I'll always have Paris

Last Friday, I boarded a train out of Angers and arrived at Paris' Gare Montparnasse for one last time this semester.

On Monday, I boarded my very last train and arrived home in Angers, where I still stay for another week and a half before flying home to the United States.

When I got on that train, I left a piece of myself behind in Paris.

It's that piece of myself that is still a sixth grader walking into her first ever French class and learning how to say "Bonjour." It's the part of my being that has known ever since that I needed to study in France during college.

It's that piece of myself that never wanted anything more than to see the Eiffel Tower and walk along the Seine.

That piece of myself was exploding with both enthusiasm and fear when I left I my home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio merely a few months ago with just two suitcases and one backpack, not having any idea what was on the other side of that great big ocean.

Sure, everyone has a desire to travel. But for as long as I can remember until the day I boarded a plane over here, if you had asked me that all to common "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?" I would've said Paris. Without a moment's hesitation. It was not just any old destination. It was THE destination.

So why did I leave that part of myself behind in Paris?

That's where it always wanted to be.

It's happiest there, reveling in the dream of finally reaching that incredible city.

So I scattered it around...

In the Luxembourg Gardens, where Parisians hang out to talk or read or sunbathe.


With Les Bouquinistes (book stalls along the Seine).



At a Chopin piano concert in a teeny tiny Church in the Latin Quarter.



In the sunset view from the end of L'île de la Cité.



In the smallest of amazing details in the city; the bridges, the shadows, the sunlight.


With the wicker café chairs lining every sidewalk .



Amongst the gargoyles at the top of Notre Dame, my favorite view of the city.



Even around the old-fashioned Metro signs.



And of course, underneath the Eiffel tower.





When I got on that train back to Angers, I knew that I was no longer the little girl who could only dream of a far-off, magical city called Paris.

Now I can only hope that I never forget it. And never take for granted how lucky I am to be able to spend four months in France soaking up an incredible culture and learning a beautiful language.