It literally felt like a run through. We arrived in the City of Lights around six in the morning after an all night flight. Of course I didn’t sleep. Planning for this trip I had been more anxious than I would care to admit. The days leading up to it I stupidly over thought every detail possible; from my boy Gabe begging me not to leave, wondering if Brett would remember to do laundry, to traveling abroad with a group of 27 people. I had never been away from my husband and children that long.

This came about in early 2014. My parents invited me to attend an educational study abroad program set for July. My little sister and brother had attended these trips with them in the past, while I was busy having babies during those years. One day my Dad called and was proud to proclaim, “It’s your time now.” I was excited. I was nervous. Ten days meandering around France and Switzerland. We would travel with a group from the high school I attended, Cincinnati Christian, and led by my old Bible teacher. Talk about flashbacks. The majority of our group of 27 were parents of current or alumni students, but there were also current students and a couple alumni. I was blessed to have my parents, two aunts, my uncle, my dear friend/roomy who I convinced to go (also past alumni) and her daughter in our pack. I was in good company.

True to my nature, I researched everything up one side and down the other about the parts of Switzerland and France we would be visiting from its history to best restaurants to hit up. I also researched how to pack all of the clothes I wanted into a single carry-on. Yes, I probably researched this most.

Bless my parents for waiting so long for me to post these photos. After coming home I was immediately swallowed by work and homeschooling the kids until my winter slow down, and every few weeks my father has asked if I’ve been able to look at the photos. It wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that I was even able to go through them.  My father–he was my photography cheerleader through Europe–asking to carry my camera bag even though his knees ached, pointing me to good vantage points, sharing how happy he was that I was able to see these things….this was my highlight.

As I close out 2014 on the blog this week, I begin with Paris (more of France and Switzerland to follow). We were only there for four days and most of the time we were literally running from place to place, striving to keep up with our rigorous itinerary for the day. Although I didn’t get to slowly wander streets as I had always envisioned, I still made it a point to keep my eyes wide, soaking in every ounce of new beauty I could.

I saw….

-Adorably clothed French children calling “Mama!”
-The most dapper men I’ve ever witnessed in real life
-An older woman biking gracefully down a Parisian street. Her large hat sat above her curly grey locks, but it was the red dress that stopped me.
-Men holding their teenaged sons hands…beautiful, and I wish it was common here
-A busy and dirty city, similar to some of our own. My father claims that the Paris of today is very different from the one a decade ago.
-Picture perfect cafes, as if Audrey Hepburn may be dining at the table next to me.
-The language. I could listen all day. My attempts were purposely few, so as not to tarnish those beautiful sounds
-Window boxes with flowers everywhere I looked
-The light…the way it fell on the street in the evening, the way it reflected off the Seine. I could imagine why it inspired so many.

Instead of words, I’ll share a bit of what I saw around this magnificent city…