I've spent the past three weeks seeing Paris through everyone's eyes but my own. My fantastic family traversed the Atlantic to see me two weeks ago (to see me and the pastry I should say) and I was able to spend a week showing them my city and having some of the touristy adventures I hadn't yet experienced. It was wonderful to see them and to frolic around Paris with three people who - like me a few months ago - were experiencing the city for the first time. Granted, their Paris was relatively warm and in full bloom while I came to the city under 3 cm of snow, but their wonder was contagious. In addition to eating better than I have in weeks, I was able to see a tourist's Paris complete with all of the romanticism and splendor that Americans search for in this city. We saw the streets flooded with parties as the Gay Marriage Act passed and spent days strolling through the Tuilleries under the blue Parisian sky. Paris is finally showing itself to be everything that I had hoped. Though 10 degrees and some foliage may not seem like much, Paris in the spring is a far more beautiful experience than one could imagine and I can finally begin to see la vie en rose that everyone is fond of talking about.
After my parents left, I took my two-week spring break and explored Europe a bit. Through a variety of planes, trains, and automobiles I went from Paris to Marseille, to Lake Como, to Florence, and finally to Prague. Each location was breathtaking and fascinating in its own way, though the weather never seemed to completely sort itself out and acquiesce to my wishes. I had lovely beach weather in Florence, perfect city-exploration weather in Marseille, and Prague had the audacity to rain the last day. The trip was magnificent though. I appreciate laundry facilities much more, and in general my understanding of the European continent has improved greatly. It was a relief to arrive back in Paris where I actually spoke the language, but each city was an adventure. Italy had a certain rhythm (and a lot of delicious food) that I know I couldn't find anywhere else on the continent, and Prague is architecturally the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Hands-down gorgeousness, with a completely incomprehensible language. I am considering taking up the challenge of learning Czech just to be able to live there one day. All this time I facebook stalked friends in other exotic locations and friends in Paris; while I climbed the Cupola and ate my weight in gelato, friends made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower and profited from Paris in the springtime. It was beautiful to travel but even more rewarding to come home.
Sadly my home has a pile of final papers and exams waiting for me. While it seemed easy a few weeks ago to justify that I would be able to write papers while traipsing around Europe, a part of me always realized the ridiculousness of this. The glittering, warm Paris outside my window is not making this process any easier, but I am doing my best to focus on the "study" aspect of the study abroad experience right now. I have a little over two weeks left in lovely Paris and I refuse to spend all that time cooped up in my room or a library working on finals. I believe in my ability to work and enjoy the city over the next two weeks, and though I look forward to making it back to D.C. in the near future, I absolutely will take advantage of every minute I have in this city between now and then.