We woke up very early on Saturday (July 7) to take a bus to Charles De Gaulle Airport. It was hard to believe it was time to go home—it felt like we had just gotten here and now it was already time to leave! Four days in Paris was simply not enough time to explore the city. There’s so much to see and do. It’s such a magical place that casts an enchanting spell making you not want to leave.
After packing our suitcases to the brim, we enjoyed one last croissant at a boulangerie near our hotel, savoring every last buttery morsel. Then we checked out of our hotel and hauled our suitcases down the hill to the bus stop (luckily we didn’t have to go far with our heavy bags and newly-acquired piece of luggage!).
I was teary-eyed as the bus pulled away from the stop, leaving our hotel in the distance and speeding off toward the freeway. This was it—our European adventure has come to a close. We laughed and reminisced on the ride to the airport, thinking of all the things we would miss (and those we might not miss as much)...
Here are just a few highlights of what we will miss:
- The excitement of exploring a completely new city
- The beauty all around us, all day long
- Seeing buildings that are more than 50 years old
- Walking everywhere or taking public transportation (There’s no need to drive anywhere here. We wondered if we’d even remember how to drive!)
- Climbing hundreds of stories to see amazing city views
- The passion for soccer
- The incredible artwork (both in the museums and in the architecture on every street corner)
- The beautiful blue waters of Cinque Terre
- The magical feeling of Paris
- Eating amazing food at every meal
- The food (This could be its own long list, so try not to let your stomach rumble too much)...
- Fresh pasta
- Tomatoes (we don’t know what they do to them over here, but they taste so good!)
- Gelato (so many flavors!)
- Pesto
- Risotto
- Olive oil
- Salami (yes, I will miss meat!)
- Seafood
- Croissants
- Baguettes
- Macaroons
- Tartines
- Salted caramel ice cream
And, it’s a short list, but here are just a few things we won’t miss:
- The incessant smoking
- Not having an alarm clock (yes, even I realized their importance)
- The porn magazines prominently displayed at newsstands (although I will admit we got a good laugh out of the title, “Mission Ass Possible”)
- The heat and humidity in Italy (next time we will visit in the spring, not summer!)
- The aching we felt in our feet after the many miles of hitting the pavement day in and day out
We may even miss the Vespas, the controlled chaos, and the feeling you get when you’re struggling to communicate, yet connecting with people who were genuinely grateful for your effort. In fact, the people we encountered were lovely and friendly, further proving our theory that the energy and attitude you put out comes right back to you!
As we boarded the plane back to Los Angeles, I suddenly couldn’t wait to get home—to sleep in our bed, to talk to our families, to see our friends, to return to yoga class, to do our own laundry, to cook again and to just stay in one place for more than a few minutes at a time.
We want to thank all of you for reading our blog and sharing in our adventures along the way. This was an incredibly special experience for us, and we are thrilled that you could enjoy all of the ups and downs (but mostly ups!) with us. We’re already dreaming about our next European Adventure—and keeping my ears open for more radio contests! This experience just goes to show that dreams really do come.
More pictures and videos coming soon, but for now, au revoir, mon amis!
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