What were you grateful for this week?The Palace of Versailles. 

What was the most challenging part of this week?Long nights and early mornings. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.One of the kids was having a bad day and didn’t want to do anything, so I set up crafts and waited for his approach. I taught him origami! 

Tell us about your week! This week on Tuesday was my 23rd birthday! And one of the Travelers in Rome made it so incredible! She surprised me with Prosecco and Gelato! We then ate at a restaurant right outside the Pantheon. The staff was incredibly nice and they sang happy birthday to me with a candle in a pastry! An accordion player joined in and it was like a dream! We befriended the tables around us and a table next to us bought me a birthday drink! We found out it was our waiter’s birthday the next day so at midnight we relit my candle and sang to him! We ended up at a pub with Karaoke and sang Dancing Queen but ABBA! My week went by so slow but incredibly fast leading up to a long overdue trip to Paris! 

On Friday I met up with another traveler coming into Rome for the weekend and (on my poor decision) I stayed up all night went back home, changed my clothes, and headed off for my early flight! I went to Shakespeare & Co cafe and bookstore and sat talking with a man in the store for near an hour! I bought a Joan Didion book and met up with my friends that came in later. As we walked around a busker and the Travelers (against my will) dragged me up front and center and i sang with the busker, La Vie En Rose. We went to The Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, and tried escargot and tartar…Not a fan of either but it was worth the try! Everywhere we went we made friends with other travelers. One couple got engaged that night and another told me the store of how she met her boyfriend while being an au pair as well! We ended that night at the Moulin Rouge and got to dance the night away in the nightclub.

The next morning we went to The Palace of Versailles and I was so overwhelmed with the beauty and my love of the art and fashion of Marie Antoinette’s time I couldn’t help but cry. We got Macrons, pastries, sandwiches and enjoyed the view of the garden. We ended our time in Paris climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was a beautiful weekend and between London and Paris I felt like I belonged and was finally home.