Drinking espresso under the Eiffel Tower at night & watching the light show (which I think is beautiful). The tower was lit up in blue, with shimmering white lights all over it — it was really an incredible sight to behold. It was definitely one of the best things I did in Paris, & after seeing that, I pretty much fell in love with the city.

Paris! Yes. I really enjoyed my time there. It’s a magnificent place. It doesn’t give me the same rush that New York does, but it has its own, very specific charm, & I think after another visit it could easily nudge its way into #2 on my favourite cities list. I’m glad of that actually, it’s always good to have a few different cities in which you feel comfortable & happy, & which you can pick from. The best clue that I really liked it there is that I am already planning what I will do on my return… !

Being immersed in the French language — It’s so beautiful, really, & just seeing all the signs & listening to everyone around me was totally inspiring. I also found (& this filled me with total delight) that a lot of my vocabulary knowledge started to come back to me after a few days of being there. By the end of the 4th day, I was speaking with a lot more authority & felt much more comfortable with the language. I cannot TELL YOU how satisfying this was. I am even considering taking regular classes at the Alliance Française, because when I go back I would really like to be able to communicate even more confidently. Though of course, I would need to be in one spot long enough to take a course… !

Speaking in a fake French accent — Haha. So, I speak (un petit peu) French. But Timmy, who I went with, doesn’t. Well, he can say hello, goodbye & thank you, but that’s about it. We caught the hell out of the Métro, & we often had to discuss which stops we were going to, so he started trying to pronounce the names in a French accent. Eventually it devolved into the two of us talking in fake French the whole time, using “boeuf” in place of regular curse words & preeeeeetty much acting like huge dorks. It was totally obnoxious & incredibly hilarious. Hahah.

Finding a carousel with a big hot air balloon on it — There are two carousels near the Eiffel Tower. The first one is on the other side of the road, but if you go back across the Seine, there’s another one which is two storeys & much more decadent! The best part of it to me was the fact that there was a seat in a hot air balloon if you didn’t want to ride ye olde horse! It matched my tattoo, so of course that’s where I sat. So much fun!

French people en général — You know, they get a really bad rep usually. “Oh, Paris? Everyone there is so rude!” Actually, everyone I met was super-polite & went out of their way to help me. When you walk into a shop in Paris, they always say hello, ask if they can help, & bid you farewell when you leave. I haven’t been anywhere else like that, & I loved it. I did meet one rude person, but he was in the airport & clutching a passport I couldn’t read the front of, so he wasn’t even from France!

Le Crazy Horse — Cute, smiling, nearly naked dancing girls, check. Amazing light show, check. Shoes by Christian Louboutin, check. (Hyperventilate, oh my god, fan girl!!!) We went to the show on Sunday, our last night, & really enjoyed it. I kept nudging Timmy & making him pay attention, hee. “No! Look at the shoes!!!” If you ever go to Paris you must go to the show!

Being told that I speak French with “no accent” by an actual French person. Dude. Ultimate compliment! So good it warrants a heart-shaped bullet-point all of its own! You have no idea how happy that made me!

Being back in New York! As much as I love travelling — & obviously, that is a lot — I love having a routine, too. Because flying & transfers & hotels & foreign public transportation systems are interesting, & challenging, & kinda cool, but sometimes you just want to sleep regular hours, get some work done & mooch around a neighbourhood with which you’re familiar! (Especially after my mad route home, which included an unplanned overnight stay in Philadelphia’s très glamor Ramada Inn!) It’s so crazy & awesome to me that New York is like home to me now, too!

My new place — voilà!

Monthly soundtracks — There is a girl who makes them on ljmixtape & every month she releases a new one. I have to say, sometimes on the first listen I’m not totally grabbed by the tracks, but by the second or third listen? Eeeee! These mixes of hers get SO MUCH PLAY on my computer! Her taste is really impeccable. You will need to join the community to see it, but here is her soundtrack for September — have a listen, & I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Lip yummies — Yesterday I went to Sephora & bought three lip treatments. I decided about two days ago that I wanted to start wearing something on my lips other than just flavoured balm, so I was on the hunt. I am really, really happy with what I bought — Smith’s Minted Rose Lip Balm (for lovely moisture), Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine in Raspberry Shine & Givenchy Pop Gloss Crystal in Glitter Pomelo. The Givenchy products are seriously the best things ever, beautiful colours with the addition of irridescent glittery awesomeness! I’d never used their stuff before but I am sooooo happy! You should go & try them out, they’re fabulous & they make me feel like a total vixen.

Honourable mentions: Sleeping all the way home on the plane (I know I’ve said this before but it’s so good to wake up with only an hour until you land); having a row of four seats to yourself; dreams about your idols; sugar highs; befriending small French girls who wear bunny ears & draw pictures of you; brightly coloured macarons; having Japanese tourists take photos of you; perfect plane outfits (long-sleeved thin black hoodie + American Apparel grey sweater + long black cardigan + harem pants + socks + books + scarf); women behind you on the plane who sing; fashion parades in the Catacombs; kissy faces on a carousel; balconies which look out over Paris; bathtubs (in Paris & in my new place!); ‘Dolores’, the new album by Bohren & der Club of Gore; watching Almost Famous while eating ice-cream for dinner; Sex… With Mom & Dad (new MTV show featuring Dr Drew, who I love!) & Paris Hilton’s My New BFF (uber-trash but & as if I even need to say it, my favourites are Onch & Zui); kissing videos (awww); the super-super-super-friendly woman in the canteen in Philadelphia’s Ramada Inn!; big stacks of foreign fashion magazines; vegan tacos; big piles of blankets; impulse purchasing white bunny ears, & cute voicemail from people saying they miss me. Awww!

This is one of the most amazing things I’ve read in a while:

“Listen to people’s stories, & you’ll find that they could all be entitled “Why I Cannot Be at Peace Now”. The ego doesn’t know that your only opportunity for being at peace is now.” — Eckhart Tolle

Okay, bunny! Time for your TiLT exercises! Wiggle your fingers — in, out, up, down, around! — in preparation to compose us a big fat list of your current loves! Ready? Set? Go!

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