEL TOWER:

 

 

 

The Arc de Triomphe:

This delicious croissant:

The lock bridge:

 

 

Then, quite possibly my favorite part of the weekend: We climbed the Eiffel tower! But of course, my battery died right before we started the climb... womp womp. At first I was really disappointed that I couldn't document that moment. But as I thought about it again, I realized that my battery dying was truly a blessing in disguise. As great as it is to have pictures and remember moments perfectly frozen in time, I don't want to live my life behind a camera lens. Then I would miss out on the real deal! So I was able to take the advice I needed. Instead of focusing on taking pictures, I took mental pictures. I looked up. Well, once we got to the top, I looked down. The picture I could have taken wouldn't have done that view of Paris justice. It was something I'll remember forever, from my own eyes and not just a picture. From now on I plan to look around a lot more, and really look. As the wise Ferris Bueller says, Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. If I didn't look up (or down) I could have missed it!