things that made me happy . . . french vacation edition

- boarding passes

- long flights = lots of reading and movie watching time

- learning to sleep with ear plugs in

- looking up and seeing something you've been waiting to see for more than half your life (eiffel tower, notre dame, etc.)

- seeing pieces of art you've loved for years in person

- finding new pieces of art you love

- skipping the queue because you have a special pass

- laughing. a lot.

- "oh you fancy, huh."

- the eiffel tower when it twinkles

- crepes

- galettes

- berthillon ice cream and sorbet. i had raspberry, strawberry, and passion fruit . . . and life will never be the same

- the grand canal at versailles. i want one. is that unreasonable?

- coke and orangina

- charmin to-go toilette seat covers

- stained glass windows

- the view of mont saint michel at night. i don't know that anything could ever top it

- parisian cemeteries 

- the moulin rouge

- chandeliers

- excessive decorating

- flower gardens

- the green lounging chairs in parisian public gardens

- abundant wisteria

- pizza margherita 

- phase 10

- outsmarting hertz

- riding the metro & rer

- eating my first macaron

- the view of paris along the seine at night when it's all lit up

- dinners in the latin quarter

- extremely extended renditions of "no woman, no cry" and "waka, waka" as sung by the rastafari band in front of sacre coeur 

- ten days of not having to answer a telephone