Another American in Paris

Two weeks ago for my 19th birthday I got the best gift ever--a visit from my wonderful mama!

I was so excited to have her here with me to show her what I've been up to for the last 10 months. It's one thing to write and send pictures, but nothing compares to being able to see it for yourself! She got here on June 15, and I think by the time she left 10 days later she had a pretty good understanding of why I love it so much here.

I must say I was quite impressed with her motivation--she saw as much of Paris in a week and a half as I did in probably my first 6 weeks here. I ended up being much busier than I expected with work and babysitting, but she had a ball going out and exploring on her own and we were able to at least catch up over dinner each night even when I wasn't able to accompany her on her adventures during the day.

From the second I saw her smiling face at the airport, I knew it was going to be a great visit! Her flight was delayed, so I was standing with my face turned down toward my freebie metro newspaper when she snuck up and surprised me. I wasn't surprised to hear that she had already made a new friend even before the plane touched down and snagged an invite to said friend's home in Montpelier in the south of France. Unfortunately, we did not make it down for a visit, but just the offer in itself was so kind and immediately dispelled the snobby French stereotype, which as I have claimed multiple times is simply not true.

Jet lag be darned, we dropped off her suitcases at my apartment and immediately went out exploring. My mother quickly put my worries about wearing her out to rest. I may have developed night-owl tendencies that are not so conducive to her typical schedule back home, but after trekking about 8 miles all over Paris from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower and everywhere in between, I think I was in worse shape than she was! We enjoyed our first French meal at a cafe not far from home and grabbed dinner at another of my favorite places just around the corner. I was happy to hear that the French cuisine did not disappoint.

First dinner in Paris!

I got to introduce my mom to the guys have provided me with many a mid-morning pick-me-up from the little coffee stand right by school--they also offered me a job, so if I end up looking for work here in the future it looks like I'm set. Unfortunately my friendly crepe stand man was on vacation so she didn't get to meet him, but I gave him her regards last week when he returned from Turkey. From him I got another offer for an opportunity to return to France...marry his son! Ha. Keeping my options open for the moment.

One day I decided to mix work and play and I brought my mom with me to babysit. The girls loved her--no surprise there--and for the rest of the week they asked me if I could bring my her again. I think having her there cleared up a lot of confusion because all year they've been asking me if I have parents, and despite my explanations that my family lived in America even though I was here, I don't think they believed me. We played school, and Susan insisted on conducting her classroom in French. I tried my best to whisper translations of the do's and don'ts of the school, but I got in trouble because of the no-talking policy. When my mom finally raised her hand to say that she felt at a slight disadvantage seeing as she did not speak French, we both lost our cool a bit and collapsed in laughter. We were met with a stern shush and a very harsh 5-year-old glare. And all of this after 20 minutes of arranging stuffed-animal students in their "desks!"

On the day of my actual birthday I was pretty busy since we had students from a second program arriving and I had to help move them in, but I was able to spend the evening with my mom and my good friend Annie who had returned to Paris from her European travels that began after we finished with our classes for the year. We got drinks at Chez Justine, one of my favorite and most-frequented places here!

So happy she got to join me as I celebrated my 19th!

And all the better having Annie there with us! They had been hearing about each other all year...

The next day was a celebration called the Fete de la Music where the streets basically turn into a giant outdoor party with various concerts and performances in parks, main squares, and even just on random street corners. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed some old-school 70's music (which is oddly trendy in Paris right now) before my mom bid me adieu so I could go meet up with some friends, but not before a charming young man could offer to take our picture then proceed to persistently ask for my phone number. Hoping to get my mom on his side, he told me in French to tell her she was pretty and he could see where I got my looks. While I agree that my dear mother is gorgeous, we were too smart for his smooth talking and sent him on his way, but at least he took some decent pictures!

On the Canal Saint-Martin

Random saxophone player on a balcony because why not? It is the Fete de la Music after all!

All of Paris turned out on a Sunday night...this was only the beginning :)

And of course, I couldn't send my mom back the U.S. before treating her to a Parisian picnic, so on her last day here we sat by the Seine on the Île de la Cité and enjoyed a dinner of baguette, cheese, wine, and grapes before heading up to Montmarte to check out Sacrè Coeur.

Moulin Rouge in Montmartre

And of course the Amelie cafe!

So happy ma mère was able to make it over to visit me, and even happier that I'll be seeing her chez nous in one week! Bisous à tout le monde et à bientot! (Sorry that was a lot of franglais..) Hugs to everyone and see you SOON! :)