In Paris..

I did mention I was going away, didn't I? Well, now I am back!

It's December and things have gone from good to better, bad to worse, and back to life as usual again. I have far too many things to say about our recent trip. But as much as I want to launch into a detailed perfect descriptions of each places we've been to in one post, I'd figured whittling them down in a few different posts would be less tiring to the eyes.

Europe flew by in a flurry of beautiful sights, croissants, gorgeous people, pizzas, autumn breeze, hospitality, hot chocolates, wet dogs, surprises, and love. So much love. The whole trip was marvelous and it left us feeling so liberated. To be able to breathe in foreign air and to see the world from a different angle was simply amazing. 

And Paris? 

We've all seen Paris from the movies, but I hadn't realize quite how beautiful a city Paris would be. I have been to London, Milan, Florence and Venice during this trip and I must say I preferred Paris to all those places. Big Z and I stayed at a delightfully small boutique Hotel Joyce just a short walk away from the Opera and Sacre coeur. I have nothing but good things to say about this hotel and I would totally recommend it to everyone. 

Walking through the streets, soaking in the view as much as we could, I'd realized how interesting it was just to look at the Parisians. So trendy and glamorous, whilst also managing to be rather helpful and kind. What a clever balance to strike. But these were only from our experience and we've all heard stories about how stuck up they can really be. So, we're just glad we didn't encountered any problems despite of our excellent French.

And one of our main highlights of Paris was visiting the Mosquee de Paris (twice!). And the pleasure of sipping the famous mint tea at the Hammam cafe of course. It's currently the largest mosque in France and the third largest in Europe. Full of greenery and beautiful architecture, it was nice to be able to just blend in with the rest, and calmed ourselves there after an overwhelming day of sightseeing.

Paris was indeed a joie de vivre experience for the both of us but, right now? We're just glad to be back. All the things that happened before and after the trip made us nothing but thankful. Just to be alive and well. And I'd say there is nothing quite like travelling to the other side of the world to learn about life and make one go all reflective.

Till the next post.