Okay. I assume you either opened your eyes again or ignored my first command. I realized I need to tell you what to imagine when you close your eyes for this to work.
I want you to go all the way back to 2015. What were you doing four years ago? Personally, I was living it up in Europe for the first time, sparking this crazy passion for seeing, exploring, and eating my way through foreign places.
But there was one trip I never blogged: Paris in early November. Jackson and I flew from Trondheim and Copenhagen, respectively, to meet up in this ancient city.
We honestly didn’t even arrive that late, but I remember it was super dark, and I still hadn’t figured out how to expertly navigate foreign public transportation, so we kind of just wandered around a bit and retired pretty early to our hostel.
In the morning, on our walk to the Louvre, we passed a little boulangerie, and rather than get a little pastry or croissant, like normal people with self control, we got an entire loaf of chocolate chip bread. It was soooo delightful.
We had some other activities on the itinerary, but that was all derailed when we spent close to nine hours in the Louvre…
I am a museum fiend, but this took the cake. We even left two wings untouched. It was honestly dangerous. I could have gotten lost in there.
My favorite hallway was the one lined with dozens of MASSIVE Delacroix paintings. He was already my favorite painter, but seeing his work in real life brought such a new dynamic to my appreciation of his art. When you study art in school, it’s really hard to put the works into context. You can’t tell that some of the paintings are twenty feet tall, and others, like the Mona Lisa, are 8″ x 10″!
Don’t be fooled by the people-less picture of our dear friend. We had to wait several minutes to get to the front of the corral surrounding this famous lady.
Note to anyone looking for a way into my heart: I love emeralds.
We finally got out of there just as the sun was setting. Ha! As we pondered dinner, a Jamaican man quickly approached me with a set of string and asked me to give him his finger. Sketchy sounding, I know. But I was young and naïve. I was well aware that I should stay away from people aggressively selling things to passersby, but somehow, in that split second, I thought the guy was going to show me a magic trick. I gave him my finger, and he immediately began weaving a friendship bracelet on the spot, with my finger as the anchor.
I realized my mistake quickly enough, but it was too late anyway, and I reasoned that it was kind of a cool souvenir. I figured I’d give the guy a couple euros. Out of nowhere, another guy showed up and grabbed Jackson’s finger without asking to create a second bracelet. Oops. The guys were pretty funny though, asking if we could get Bill Gates to send some money to Jamaica from Seattle. In the end, they asked for TEN EUROS EACH, which was out of the question. Jackson forked over about eight euros total in the form of 50 Norwegian crowns, and then we finally got some delicious baguettes for dinner.
We tried to sprint to the Eiffel Tower to catch some sunset action, but it wasn’t meant to be. Paris is large, yo. When we surfaced from the metro, it was already pitch black, so we gave up and continued in a less-hurried fashion. When we were almost there, we came across a line that wound around the block. I’m not sure why we decided to stick around, but we just got in line, too. Turned out it was for a travelling American Gospel choir, and the show was packed. Parisians like Gospel music, I guess? We were let in at the last second so that we could stand on the outside edges of the cathedral, and we were singing along the whole show!
A very interesting experience, indeed, and we topped it off with a visit to the Eiffel Tower in the dark.
Sunday was dedicated to a visit to Versailles.
The hallways, ceilings, and gold were dazzling, especially the Hall of Mirrors. (I was a bit confused about the mirror quality until I remembered these mirrors were over three hundred years old.)
But I think the gardens were my favorite part. I love a good French garden.
We were more responsible with our time that day, so we had plenty of sunlight left to return to Paris and enjoy the Seine.
We spent the afternoon visiting my favorite museum in the city: Musee d’Orsay.
Just the museum building itself is magnificent, tucked into an old trains station, but I love, love, loooooove all the Impressionism.
All of my favorite artists are showcased here.
We had a yummy, warm ham and cheese crepe for dinner, and then we headed back to the Eiffel Tower for some (less colorful) sunset shots.
DID YOU KNOW IT SPARKLES?!?!?
SUCH MAGIC.
We hung out for quite a while, and we were super tempted to buy a picnic for an hour. (There were ladies spread out across the lawn with fully-stocked picnic baskets and blankets for rent. How brilliant is that?)
On Monday morning, we headed straight for the Notre Dame Cathedral.
So magical and cavernous. I could sit inside any of these magnificent fortresses all day long staring up at the ceiling. The cathedral was struck by a horrific fire this past April, and the main ceiling came crashing down. Restorations are underway and completion is estimated for 2024, but we will see.
When we emerged back into the sun, we wandered the city and walked along the Seine.
Oh, and then we popped back over to the Eiffel Tower again, because I’m ridiculous.
A lovely first visit to Paris, indeed. I can’t wait to go back now that my French is passable. (:
Back to blogging! Sorry, Mom. I was just exhausted from all of the late nights and early mornings and sensory overload that is France. I started this post in September of 2018, and now, four years later, I’ll attempt to finish it!
In case you’d forgotten, sister Sara was studying abroad in Paris in the summer of 2018, and Mama and I decided to visit for a week.
Next on the agenda was the little town of Giverny. A 45 minute train ride from Paris, Giverny is where the famous Claude Monet spent many of his years and created so many of his iconic water lily and cathedral paintings. I’d discovered the day trip when researching where Sara and I could visit on my first weekend in France, but she realized her class was already scheduled to visit before I would arrive. She loved the experience, so I knew Mama and I would, as well.
Another early morning got us to the train station around 8am to pack our bags with breakfast and snacks for the day. After a quick jaunt over, I was a bit flustered to find that the Giverny train situation was a bit reminiscent of my little Pompeii adventure of last year. That is, the main train station is in no way close to the main attractions of the city. Unlike in Pompeii, however, the folks of Vernon and Giverny capitalized on this opportunity and had tourist busses and mini trains eagerly awaiting our arrival just outside the train station. I tried to figure out another way to get to Monet’s house, but I couldn’t figure out the standard local transportation quickly enough and ended up forking over about $20 to the little mini train driver. Gah.
The train played some silly song on repeat the whole ride, but it did have some interesting narration which told us a bit about the towns of Vernon and Giverny, so I suppose it wasn’t all a bad deal. We drove past some pretty buildings from long ago…
But soon, we made it to the heart of Giverny.
Too gorgeous! Lots of rain means lots of green, I suppose.
A little walk and a short line later, and we found ourselves inside Monet’s very own garden.
The gardens are serviced daily by volunteers, students, and resident gardeners alike.
Now please prepare yourselves for some breathtaking flower photography:
The task sure is made easy when there are so many gorgeous flowers to choose from! The main flower garden is just a maze of blooms and lush greens. Makes for lots of smiles.
And then we walked around to the water lily pond. Gah! We stayed here way longer than planned. It wasn’t hard to see why Monet was so fascinated. I could easily spend hours here admiring the view. It made me want to go home and paint!
Guys, you don’t even want to know how many hundreds of pictures I have of this pond. I swear this is just a very small sampling.
And of course, we can’t forget the Japanese bridges:
Just a few more pictures here….
And some silly ones!
More flowers…
And then back to the gardens for even more flowers! Hahaha. Sorry, guys. Just tryna share the beauty.
Eventually, and reluctantly, we made our way to Monet’s house.
His private gallery was filled with many famous paintings. When he lived here, he kept his front room stocked with the pieces most special and dear to him.
The upstairs had some amazing views looking over at the neighbors and down at the gardens.
We also had some fun admiring the interior decorations of the house. I was especially a fan of the kitchen.
In the end, as we exited Monet’s house and perused the gift shop, I realized we’d actually missed our ride to get back to the train station! In planning the trip, I gave us four hours between drop off and pick up because I knew two would be too short. Seems I’d forgotten how patient my mom and I can be. But no matter! I shelled out a little extra to extend our stay yet again so that we could look around a bit more.
Honestly, I can’t remember what happened after that, but after some more trials and tribulations, I think we ended up just walking back to the train station instead of taking the tram. Along the way, we stopped to see some beautiful paintings at the Musee des Impressionnismes.
Further along our walk, we stopped in some beautiful churches and snacked on some delights from a patisserie. Yum!
Finally, forever later, we arrived back in Paris and went straight to see the Eiffel Tower again. We spent the early evening enjoying the Jardins du Trocadéro, though not as much as all the locals dipping their toes in! We also got a nice crepe to snack on.
A first for me, Mama and I decided to take a river tour along the Seine. We got up close to the Louvre and the Notre Dame Cathedral, and we had to repeatedly sit down and duck to get under the myriad shallow bridges spanning the river.
After our lovely little boat ride, we returned to see the Eiffel tower in my favorite hour – sunset!
Then we picked up Sara and had dinner with a view of Arc de Triomphe.
The waitress was very friendly and chatty, but I was exhausted! Sara and Mama had way too much energy for me after such a long day, so I was a little cranky. When we finished dinner and it started raining, the two of them wanted to be crazies and dance in the rain by the Arc. I did not partake. Ha!
Such a long, beautiful, and fun day. I was so ready for bed, though! And it was our last day in Paris before we took a little weekend trip. More to come on that later.
Phew! Another busy day. Apparently we aren’t allowed any relaxing days on this trip, though. Maybe things will be a bit quieter this weekend.
Sara’s teacher Ellen invited us to join her class on a nine-hour day trip to Fontainebleau and Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Ellen was so positively wonderful, and we really lucked out being on this tour today! We got a free ride on the bus, a free picnic lunch, free entrance to Vaux-le-Vicomte, and I got free entrance to Fontainebleau. What should have been a €70+ day ended up costing us €12! Merci beaucoup, Ellen!!!
Mom was a little hard to wake up this morning, but we made it out the door and to Sara’s dorm one minute ahead of schedule, despite my being trapped in a metro station at one point because I misplaced my exit ticket. A nice Parisian woman let me follow her through the gate. Whoops!
The bus ride was chilly with the air conditioning, but I slept most of the way, nonetheless.
Fontainebleau’s buildings were short but wide-reaching.
The interiors were charming…
But the facade and its famous horseshoe staircase were much more impressive.
Some more rooms were to be viewed in the main part of the castle after entering through this grand staircase.
After a lovely tour by Ellen, we were free to roam the gardens and admire the swans in the small pond.
Then back onto the bus for a drive to Vaux-le-Vicomte.
We had a little picnic outside of fruit and sandwiches, but the masses or yellow jackets quickly turned our settle meal into a whirlwind of running and frantic, periodic yelping. These yellow jackets seem to be everywhere in France, and they are not scared of swatting hands. It makes eating outside a risky adventure every time!
We got another tour of this castle, which belonged to the young King Louis IV’s trusted advisor, Nicolas Fouquet. Unfortunately for the advisor, young Louis IV was so maddeningly jealous of this man’s showy display of wealth and power in this mansion that he was tried for treason and imprisoned for the rest of his life! Louis IV then went on to copy and emulate much of the design in Versailles later on. The story made me so sad for Fouquet! Kings can be so pig-headed….
Ellen kept saying that this was a small house, but it took us just as much time to walk through here as it did at Fontainebleau.
The gardens, on the other hand, were much more extensive, manicured, and designed in an orderly fashion. I wish we would have had the time and energy to walk the whole garden, but at our sleepy pace, that likely would have taken two hours.
Oh. And we accidentally twinned again. I swear this wasn’t even planned!!!!!
We had some fun with pictures on our own before it was finally time to turn back to the bus.
Sounds like a full day, no? Well, according to Mama, no.
I just wanted to take a nap, but Mom wanted to see all of Paris, and Sara was willing to oblige. So after much pulling and nagging, we were up and out once again. This time, we headed to meet our friend Thailer from back in Auburn! He was here just for the day on a little European adventure of his own, so we met up for some flower-shaped gelato.
We took our gelato and ventured over to Sara’s favorite place in Paris, Jardin du Luxembourg.
It was quite a sight, and a lovely retreat from the bustling city streets!
I thought we would never convince Sara to leave. She was so content to just lay in the grass and chat all night. We finally pried her away from the grass to walk around a bit more.
We stopped at a little cafe for some hot chocolate and wine…
We grabbed some deeeelicious hot dogs along the way…
And then….
Woohoo! The Eiffel Tower! Finally! Strange to have been here four days without ever catching a glimpse, and this was Mama’s first time seeing it.
I don’t think I could ever take enough pictures from enough angles to be satisfied that I had captured the surreality of being underneath the Eiffel Tower with my mom and sister in Paris! Sara couldn’t stop voicing her disbelief at the same event.
Hahaha sorry for so much leg action there from Thailer.
We had to stay around to see the sparkles, though!
It was a lovely and mesmerizing foodless picnic. I didn’t want to leave, but suddenly everyone else was tired and had crawling into bed on their agendas. How come they couldn’t just nap with me early to gain some energy!? Psh.
Anywho. We had a good time today, but we have another early morning tomorrow! Talk soon!
Well then. Today was a busy busy day. My mom just arrived to Paris last night, but I managed to convince her to set off for a day trip to Luxembourg right away! My feet are throbbing, which is somewhat unusual, so either I’m out of travel shape or we worked hard today. I believe it’s likely some combination of the two.
I didn’t sleep well last night for some reason, so the 6:30 wake up call was a bit of an inconvenience. Nevertheless, we stuck to schedule and were out the door by seven to walk to Gare du l’Est, the main train station for trains within France and the surrounding area. We had plenty of time to grab some snacks and breakfast before boarding the train. We never went through any security, and we didn’t even get our tickets checked the whole way. Gotta love the EU.
We spread out at a table with the back half of a car to ourselves and settled in for a pretty ride through the French countryside.
We each grabbed ourselves a Luxembourg Card which gave us full inclusive access to public transport and museums within Luxembourg City and most of the rest of the country. We didn’t have time to hit up those far reaches of public transit, unfortunately, but now we know what to do next time. We set off on foot in the vague direction of the city center and stumbled upon the Luxembourg City Museum in search for a restroom.
Though my tiny bladder is annoying to no end, it sure has forced to me check out some pretty cute places while traveling. Ha! The museum terrace provided a great view of the city.
There was also an exhibit which displayed the uniforms for the army throughout the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. These little guys were adorable!
What I found more fascinating than the contents of the museum, though, was the building it lived in. Thought to have been built originally in the ELEVENTH CENTURY, this sturdy stone building with arching ceilings and cavernous staircases to nowhere had been reinforced and redecorated to create a truly intriguing mix of the very traditional and the very modern.
There was even a room-sized elevator which lifted us through a giant stone chimney of sorts.
The museum told the history of the city of Luxembourg and its growth and deconstruction as a military fortress. Bits and pieces of the old fortress walls remain today. More pictures to come later. Another highlight of the museum were all of the adorable miniature city complexes which displayed the city at different times in its history. Sorry, this is the only one I snagged a picture of, from approximately year 1000:
Too cute! We took some more pictures on another terrace on the building:
And then we headed off to a cathedral across the street which was holding service.
Next was the national library, which was impressively small and uneventful. The halls were very narrow, and as far as I could tell, only the first floor was accessible. There was a nice courtyard, though, and in one corner stood ‘The Wind Book, which was a large hardback left out to the elements as an art piece. I’m honestly surprised it wasn’t in worse shape.
Lunch was next, with salmon tartare and a bagel sandwich on the menu. I meant to order something I saw another customer eating, which was salmon tartare in a large salad. However, what I actually ordered was a hamburger-sized patty of salmon tartare with another hamburger-sized patty of avocado underneath, with a side of toast. Delicious, yes. Possible to eat in one sitting, no.
Then on for some wandering! We scoped out the rest of the hustling bustling center city streets before walking off in a quieter direction. The first thing we spotted was this gorgeous building.
Upon further inspection, it turned out to be some sort of nursing home! I told Mom to study up on her French and German so she could end up there in her older years.
Now, I’m not proud of it, but next I took a nap on a bench in a park.
Sorry about all the leg, haha. Mama got to read with a nice view over the canal, though so I think we were all good. She finally started getting antsy, so up and at ’em we went, stumbling this time into a ‘panoramic elevator’ which started at a large glass overhang.
Beautiful views!
Mom refused to walk out onto the glass, so we eventually went down the elevator to explore a quieter side of Luxembourg called Pafendall.
There were bits of the old fortress down here…
Along with a pretty creek running through the valley…
What we found next turned out to be the BEST. PART. OF THE DAY.
Labeled on the map as ‘foot bath,’ my mom was instantly intrigued. When she saw the slowly trickling and the stone underneath which made the water look brown, though, her instant reaction was, ‘Uh, no thanks.’ I at least wanted to read about it.
TANTALIZING? I THINK SO.
Unsurprisingly, I convinced my mom to try it with me. The water was so cold! We were supposed to walk in a marching fashion in the water until an extreme cold feeling was felt in the feet and legs, upon which we were to leave the bath to warm up and repeat several times, drying our feet with our hands rather than with towels. The tradition promised multiple health benefits and lots of fun!
Please enjoy these action shots.
And video!
It was seriously so much fun, and it felt soooo good on my tired feet. At one point, an adorable little family joined us and had me show them how to do it. So cute!
The fun could only last so long though, and soon enough we were climbing another hill.
After a small hike, we made it to the top of the hill where an old fortress stood, providing great views from the other side of the canal.
I believe this fortress dates back to the 1500s, but it was still in great shape.
Inside was a little museum, with tunnels and staircases throughout.
There was a glass building behind the fortress which was a modern museum, but we didn’t have time to peek in there before our train back to Paris.
However, we did have time for a little wandering to find the bus and one more stop in the city center for gelato! Delicious…
Then to the train station and the train.
I’m thinking (and hoping) we’ll turn in early tonight for another early morning tomorrow with Sara and her class! Stay tuned for more.
This afternoon, I start my blog from the line to the Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral on Ile de la Cité. It’s slow moving, but I think it will be worth it! What better way to pass the time than to reflect on the start of my day?
I woke up fairly early this morning to some confusion over my plans. I wanted to visit the opera house with Sara and her class, but I was having trouble coordinating check-out and check-in with my respective Airbnb hosts. I ended up alternating between napping and planning until about 11 when I packed up and set off for the streets. The Airbnb roommate was shocked when I emerged from my room, and then she went on to apologize for playing her music so loud. I had to ask her to repeat herself in English, and she explained that she didn’t know I was home. I’ll admit I was a bit peeved when she began blasting the music at ten, but I was too tired to get up and do anything about it, and I managed to nap through the noise just fine. I said one last goodbye to the my pretty street in southern Paris before making the trek down the six flights of stairs.
I had yet more confusion connecting with my new Airbnb host in the Northern part of Paris. ‘My apartment is the one next to the stairs,’ he said. I arrived on the landing of the third floor to find five doors, all equally spaced from the stairs. I had a moment of relief when I found one with his name on it, but nobody would answer the door! I tried one other closest to the stairs, to no avail. In the end, I paid €5 to use WiFi in the building for 24 hours and contacted my host online. Almost immediately, a young woman emerged from one of the other doors.
Ha! Quite a mess. The apartment area and building are a smidge sketchy, but I positively love the interior of the apartment. I would definitely live here! No pictures yet, but trust me when I say it is adorable. Now to figure out if the bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table are for us….
I was upset about paying for WiFi, but it was worth it in the end. About two seconds after setting my things down, I got a mysterious message from Sara. After a quick exchange, she let me know that her teacher had accidentally purchased an extra ticket to the opera house, and if I could get there quickly, I could take the ticket for free! Don’t have to tell me twice. I was up and at ’em in two seconds. I stopped quickly along the way to grab un petit brioche poulet at a little street shop, and it hit the spot as I walked along a bustling shopping street.
It really reminded me of Strøget in Copenhagen, so I felt at home! I was a little worried about finding Sara at the Opera, but as I rounded a corner, the gargantuan building loomed above, and I saw Sara’s smiling face and frantic waving down below in line.
I ran across and joined her, and we began wandering in awe inside as we searched for her class.
Her teacher, Ellen, was so sweet and knowledgeable. I love having tour guides at these historic places, so that was lovely! And the interior of the opera house was divinely gorgeous.
Ooh! Ahh! Oui! Oui!
I could live here. I just wish the ballet was in season! They’re currently in rehearsals for their September show.
After thanking Ellen profusely, she invited my mom and me to join the class to Fontainebleau later this week, so we might do that, too! I also got to see the class do some mini presentations, and I was extremely impressed with the students’ accents. They were just all blabbing away while I watched in surprise.
Afterward, we were free to roam the opera house.
There was an adorable library in one wing!
And there was an exhibit on Picasso and dance downstairs. I love it.
Sara left a bit early to go back to class, so I stayed and enjoyed the view from the balcony for a while.
Then I went on to shop a bit, fresh squeezed orange juice and pain au chocolat in hand.
I decided to head to Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral, where I started this blog. The cathedral is famous for its stained glass windows.
C’est belle!
What I enjoyed even more though, was the Palais de Justice.
This giant courthouse was either out of business hours or out of season, because the place was completely empty.
I spent about an hour just roaming the giant, silent halls, never sure if I was allowed to be where I was. I opened doors that I thought would be locked and walked past empty reception desks with signs I couldn’t read, tiptoeing and looking over my shoulder the whole way.
It was so fun! I kept wanting to go upstairs and see if I could peek into any courtrooms, but I chickened out in the end and had to get back to meet Sara.
I did manage to grab a crepe on the way, but while I was trying to put away my purse, I tilted it on accident and the entire mound of whipped cream on top came tumbling to the ground in a giant splat. It was so sad. I picked up the little spoon and ran away so I could enjoy my now-only-nutella crepe in peace.
I found Sara’s university campus, and it is adorable!
Also, the art in her dorm is Lizzy-approved.
We did a little bit of shopping…
And wandering near the Notre Dame Cathedral…
Lastly, we picked up Mama from the train station!
She made it all the way here on her own. Go Mom! We stopped for some delicious Napoli-style pizza, navigated the trains once more, and now we sit cozy in our little apartment.
Our host left us wine to drink, so that’s exciting. Tehehehe. Off to Luxembourg tomorrow, because why not?
Sleepy in Paris as I write from the metro after a long day with my special guest:
Sara!!! My baby sister is studying abroad for the month of August, living and learning in Paris! This has been a dream of mine for her for a long time. Bahahahah. Silly, I know, but she has been positively enthralled with France and the French language since she started taking French classes in high school. When I studied abroad, I discovered how amazing it feels to connect and interact with people in their own language, and I knew she would get a kick out of getting to do that every single day. So now, three years later, here she is!
And here I am! Couldn’t pass up such a good excuse to head to Europe again. I’m here for the week, and another special guest joins us tomorrow! Stay tuned.
We had a slow start to the day because I was passed the heck out. I told Sara to wake me whenever, but it hurt my face to move when she attempted to rouse me at eleven. I finally managed to open my eyes all the way around 11:30, but Sara was cranky because she’d been waiting around since half past eight. We finally made it down our six flights of stairs a bit later.
No elevator makes for a long walk and a nice view.
We got trapped at the bottom for a while because the exit door wouldn’t open. Thankfully, some guys came in and showed us that our problem was we weren’t pushing hard enough! Whoops. We also discovered that we were accidentally wearing the same outfit.
Next was some confusion at the train station, but a bunch of nice people helped us to finally find the correct train tickets. Pain au chocolat in hand, we boarded the train just before 2pm and were in the little town of Provins by 3:30. A late start, maybe, but our day was still full and eventful!
We chose to visit this little town because of its medieval castles and architecture, and Sara wanted to get out of Paris for a day. We began our day with a pleasant little walk from the train station to the medieval city, and Sara could not handle how pretty everything was.
It was a long walk up a long hill, but we finally made or to Cesar’s Tower!
And you know how I feel about towers, so that was our first activity!
I swear Sara liked it even more than I did. “I can’t handle this. Shut up. This is so cool! This is beautiful! Wow. I cannot handle this.” And so on and so forth.
To give her credit, the climb and the views were quite amazing.
Next, we mosied across to the cathedral, where we peaked in on Sunday evening mass. It always floors me that people go to church in beautiful places like this because I am used to the minimalist style of small Christian churches back home. The small congregation of about 15 people were singing and the sound echoed around the wide room, ringing beautifully.
We wandered after this in search of some food and came across a little rose-inspired boutique. There is a famous rose garden in Provins, so all the gift shops were filled with rose-scented things and floral tea sets. We grabbed a bottle of this Rose Limonada, which I thought was lemonade. Imagine my surprise when I shook it up a little bit, popped the top off, and instantly had my hand and forearm covered with fizzing pink soda.
Ha! More like Sprite than lemonade. It sure did hit the spot, though, under that hot French sun.
We wandered a bit more and shared a salad that I was too excited about to take pictures of, and Sara regaled me yet again with her French skills. She’s amazing! And she’ll never even know I said that because she never reads these blogs. Hahahahaha. She was impressed when I asked for the check in French, though. Go me!
We spent our remaining hours in Provins wandering and admiring the sights.
Lots of things were closed by this point, including a bunch of adorable doors!
Tehehehe. A kindly older man asked if we were lost at one point, and Sara had the cutest conversation with him. First he tried to offer us a ride to the train station, then he told us we needed to come back next weekend for a party that was happening (he showed us a flier for some sort of Renaissance-themed festival), and then he talked a bit about our trip. All in French! So impressive that Sara was chatting away like that!
There were more wanderings, more slow-moving creeks, more pictures…
And then I slept the whole ride back on the train. I also took a little nap in the middle of the street at one point, but I’ll save those pictures for another time. Haha.
I’m on my own tomorrow, but we’ll meet back up in the evening to pick up Mama from the train station! Woohoo!
Okeedokee then. London has officially wrapped. I write from the train to Paris! I had a bit of an ordeal at the station, seeing as I took the ‘Please check-in at least half an hour prior to departure’ to be a light suggestion, and it turned out that check-in actually closes then. I arrived 10 minutes after gate closure and dazedly walked to the Eurostar ticketing office, hoping at the very least that I could be put on the next train without paying a surcharge. Luckily, the wonderful gentleman I approached was the perfect combination of subtly helpful and dazzlingly bored, so he walked me across the station and swiped me through a bunch of gates through to Premium Business security. No line, no wait, straight on the train. It happened so quickly I didn’t really have time to express my gratitude beyond a wide-eyed ‘Thank you so much…’
However, going through business security put me near the business class train cars, and I was pretty lost. I couldn’t tell which direction coach was, so finally I just asked a lady if the current car I was in was coach. Her response was, “Yes, this is the first one.” Kind of confusing, but good enough for me at the moment. I settled WAY in, fairly certain the section was way too nice to be coach, and hoped I could stick around until someone came to check my ticket and could point me in the right direction. I mean, the seats were slick, roomy, and had little pull-down cosmetic mirrors on the backs, so I plugged in my phone, changed to comfier clothes, and did my eyebrows! Ha!
It wasn’t until another couple got on and spent a minute or two trying to find their seats that it dawned on me that I might have an assigned seat on my boarding ticket. Sure enough, I was sitting in Coach 1 – Business Premier, but I was meant to be in Coach 10 – Standard. That’s why the lady said I was in ‘coach.’ My ‘coach’ was her ‘standard’ and her ‘coach’ was my ‘car.’ Hope you followed that. In the end, I did the looooong walk of shame nine cars back and find myself with an obstructed window view. On the bright side, I have this row and the row across from me all to myself, I don’t need the mirror anymore, and I finally managed to find the charging ports on these Standard Class seats. They really are still about four times more comfortable than those airplane seats last night.
Okay. Backing up. I said my farewells to the adorable waiter at The National Dining Rooms and found time to explain the Seattle is not exactly ‘near’ LA just because they are both on the west coast. Then I managed to get the aforementioned book! Behold!
Excited to read this on the trip if I ever manage to find transit time where I’m not sleeping or blogging.
And speaking of sleeping on transit, I did kind of a weird thing. I decided to skip out on Shakespeare because by the time I was finished with tea and book shopping, I would have only caught the last hour of the show (out of three). I was/ am also so very exhausted since I’d been up for almost 24 hours by then. I’d purchased standing ‘seats,’ so I didn’t want a repeat of my last dizzyingly tired experience at the Globe when I could have a perfectly enchanting time at the Natural History Museum instead.
Things get weird when I decide to take the bus (about half an hour) instead of the underground (about 15 minutes) to the museum. I like the double decker busses because they’re comfy and quiet and I get a view while I’m riding instead of a bunch of time spent looking across the train at other tube riders and trying not to stare. However, the bus was SO smooth and quiet, not like my Seattle buses I use to get to work. Man, I’d get an extra two hours of sleep a day if my commuter buses rode like these double deckers! Needless to say, I was basically out cold, and when my stop came around, I made the semi-conscious decision to stay on and sleep some more. I’d get off eventually and just get on the same bus in the other direction once I felt the museum calling my name.
And that’s how I ended up taking an hour and half long bus nap. It was beautiful.
Also beautiful were these pastries (and the man who served them to me – hehehehe) at a little French patisserie between the bus stop and the museum. I got two because I couldn’t choose, and boy were they wonderfully mouthwatering. My soul thanked me and my pre-planned fake budget for the day shook its head in disappointment. Those things were not cheap.
You know what WAS cheap, though? That free museum admission aaaayyyyy.
I always forget just how much I love natural history museums until I find the whale skeletons. They are my favorite thing. I mean, look at all the angles I used to capture this magnificent specimen:
Second favorite are the elephants:
But the dinos were pretty mind boggling, as well.
It’s hard to tell because of the angle, but this dinosaur femur is bigger around than the widest part of me and about three inches short of matching my height:
GUYS. I COULD BE A DINOSAUR FEMUR IF THE OPPORTUNITY EVER ARISES. This is a huge discovery for me.
There were also fun mirrors. Please join me in contemplating whether you like any of these proportions better than my ‘go-to’ and I will see what I can do if I ever get full body surgery.
Some last quick little London things for the road, including this adorable milk:
Some tubing at Uth Kensington:
And a little bit of King’s Cross/ St. Pancras action:
Okay. This time it really is goodbye to London. I believe I am currently approaching the English Channel, where at some point I will be 75 meters below the floor of the Channel, in an under-ground-that-is-under-water tunnel. Engineers are crazy.
Well, I ended my last European adventure with tea in a museum, so why not start this one the same way? I write to you from a cozy table in the National Gallery in London. Check out my view of Trafalgar Square!
I am technically meant to be at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in 46 minutes to see The Winter’s Tale, but I am weak and I am hungry and opportunies to have afternoon tea in the National Gallery in London do not come around every other Saturday!
To start from the beginning, I awoke Friday morning to a text notifying me that my flight was delayed nearly two hours, but luckily the new departure time was actually when I had thought my flight was leaving all along. Had the flight not been delayed, in fact, I’d have had a fairly stressful rush at the airport. As it was, security was a breeze and the flight was uneventful. Unfortunately, I was placed in the very last full row of the plane, in the center section, with absolutely no view of any window. Without the plane wall to lean on, I didn’t manage to get any sleep. Hence, je suis fatigue. (That’s called a plot hint.)
I realized on the tube this morning that this is my sixth visit to London. I like that I feel comfortable enough here now that the idea of changing plans at the last second to rest up doesn’t bother me one bit! It was actually the interactive map on the plane ride which inspired my quick visit to the National Gallery.
If you’ve been reasonably aquainted with me (or my blog) in the last few years, you’ll know I’m a sucker for national galleries. It took me a hot second to find the artists I like because there are so many rooms here, but once I did, I was in heeeeaaaven. I’m also quite impressed with how well I’m able to identify artists now! Gauguin, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Eckersberg, Turner. Gah! Turner! One of my favorites of his is here!
Rain, Steam, and Speed, it’s called. I studied this painting when I was in Copenhagen, as with most of the works I love most dearly. I can’t decide if it was my art history teacher that sealed the deal or the fact that for the first time, I was able to see the real, actual, in-the-canvas or in-the-bronze pieces I was learning about right in front of my eyes. Every time I see one of these works or artists we studied that semester, I’m taken back to Denmark and that class and the whole experience that was study abroad. I sometimes say I feel like studying abroad didn’t change me at all, but in reality it gave me a very fierce sense of independence and adventure when it comes to exploring new places in new ways.
But anyway…. Allow me to bombard you with more beautiful art:
^This one’s a Monet, so the style should seem familiar to even the most disinterested consumer of art.
^One of Van Gogh’s famous sunflower paintings
^Degas liked to paint dancers and ballerinas! Two loves in one!
^This one is a very interesting Manet painting of the execution of Maximilian. I’m not usually a fan of Manet. His work is very modern and crisp, often scandalous, and not very pretty. I’m one of those art lovers whose admiration stems from being able to enjoy what I’m looking at and experiencing rather than having to read too hard into crazy meanings and purposes behind the art. Those are sometimes interesting as well, but if I wouldn’t put the art in my home, I’m usually not a fan. What’s interesting about this painting, though, is that it was cut up after Manet died and reassembled later by Degas. Interesting, no??
^^Venice and Venice!! So pretty!
^Matisse’s unique take on the gardens at Fontainebleau
^Another Monet! I hope to visit the inspiration behind this painting later this week! Eeep!
Okay. Enough of that. Mom, if you just scrolled on past those without blinking an eye, shame on you! Go look! Go blink!
Okay. So I got most of that out of my system and was on my way out to the Globe when I came across “The National Dining Rooms.” Ha! I hemmed and hawed for a while about whether it was worth missing the show, but you know where that got me. I’ve now finished my scone with clotted cream and am indulging in a stuffed bell pepper with my tea. It’s soooo delightful.
The cutest thing happened after I sat down. My waiter took my order just fine, but before he left, he asked, “Are you from America?” in a London accent. I said that I was and he instantly lit up. “I love your accent! Whenever I hear an American accent, I ask if they’re from America, and if they say yes I say I love their accent!”
It was too cute. I thanked him and assured him that I loved his accent as well. He kind of reminded me of a Weasely brother. Tehehe.
I think that next on the docket, I’m going to head over to a very large bookstore at Picadilly Circus to grab a new book by Jonas Jonasson, a hilarious Swedish writer. The UK covers are gorgeous and the US covers and crap, so I’m going to capitalize on this opportunity to keep my series looking nice and matchy matchy. Then, if the winds take me East, I’ll hit up the second half of the play that started five minutes ago. If the winds blow West, I’ll parade around the Natural History Museum. Life’s an adventure and I intend to live it flippantly and in a very confused fashion!
Tonight, I take the Chunnel to Paris, where I’ll meet up with a surprise guest (one I never thought I’d get to see on this blog!) This mystery person is the reason I’m here bleary-eyed (and a little bloodshot in the right eye) right now and not fast asleep in Seattle. Thank you mystery person! I’ll see you soon!!!
I’d never heard of this place called Annecy, but I have learned throughout my traveling that when someone else is excited about a place or an activity, it is often for good reason. I had no personal motivating desire to go to Iceland with a group of near strangers two years ago, but it was one of the greatest trips of my study abroad experience. When a friend suggested we take a weekend trip to northern France just to see a concert for an artist I didn’t know, I said yes, and it was one of the best, most relaxed, smiliest trips I took with that person (despite the fact we never made it up to the concert!) When in Iceland, one of the girls had a desperate urge to see the world’s largest penis museum, I had to be dragged along, but… it certainly gave me some stories to tell.
So when Cousin Katie said she was doing a two-day solo trip to this little French town a short drive from Geneva, I said, ‘Can it not be a solo trip???’
Needless to say, it was a magical, wonderful town and a great two day excursion. We took the bus over from Geneva early afternoon on Sunday, and when we arrived, we went straight to a little cafe for pastries / lunch / WiFi. It was a little concerning at first because all of our cards were being declined, but I quickly realized the shop probably didn’t accept international cards. I had to run out to grab some cash while Katie awkwardly waited with the cafe employees.
The food was delicious though! Pastries, salad, and grapefruit juice. The sun was already beating us into the ground without mercy at 3:30 in the afternoon, and the four flights of steps up to our Airbnb were tasking to say the least. We arrived only to find out we had a time mix up with the host and had to try calling her internationally to get the keys! All worth it in time, though, because this little apartment was soooo cute!
I could most definitely live here long term, and I could definitely see myself with a little apartment like this at some point in my life. It was just a little studio, but the futon bed was comfy and doubled as a couch, making the space seem relaxed and spacious. Plus the location and the view were not to be beat! Right on top of a main shopping street, like living on top of Strøget in Copenhagen!
After settling in and taking quick naps and showers (dude, we were so tired already and the day had barely begun), we set off into the city. We walked down by the water, around the town, and through the streets. Every turn was beautiful. A picturesque little village on the edge of a gorgeous blue lake shadowed by a towering, comforting mountain range.
Fun fact: apparently, the above view, including the canals and a building from the twelfth century, is one of the most photographed scenes in all of France. It was also the inspiration behind this trip! Too bad it was under construction… haha.
We indulged in some gelato, but it was really hard to stay moving in the heat. It was seriously so hot. We made plans for the next day and eventually made our way back to the apartment for break number two.
That nap was hard to wake up from. Haha. But I managed, and we hit the town for some dinner. It was a sort of salmon carbonara, and it was delicious.
Bedtime came eventually, but we planned for an early start and a busy list of activities for our only full day in Annecy.
I woke up a couple hours before our alarm went off and took in the sights and sounds of our street while Katie somehow managed to snore through the street cleaners and garbage trucks. I guess she was tired or something!
First thing on the agenda was breakfast. We lucked out with a little bakery down the street, where this adorable Frenchman in a pastry chef hat asked us about Seattle and made sure we got a fourth pastry for free after I greedily ordered two for myself. No shame. No regrets.
Next, we set off in search for a hat so that I could try not dying for the rest of this sunny month-long trip ahead of me. My forehead, nose, ears, and shoulders are still quite, quite red.
Next stop: peddle boats.
It was already so hot and sunny by 11am, and Katie took a dip in the water almost immediately. I needed a little more convincing, but I eventually made it in, and the water felt oh-so good against the hot sun. The lake was huge, but we could somehow still touch bottom our in the middle of it! Quite fun and quirky.
We had planned to push on, but it was just too exhausting. Another gelato and a nap were in order.
Hmmm… okay. Writing this now, I am a bit confused because I don’t think we took thaaaat many naps… but maybe we did…
Either we took a nap before going to lunch, or we swam, lunched, gelatoed, and then napped. Hard to say. Lunch was yummy too, though! Wine, salad, and a crepe with confiture (jam).
Somewhere along the way in this blur and after a nap, we rented bikes and took the trail along the lake. What an experience! An adorable, shy young Frenchman set us up with some Dutch style bikes (my fav), and we were off! I tell you, I’m not sure I could ever get tired of this view!
Katie and I took turns pointing out pretty lake views and houses along the way, but this one takes the cake for me:
Imagine going home every day to your own mini castle on the lake…. We pondered what the price comparison might be for living in a house over here compared to living on Lake Union or something, because seriously…. Is it really a question which one would be better??
Eventually, Katie became worried about making it back to the bike shop before it closed, so I reluctantly let us turn around… We were so close to the end of the trail! Next time, I suppose..
I really wanted to jump in the water now that I was still as hot as ever (; and soaking in sweat. We couldn’t find anybody else swimming though, and we didn’t want to make a scene if that wasn’t something you’re supposed to do, so I dipped in my feet and soaked my shirt before continuing on.
Commence showers and naps. It’s hard to keep going all day in that heat without a break! I swear! We did manage to stop by our pastry shop to get some breakfast for the next day, though. I got a mini croissant, a maxi pain au chocolat, and something called a truffe, which seemed to be several truffles on top of a shortbread cookie base and was absolutely mouth wateringly delicious.
I was set to leave the next morning at 5:45am in order to catch a bus back to the Geneva airport, so I knew dinner would be my last shebang in Annecy. We were boring and went to the same restaurant as the first night, but it was so good the first time around! Why fix what isn’t broken?
Katie got the muscles (so. good. so. garlicky.), and I got the beef bolognaise. Plus beer and wine, of course.
It was a bittersweet ending to a wonderful trip, but it was pretty exciting to get back to our little cozy apartment.
I wrote most of this on my flight over to Naples, where I am currently missing the lake and hiding from the heat. More on that, later.
Thanks for letting me join, Katie! I couldn’t have asked for a better cousin getaway! Until next time…
Helloooo, world! I write to you from the Charleroi Airport in Southern Belgium, and I have just completed a very relaxing, very unexpected, very off-the-cuff weekend with The Significant Other.
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Friday after class, Jackson and I met up with Brian from UW and NTNU to explore some last-minute Copenhagen sites before the three of us caught our various flights. We met at good old Amalienborg, and I FINALLY got to go inside the Marble Church. It’s beautiful from the front, and I’ve taken about a million different pictures, all more or less exactly the same as the one my mom gave me the day before I left for Denmark that was taken a little over twenty-one years ago. So neat. Every time I have tried to go inside, though, time has been non-permitting or the church has been closed for some reason or another. But not today! Or Friday. It is possibly closed today. I would not know, as I am in Belgium.
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Then we ran over to Nyhavn and had some espresso/ ice cream before grabbing some bagel dinner at Bagel Me, and off we went! Brian to Trondheim to take a final (good luck, Brian!) and Jackson and I to Charleroi.
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This trip was all Jackson’s idea, spurred by a tiny hipster concert happening somewhere in Northern France (spoiler: we didn’t actually get to the concert), so I duly left all arrangements to him. He booked the flights and the housing and he was in charge of all planning. I was interested to see how it would go.
This is how it started.
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I was not surprised to learn that his idea of “planning” was really to “not plan.” Ha. We landed at 10:25pm and ran to catch a bus that left at 11, but we had to go on a mad goose chase for bus tickets that ended up costing about $25 more than if I had purchased them online ahead of time like I wanted to. *sigh. We didn’t get to Lille, France until around one, and it took us about half an hour to figure out how to get into our airbnb apartment, which ended up being a kind of shabby college dorm with a no oven, a tiny shower, a tiny TV, and a great view. Plus, it was right next to the train station, so that made walking in the cold and rain less horrible. Sleep ensued.
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Here’s some art in front of the train station
And our view of the park below
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Oh, I almost forgot. Check out this amazing airport faucet. As per the instructions, I placed my hands under the center to wash, and then spread my hands to the wings to dry, upon which all of the bubbles and remaining water in the sink sprayed up in a magnificent fountain to cover me, the mirror, and the lady to my right. ‘Twas embarrassing.
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We didn’t wake up until around eleven, which seems to be my natural wake-up hour after a late night of travel. It took a while to gather our energies, shower, and get our bearings, so we didn’t actually leave the building until one. Then off to explore Lille! (Or what little of Lille there was, in our minds. We were expecting something along the lines of a small village inhabited with nothing but cafes and huts.)
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We were pleasantly surprised to find the city absolutely bustling with people, history, food, markets, lights, architecture, and non-smallness. Lille is not little. Do not be fooled.
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We had also landed in the middle of a weeks-long arts festival, so the streets were adorned with gigantic statues and advertisements for various concerts, performances, and museums were plastered to every surface. We found a screaming student deal– five euros for a sandwich, a Coke, and a… UGH! It was this delicious, flaky pastry that was long and rectangular, filled with chocolate chips and possibly marzipan, and it started with a “b,” and I can’t remember what it is called. But it was delicious. Of that, I have no doubt. Here’s a picture:
We brought our lunch on a little tour of Lille, starting with the magnificent Paroisse Saint Maurice chathedral about a block away.
The selection at Paul’s, including “Petit Pauls” up on the top, complete with chocolate shoes and hats. (:
The cathedral from the back
From the inside
From the front! My phone was too small to capture it in its entirety
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Then off the the Porte de Paris, a large arch-like structure in the middle of a traffic circle, similar to the Arc de Triumph set-up in Paris (or so I’ve heard, seeing as I missed that little sight while I was there).
And the gardens surrounding the structure
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Right next to this was City Hall and the Hotel de Ville Belfry, which people are normally allowed to climb to gain a view of the city from above. But alas, it was closed! Hmph. We made our way to one of the most subtly quirky parks I’ve ever seen, fenced in on all sides by red, with built-in bubble benches facing both in and out:
Jackson tried his hand at steering a London double-decker:
And we ate our lunch on the train:
Crap. I didn’t get a good picture of the whole play structure, but one part consisted of several train cars, including the front, a dining car, and a caboose. We ate in the dining car, of course, and it had a perfect little table in the middle of the two benches.
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There were also motorcycles. This place was hip.
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Afterwards, we stumbled into Palais des Beaux-Arts, a beautiful museum that supplied admission, coat check, and iPhones with audio guides for a mere four euros.
My favorite piece was this wall of Laughing Cow Cheese labels, which was titled On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Yes, that is the entire title of Charles Darwin’s most famous essay. So strange. So strange. The wall held frame after frame of labels from every country, in every language over several decades and was supposed to reflect the strength of consumerism and capitalism. Sheesh.
Here are the cows.
View from the lobby
The square outside the museum
The museum itself
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Then, CHRISTMAS MARKETS:
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So much shopping was had. One thing I am going to really, really miss about Europe is the abundance of pedestrian-only shopping streets in place of gargantuan indoor malls. There’s just something special about hurrying about in your winter coat (or your host sister’s winter coat) before ducking into a store that looks promising, only to pop back out again minutes later to brave the cold and find another target.
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Since the Ferris wheel inside Tivoli was rather small, and the one in the middle of Gammel Torv near the DIS campus was about nine dollars a person, we decided to hop on the giant wheel in the middle of one of the Lille Christmas markets. ZERO REGRETS.
The wheel
Our tokens
An alternative view of both the Wheel and Jackson’s nose
The market from our basket
The streets below
Another Christmas market off in the distance
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It went so high, and because we sat on the same side of the basket, we were tilted over slightly, threatening to spill out into the lights and bustling ants below us. The view from the top was gorgeous, and we could see the whole city.
We kept repeating to ourselves how much better the wheel was than climbing the City Hall tower: cheaper, no actual climbing necessary, and an endless flow of Christmas music wafted its way up to us amidst the happy chatter of market shopping. It was probably the happiest point of my weekend.
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From the top of the tower, we glimpsed the inside of a French bookstore on the fifth floor of a building lining the square, so we made our way over after disembarking. The thing was huge!
Unfortunately, the English section was rather small. I did find one book that peaked my interests, but I’ll save it for when I’m back in the states and all books don’t cost upward of fifteen dollars:
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That night back in our room, we made art, inspired by the French culture around us:
Boom.
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Also, just look at this beautiful fountain outside our stay:
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In the morning, we ran to a cafe for breakfast before packing our bags and catching a train to Brussels:
We ordered a “hot chocolate,” and we were delivered this hot milk with a huge glob of melted chocolate in the bottom that we had to stir in. SO GOOD.
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Then some last-minute sights:
The icon of the arts festival, about twenty feet tall
Some more figures a little way down the street
Towers!
Towers + Christmas = happiness
Those tulip sculptures again, coupled with some strange architecture
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Thirty minutes later: Hello, Brussels. What did we get ourselves into? We stepped out of Brussels-Midi Station into a cacophony of chaos, noise, haggling, wind, and rain. A gargantuan weekend market was taking place, and we dove right in. Food, clothes, comforters, scarves, bags, fresh fruit, fresh meat, fresh herbs, fresh vegetables, hot ethnic food, Belgian waffles, you name it. I settled for a sweater, and we got a waffle from a waffle truck, because those are a thing in Belgium.
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Everything was so fresh and colorful. I felt like I was in an Indian or Indonesian market rather than a market in the middle of a Western, Northern European country. It was so strange. Why don’t we have things like this everywhere? We got stuck in there for nearly an hour just because it was so huge.
This blurry man was trying to sell a pineapple.
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I then bellowed the meaning of life to all those who cared to listen:
Just kidding. It was an act of silent protest.
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Both Lille and Brussels were on high-alert because of the Paris attacks, posting armed soldiers and guards near every main pedestrian street and large shopping stores, malls, and buildings. Our bags were checked every time we entered a building that wasn’t a cafe, and we saw lots of these:
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Check out the recycling in Brussels:
Tehe.
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And a pretty square:
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We eventually found our way to the peeing statue, though by accident:
It’s called Manneken Pis, and much like the Little Mermaid, the most famous icon of Copenhagen, Manneken Pis is underwhelmingly small and rather insignificantly-placed.
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This led us to one of Brussel’s main shopping streets, thank goodness. All was alive with tourist shops, waffle cafes, and chocolate. NO COMPLAINTS, HERE.
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In the town square, or Grote Markt:
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We also ran into the Brussels Climate March, several hundred people banging drums and chanting in French about climate change. Pretty cool stuff, since I probably wouldn’t have made my way into town to see the one I missed in Copenhagen.
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We only had four hours in Brussels, so the last hour was a mad, sweaty dash. We found a very Pantheon-like building which turned out to be the Brussels stock exchange:
And the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula:
And a park:
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And this park was flanked by the Royal Palace:
Gotta get out that Pocket Constitution.
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Some more artsy shots on our way back to Brussels Central Station:
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And in a few hours, we made it home to this:
My host family designed these adorable mice of the four of us at a little market at our town library for my birthday present. THE CUTEST.
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Oh yeah, and I’m twenty-one now. How did that happen? I don’t feel any different, but that sure was an amazing birthday. Three countries in one day? I’ll take it. Thanks, Jackson, for an amazing birthday weekend! And thank you to everybody else who wished me a special day! Your wish was granted. (: I am going to miss French, though. It’s so sing-songy and lovely sounding when the shopkeepers and cashiers say “bonjour,” and “au revoir!” Back to “hej” and “tak,” for me!
