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Easter in Dampierre was fantastic! Joyeuses Pâques!

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Today I mailed postcards, walked to Shakespeare and Company, ate a ham egg and cheese crepe and an Oreo milkshake, took my photo in the booth at Pompidou, observed an outdoor Good Friday church service, and walked back home. Almost four miles! I feel so good in the springtime paris sunshine.

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Today was a good day.

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a good day

What a day, what a day! Marie was supposed to come over this morning, but Louis is still sick, so she said she was not going to go. I told her to rest and give herself a lot of TLC. Then, I sat on my couch and looked online for something to do. Nothing really jumped out at me, but I knew that I wasn’t going to let myself sit around today. So, I took a long walk, read my book by the Seine, wrote a fantastic poem, visited a dog park, and then took a detour on the way home. I got a shady massage for 60 euro in a place that I think (definitely) did hand jobs. Not a very good massage... but the experience of having someone give me a full body massage (capped off with rubbing my stomach!) in a shady hand job parlor was something I’ll never forget.

I got home and received a text from Annick about meeting up, and I texted her right back, but she must have just walked out the door because I didn’t hear from her until she was at Châtelet Les Halles waiting for her train home. That was the only shitty part about my day - I didn’t get to see her because neither of us confirmed our plans and our lines got crossed. Anyway, I invited her to see The War on Drugs with me on Saturday at L’Olympia. I hope she comes!

Oh, I also took a yoga class tonight. It was a yin class totally in french, of course, and I have never felt as relaxed as I had in that class. The time passed so quick that I had to check my watch to make sure he gave us the full hour. It was definitely the most “look deep within yourself” class I’ve taken in a long time. I’m super proud of myself for having the guts to practice yoga in another language. I’m cool. :)

Came home and made egg,ham, and cheese crepes for dinner after I took a shower. I packed two shampoos and no conditioner, so my straw hair is going to be mad at me in the morning. I’ll pick some conditioner up tomorrow when I’m out. I am thinking about visiting the catacombs... we’ll see!

Bonne nuit, Paris.

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I’m baaaaack!

My flight arrived yesterday into Charles de Gaulle at 7am, and I was fresh-faced and bushy-tailed. I took the RER B to the RER C (changed at notre-dame) and then arrived into Versailles around 10. My air b n b was ready for check-in, so I walked the three quarters of a mile to my place at 17 Rue des Réservoirs. This rental is on the tippy top floor (“it’s the best!” -Edward Lewis). I climbed up with my roller bag, duffel, and knapsack, all the way to a cute studio with original wooden beams lined up on the ceiling. Heaven.

I took a long walk after a long nap, and ended up grabbing some chirashi from the Japanese place near my flat. The salmon, tuna, and vinegared rice really was what I wanted in that moment, and I went to sleep around 10 with a full belly and a happy heart.

Today, I awoke to rain, and the cold temperatures found me lingering in bed, watching tv and reading. The sun peeked out in the afternoon and I immediately ran outside, fast-walking my way to the main gates of the château (the other one near my house was closed).

I meandered around the gardens in my white chuck Taylors, listening to the Marie Antoinette soundtrack. The sun waned after only a few minutes, replaced by grey skies, then rain. It was too windy for my umbrella, so I pulled my black scarf closer to my neck and donned my yellow knit hat. Most of the people in the garden scattered when the rain started, so it was just me and the gravel crunching underfoot.

The rain turned to sleet, on the verge of snow. All I could do was smile, thinking how it was spring and this was ludicrous. I always wanted to see snow in Paris, but having it in Versailles is even better. Tomorrow it will snow more, so you will find me walking in the gardens again. I can’t wait.

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See you in July, Paris. Je t’aime.

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A tribute to I.M.Pei - photo by @jr on Instagram.

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@maax_brc on insta

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Happy Mother’s Day to my French sister, my best friend... she’s the reason I come back to Paris so much (as if I needed a reason).

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Le pain au chocolat par Liberté... c’est le pain des mes rêves.

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When I check out at Picard and the snooty French cashier says, “Chardonnay avec CANARD?”

“I’m fucking loco man!”

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Penny Pinch is a street artist from Chicago, and my cousin Grant got me into his stuff. I bought some stickers for myself and brought a few to Paris with me. Today, I pasted one outside my building in Rue Des Vinaigriers, then went about my night visiting my friend Marie.

When I got home, I had multiple messages about this sticker. Apparently, in a crazy coincidence, I put the sticker above another Chicago writer/artist (Smeer) who happens to be friends with Penny Pinch, according to Grant.

It’s a small fucking world, n’est-ce pas?

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In the 10th arrondissemenf aujord’hui.

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haiku: soggy rêves

midday siesta...

a glorious indulgence

(I’m a lucky girl)

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My windowsill is my runway.