Meet Me In Paris.

I am blessed.

That’s all there is to it.

Last Friday I flew to Paris to meet up with my parents!!! I had been looking forward to this day for SO LONG. Getting off the plane and seeing them there was absolutely surreal.

We spent a wonderful weekend in Paris exploring the city.

The Louvre was fascinating. I still can’t get over how huge that place is. We didn’t even see a fraction of the art that is there.  I wish I had more of an appreciation for the art and the history that is in that museum.

We walked through the whole thing plotting how we could take off with a picture or piece of pottery without triggering any alarms or getting caught. I mean, there is so much art in there, it’s not like they would miss one piece… J

It was very awesome to see the famous Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo. This is my favorite picture. How badly do you want a picture of the Mona Lisa?

The Eiffel Tower is really just a huge piece of metal. It’s such a strange monument, but incredible and beautiful.

Of course we had to take a picture pretending to hold it up. It’s definitely harder than it looks, so ours didn’t turn out so well.

And at night, it really is spectacular.

Don't try to run off with the Eiffel Tower. You have been warned.

This sign in no way made me want to go up inside the Eiffel Tower. I will keep my feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much.

We spent Sunday morning at the palace of Versailles. The weather wasn’t pleasant and we froze waiting in the ridiculously long line to go inside, but it was definitely worth seeing. We only toured the Chateau, but we enjoyed the intricately decorated rooms and the views of the extensive gardens.

We then headed to Notre Dame, which was amazing. It is so hard to describe any of this in words, but I loved walking through this church and seeing the amazing architecture.

On Monday, we visited Montmartre located on the highest hill in Paris. It offered beautiful views of the city and amazing local artists painting and selling their art. They were all so talented and we enjoyed watching them work.

Trying to find our way around Montmartre. Right when we took this picture, an older gentleman came up to me and spent five minutes talking to me in French. Pretty sure he was trying to tell me how to hold the map properly...I didn't understand a word he said, but that didn't stop him from talking!

We also took a twilight boat tour on the Seine giving us a different view of the city. It was a little chilly, but a fabulous way to watch the sunset.

All of the sights were amazing, but my favorite part of the weekend was just being able to spend so much time with my parents. We finally got to really talk and catch up and enjoy each other’s company. Skype is incredible, but it just doesn’t compare to actually hanging out with someone. It was so special. I loved the time we spent eating in cute cafes, hanging out in our hotel room, or just walking around Paris.

On Tuesday, I got to head back to Málaga with my parents! (Well, they were on a different plane, but still.) After delays and confusions in Paris, we ended up landing in Málaga within a few minutes of each other instead of hours like we originally thought. Thank you, God!

This week was Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Spain (especially Andalucia, the province Málaga is a part of) is very famous for their processions. More on this in another blog post. The point is, trying to show my parents around the city proved to be quite the challenge as there were people and processions happening everywhere and we were always trying to take back ways and new streets just to get from one place to the other! It just added to the adventure.

While they were in Málaga, I was able to show my parents my favorite beach. Though the weather wasn’t ideal for a day on the beach, they were still able to put their feet in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time!

They also got to meet the lady that works my favorite dried fruit and nut stand. It is right across the street from our school and I have spent way too much money there, as have many other people in our group! It is just so good. My Mom didn’t quite believe me at first, but after snacking on her bag of fruit and nuts at the beach, she insisted we had to go back so she could stock up for the trip home! That will be me in a few weeks…spending any remaining money on food. Surprised?

There is a viewpoint up the hill where the Alcazaba is located that I absolutely love. You can see so much of the city and watching the sunset and the lights come on is breathtaking. It was very fun to share that place with my parents. It was made even better by the fact that we had just pushed our way through crowds in the city center and made it to a spot with very few people where we could appreciate the city. It was gorgeous.

We found some amazing artists in the streets. Pretty sure many people come out during Semana Santa to take advantage of the crowds. One guy was painting beautiful landscapes on glass using his fingers. We had to buy some. Another was painting landscapes of Málaga that I loved. I had to have one. And another guy was playing the guitar and singing. He had an amazing voice and was singing in a beautiful location. So much talent in the streets of Málaga!

My parents also got to meet Puri, my host mom. It was so fun to be able to merge these two worlds and have my parents finally see where I have been living and the crazy woman I have been living with. And I got to be the translator!

I can’t express in words how grateful I am that my parents were able to come visit me on the other side of the world. I had an amazing week and loved every minute I had with them. It went too fast!