I have left my heart in so many places

When I was in college I knew I wanted to live abroad for a year. With the help and support of my parents in August 2012 I left for Switzerland to get my masters. I left behind my family and friends and my little bubble of comfort. I knew absolutely no one and only had my memories of my semester abroad to get me around the city. I ended up meeting some of my closest friends, and having one of the  most amazing years. I fell in love with Lugano and Switzerland all over again. After I graduated I extended my stay for the summer in order to work as an intern for a start-up. Among many other activities, I traveled the world with my school, I skied the Swiss Alps with Shannon, went boating on Lake Lugano, hiked more Swiss mountains and Swiss tripped with Jeannie.

In October 2013, I once again packed my life into suitcases and headed back across the pond for a job. Destination: Paris! Although I was going over knowing a few people, I didn't know the city or the language. Between French classes and work, I experienced a different kind of Paris. I learned the culture, the language and way of life. Through it all, I met life long friends who helped make the year as incredible as it was.

This past summer, I closed my suitcases up for the last time and headed back across the Atlantic. When I left for Switzerland in 2012 I thought I would be back the following May, I never thought that I would stay for 2 years. I also had no idea how much I would learn, how many amazing friends I would meet and how much I would change and accomplish. I fell in love with two amazing and beautiful cities and although I may not know exactly when I will return, I know in my heart I will. The past two years have helped shape me into the person I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Iceland

On my way back from Paris to New York I stopped over in Iceland for 3 full days. I have always wanted to go to Iceland due to its unique geography and this was the perfect opportunity to check it out! I arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday and had the rest of the day to do a walking tour of Reykjavík. The city is quite small and I was able to see the entire city within a few hours. I started with the Hallgrimskirkja Church, the 6th tallest building in Iceland which was modeled after the basalt lava flows seen throughout Iceland's landscape. I went to the top of the church tower for great views of the city. The Sun Voyager statue is located on the coast of the Atlantic and resembles a viking boat but is actually a dream boat that is an ode to the sun. Lastly, I visited the old harbor, which I would visit often over the next few days due to the pretty ocean views. 

Friday morning I headed out on my first day tour, the Golden Circle, the most popular tour in Iceland. We hit many of the major spots including Gullfoss, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland (the name translates into Golden Waterfall) and Geysir and Strokkur. They are two famous geysers and "geysir" is where the name "geyser" comes from. However, although the original no longer goes off, its neighbor, Strokkur, goes off every 5-10 minutes. 

Lastly, we stopped at Thingvellir, my favorite stop. Thingvellir marks the Mid-Atlantic ridge and is where the American and the Eurasian tectonic plates diverge! It also where Icelandic parliament was held starting in 980 up through the 1700s and is a place of historical significance to the Icelanders. We were able to walk between the tectonic plates on the newly formed earth crust! It is the only place in the world where the plates are above land. I had been looking forward to this stop all day and it did not disappoint.

Saturday morning I took a Puffin cruise as I have always loved puffins since I was a kid. My grandmother had given me a wooden push toy when I was a toddler that was a puffin and they have held a special place in my heart ever since. Therefore, one of my main tasks in Iceland was to go see them! I took an hour boa tride and we went out to an Island where we could see them on the rocks and flying around. They are so tiny and quick! It was absolutely great to finally see them in person! 

In the afternoon I headed to the Blue Lagoon, a natural geothermal spa. On the way to the surface, the water picks up silica and minerals and by the time it hits the surface it is around 100°F. The water has three active ingredients, silica, algae and the minerals. The blue color is caused by the silica and the way it reflects the light but over the summer it may be a little greenish due to the algae.

On my last day I went inside the Thrihnukagigur (Three Peaks Crater) volcano, the only volcano in the world that you can access. We hiked around 3km over lava fields to get to the base camp and then hiked to the top of the crater. To descend into the volcano we were lowered down in a window cleaner device that bumped off the sides of the volcano walls. We were brought down 120 meters and given time to explore the inside. It was a once in a lifetime experience and simply amazing.

This trip was an absolutely amazing experience and something I will never forget. It has always been a dream to go to Iceland and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to experience it. 

Ma dernière semaine à Paris

With a few days left in Paris, I made one last attempt to do the things I love that Paris has to offer while also trying to fit in the things I had yet to see and do. Although I couldn't fit it all in, this past week was amazing.

On Wednesday nights the Louvre stays open until 10pm so after work I met Danielle and her sister for a night at the Museum. We went to see the Mona Lisa, some of the Greek Statues and ended our night in the Egyptian section. The Louvre is so big that it is basically impossible to see it all and see it well. Having been there before we just wandered the halls taking in some of the works.

Over the week I spent a lot of time at Jardin Luxembourg, my favorite park. Tuesday morning I met Danielle and we picked up the most amazing pain au raisin from "Bread and Roses" near the park. I would highly recommend these pastries and I've gone back for another since. We took them to the park and spent a good part of our morning there.

Wednesday I met Danielle and her sister at the Catacombs. The wait was around 2.5 hours since they can't allow more than 200 people inside at a time. The catacombs are quite extensive and hold the remains of over 6 million people but only a small area is open to the public. The remains are separated by bone type and stacked high. As you walk through, each section represents a cemetery that the remains were taken from.

My Aunt Kathy and three cousins were visiting Paris as part of their European tour. I  was able to meet them for dinner on Wednesday and took them to my favorite crepe place, Galette Café. On Thursday I was able to see them again and we headed back to Jardin Luxembourg for an afternoon in the park.

July 4th I headed up to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur with Danielle and her sister. We stopped in the Marais for falafel and to pick up eclairs from L'Éclair de Génie. We enjoyed the eclairs in a small garden off of the Sacre Coeur.

On Tuesday I visited Musee Rodin, dedicated to the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The Museum holds most of his major works and is small and manageable. Many of his statues can be found throughout the gardens that surround the museum.

On my last day in Paris Danielle and I spent the day wandering around, as the rainy Paris weather put a little damper on our original plans. After dinner (planches of cheese and charcuterie) we headed to the "How to Become Parisian in One Hour" show, which was the perfect ending of my stay in Paris.

14 years ago I told my parents that I would one day live in Paris and my 10 year old self definitely had the right idea. These past 9 months were absolutely amazing and it would not have been the same without the friends I have made. Living here has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of achieving. I came to Paris not knowing how to count to four and I'm leaving with an understanding of the French language, culture and way of life. Paris will always hold a very special place in my heart and I cannot wait to come back and visit!

Á plus tard Paris! 

Visiting friends in the South of France

July 4th weekend I headed to the South of France to visit family friends. I jumped on a train Saturday morning and headed straight south to outside of Perpignan. The 5 hour train ride was really pretty and I got to see the different geography of France as I traveled South.

When I was younger Sally and her family lived next door and Sally was my babysitter. Through the years our families have stayed in touch and have seen each other over the years. We met Sally in 2000 in London and Sally and her mom, Sheila, have been back to New York. The other week I reached out to Sally to see if I could come down and as Sheila spends her summers in the South of France and Sally was just arriving, the timing worked perfectly!

London with Mom and Sally circa 2000

I was picked up at the train station and when I arrived at their home I was greeted by Sheila. We spent the afternoon at her house enjoying the hot weather and sitting by the pool. Sheila took me up to the mill to get bread for dinner and it was the cutest little bakery I have been to! Sally arrived later that night and we enjoyed one of the many delicious home cooked meals of the trip!

Sunday morning we headed to Peyrepertuse (Pierced Rock), a fortress and Cathar Castle located in the French Pyrénées. The fortress was built during the Middle Ages and dates back to the 11th century. The fortress is known as one of the Five Sons of Carcassone (which includes the five fortresses: Peyrepeturtuse, Queribus, Termes, Puilaurens and Aguilar) which were built to protect the French Border from Spanish invasion. These fortresses are built on the mountain ridges (Peyrepertuse is 800 meters above sea level) and were designed to blend into the rock making them difficult to see. From each fortress you can see two others in the distance allowing them to signal to each other in times of attack.

Peyrepertuse

While at the top, there was a bird spectacle where we got to see vultures, falcons, owls and a bald eagle (my little piece of the USA this July 4th weekend!). They allowed the birds to get quite close to the spectators, so as the vulture wandered around us I got a nice wing to the face!

We spent the rest of the day back at the house relaxing and catching up. Monday morning I had to catch my train back to Paris. The trip was short but it was so good to see Sally and Sheila! I had a wonderful time with them and hopefully I will see them both again soon, most likely on the other side of the Atlantic!

Weekend in the Loire Valley

The last weekend in June I went a little outside of Paris to the Loire Valley, known for it's many Châteaux. I jumped on a morning train on Saturday morning to meet my friend Danielle, her fiancé and his family. Danielle and I spent a good part if the day at Château Chenonceau, one of the most well known Châteaux, famous for its arched bridge.

The château was seized by the King from the Bohier family in 1535 for unpaid debts. King Henry then gave it to his favorite mistress Diane. Diane loved the castle and in 1555 had the arched bridge built across the River Cher and began the extensive flower and vegetable gardens.  After the death of the King, his wife, Catherine de Medici, had Diane expelled and moved into the château. In 1577 she had the Grand Gallery added, which extends over the bridge Diane previously built. Chenonceau became known as the Queen's Castle and each Queen added to the castle.

Today, the Château is very well kept. I loved the fresh flowers from the surrounding gardens and decorations found throughout, it gave it a very homey and liveable feel! It had started to rain during our visit inside so we couldn't tour all of the gardens but we went to the ones near the Château, which were (as usual) beautifully laid out.

We then headed back to the house and met up with Julien and his family for lunch. Later in the afternoon we headed to the Beauval Zoo, one of the top 15 Zoos in the world. The zoo was large and very open. Many of the animals had ample room to wander and I was surprised at the low fences separating us. At dusk, they brought the animals into their cages which are located in the open with large glass windows, allowing you to see the animals enjoying their dinner.

After, we headed back to the house (which was built in the 1850s and such a cool house to visit) for dinner and some down time. the next morning, after breakfast, we went to the nearby town to pick up food for a delicious BBQ lunch. I headed back to Paris around 5 after a wonderful weekend in the Loire Valley!

Mes amies á Paris! (Part deux)

With a great start to the trip my Colgate friends and I still had a few more days of adventures before they left! I took Friday off and we got up early to go to Versailles. With the SNCF strike still going on it took us a little longer than expected to get there due to train delays and cancellations. I went to Versailles in 2000 with my family and have been wanting to go back ever since and am so glad we did!

Versailles from outside the gate

We first started with a tour of the Château. The Château is massive and extremely ornate. Every surface was covered in decorations be it gold plating, wall paper, murals, etc. Paintings and sculptures were found everywhere and most ceilings had ornate paintings to representative of different Gods and Goddesses. However, what surprised me the most was how close together all of the rooms were: King Louis' quarters backs up to the Hall of Mirrors. The Hall of Mirrors is very impressive, on one side is floor to ceiling mirrors and on the other floor to ceiling windows. The mirrors reflect the gardens that can be seen from the floor to ceiling windows that line the other side of the hall. The windows let in ample light which makes it feel as though the gardens are around you. The mirrors in the hall were constructed by Saint-Gobain, and the company was actually founded by the King in order to manufacture them!

In the Hall of Mirrors

After a tour of the Château we headed to the gardens to find a place to picnic for lunch. We headed away from the Great Canal and towards the Grand Trianon where we found a small pond that wasn't that busy. The weather was perfect so we were able to sit and relax for a bit. However, not wanting to waste time (you can spend days there and not get bored!) we headed to the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. We did a quick tour of her Palace and then headed into the gardens. Marie-Antoinette had the hamlet built in 1783 so she could return to the "charms of the rural life."  Once completed the Hamlet consisted of 11 cottages around a large lake: 5 cottages were reserved for her and her guests, 4 were reserved for the peasants who lived there, the farm and its annexes and one cottage for domestic use. The farm was a working farm complete with livestock, goats and birds as well as a vegetable farm to supply some of the food. The Hamlet was my favorite spot in Versailles all those years ago, and was still one of my favorite places today. Located a little further than the rest of the gardens, not as many people make it to the Hamlet so it is a lot quieter and more peaceful!

The gardener's cottage

After a full day at Versailles we got back to Paris around 6 which gave us enough time to head out to a nice dinner and drinks! Saturday was our last full day and we wanted to take full advantage! In the morning we headed to the left bank to do a walking tour and pick up a picnic lunch which we enjoyed in the park behind Notre Dame.

In the afternoon we had a Patisserie cooking class at La Cuisine Paris, where we learned how to make Croissants, Pain au chocolat, Pain Suisse (dough with vanilla custard & chocolate chips) and Pain Raisin (a spiral of dough with vanilla custard and raisins) as well as some jelly pastries. The class was three hours long and so much fun! We went through all the steps of how to make croissants and all got to make everything. Since the dough takes almost a day to prepare due to all of the breaks you need to give it to let the yeast work, etc we had dough ready to go for us. However, at the beginning of the course we were given our own bowl of ingredients for dough and throughout the course we did a condensed dough preparation version to learn the steps.

Making the Pain au Suisse

Throughout the class our instructor provided us with some funfacts about croissants:

• The croissants we made had 49 layers alternating butter and dough
• In the oven the butter forces the dough to separate giving it the light and airy interior 
• Croissants have two different shapes and names for a reason
• Croissant ordinaire is Crescent shaped and is made with margarine 
• Croissant au buerre is the typical straighter shape and is made with butter

At the end of the three hour class we were served coffee along with our pastries straight out of the oven! Everything was so delicious that it was hard not to try to eat all of them right away. We all left feeling full, satisfied and very happy with a bag filled with pastries to enjoy later and the next morning for breakfast!

After our class!

We ended the night at the 33rd edition of Le Fete de La Musique, a free musical festival throughout Paris that anyone can participate in. Throughout the night there are concerts throughout the city ranging from anyone who wants to play to well known bands and orchestras. We saw a really great percussion band in front of Notre Dame and then wandered the streets listening to others.

Sunday morning everyone had to return to the states. I had the most amazing time with Eri, Emily, Emily and Caroline and words cannot describe how happy and grateful I am that they were able to make the trip over. It was amazing to spend a week with them here and show them my life in Paris! I am very much looking forward to my return to the states so that I can see them again soon!

Mes amies á Paris!

This past Saturday, some of my best friends from Colgate, Eri, Emily, Emily and Caroline, arrived in Paris for the week. They booked their flight back in January so I've been anxiously anticipating their arrival! I was so excited to see them and so glad they were able to make the trip over! After a 2 hour flight delay, they arrived around 3pm. Later that afternoon we went out for a walk around Paris, had some Le Nôtre macarons and sat in the Place des Vosges park in the Marais.

Sunday morning, our first stop was the Musée D'Orsay. I had been wanting to visit and thought it would be a good Sunday morning activity. The Museum is housed in the old Gare d'Orsay, the train station built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Musée D'Orsay has a large number of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Rodin, Renoir and van Gogh. I really enjoyed Monet's landscape paintings, especially the paintings of Étretat, which I had just seen.

After a morning well spent at the Museum, we had worked up an appetite and headed to Le Voltigeur Bistro in the Marais, for a wonderful quiche lunch. With the beautiful weather, the café had all of their doors open to the streets with little tables spilling onto the sidewalk. From there we headed to my favorite park, Jardin Luxembourg for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. We spent some time sitting near the fountain chatting and watching the wooden boats in the fountain. To end the night we headed to a nearby bar to watch France beat Honduras 3-0 in their first World Cup game.

Me, Eri, Emily, Emily & Caroline

During the week, I would head to work while Eri, Emily, Boots & Caroline explored Paris.  Monday night we headed to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic dinner of bread, cheese, charcuterie, strawberries, and Champagne. The night was very relaxing and a great way to enjoy the Eiffel Tower and relax.

Picnics in the Park

Tuesday, while I was at work my friends had planned a trip to Champagne but due to the SNCF strikes, their first train was cancelled. After a crazy morning they were able to make the trip and get out of Paris for the day. They ended up getting back to Paris around 8:30 and we headed to L'as du Falafel for their famous falafel sandwich which did not disapoint! The pita was stuffed to the brim with falafel, tahina sauce, roasted eggplant, cabbage slaw, cucumber, tomato, parsley and topped with some spicy sauce. We meandered the streets until we found a place to sit and enjoy our meal. The next night we headed into the Latin Quarter for drinks. The weather was so nice we were able to sit outside and enjoy the night.

Paris nights

My last day of work for the week was Thursday and after we headed to Breizh Café in the Marais for a Breton region dinner of savory and sweet crêpes with cidre. I always heard good things about this café and its always packed with people, requiring a reservation to get a seat. They had a large selection of crêpes as well as four entree and four dessert specials on the board and an extensive cidre selection. Everyone enjoyed their crêpes and we left the café full and very satisfied!

After our delicious dinner

The week was going way too fast but luckily I had all of Friday and Saturday to spend with my friends...to be continued...

Ich bin ein Berliner

I spent the past week in Berlin on business. We arrived Tuesday late afternoon and ran events through Friday night. One of my main tasks while in Paris was working on Friday's final event and I can happily say that it went very well!

Knowing that I was going to be in Berlin, I reached out to my family who lives there and was able to spend Saturday and Sunday with them! Saturday morning they picked me up from my hotel and we began a tour of Potsdam and Berlin. Having visited Berlin before, in 2010, I had seen many of the major sites within the city, so we headed out to Potsdam to visit Sanssouci Palace.

Once of the Gardens on the Palace Grounds

Sanssouci Palace, built by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in the 1740s, is known as the Versailles of Berlin. The Palace is much smaller than Versailles and only has approximately only 10 rooms but the park and garden layout and size is similar. The Palace is built on a hill and when you walk out onto the terrace you overlook the gardens and are able to see how extensive they really are. King Frederick used all of the garden space wisely and the steps leading from the palace to the gardens are planted with wine grapes!

Looking up to the Palace

Throughout the gardens and park are smaller houses and buildings. We were able to see the Chinese House, the Gardener's House and the Orangerie. We climbed to the top of the Orangerie and we were able to look over the entire park. I couldn't get over how detailed the parks and gardens were. Each area was perfectly manicured and the gardens and park were designed and planted to look so natural. The Gardener's house looked like it came right out of Tuscany and the plantings around it matched the area as well!

View from the Orangerie

After a wonderful day at the gardens we went back to their house for an apperitivo and dinner. They live in West Berlin towards the outskirts. Their quartier looks like the suburbs and is so quiet, you would never guess they lived in the city! Their house was beautiful and we were able to enjoy our aperitivo outside in their garden! They made a Northern Italian/Ticinese meal which brought me right back to Switzerland and was delicious!

The next morning we headed out to Berlin and did a Boat tour on the Spree. I find it really interesting to see the city from the water and it was nice to go by some of the major sites.

View from the boat

My flight back to Paris was in the mid afternoon so my next stop was the airport. My trip was amazing and I absolutely love Berlin! The city is completely livable and is filled with parks and green spaces. It would be an amazing city to live in (if only I could master the German language) I had such a great time seeing my family and exploring Berlin and its surroundings. Hopefully we will be able to meet up again soon!

Macaron, sweet macaron

The French macaron is one of France's most well-known mini pastries and is absolutely decadent! There are so many different flavors and marques to choose from that it can sometimes be a little difficult. After a taste test in the winter, Shelley and I thought it would be best to go to a macaron class and learn how they are made!

Shelley & I during the class

Saturday morning we found ourselves at Le Nôtre cooking school, home to some of the best macarons! We chose the "classics" class where we would learn to make chocolate, cafe and vanilla. The class was taught entirely in French! I can now honestly say that my French language immersion has worked as I got through the class with almost no problem!

Le Nôtre Ecole de Cuisine

Our instructor, Chef Legras, walked us through the first batch of macarons, vanilla, and took the time to explain why specific ingredients were used and the difference between the different types of sugar. He also explained why the order of ingredients was important, which I've been known to ignore once or twice in my baking past...

Chef Lagras at the end of the class, assembling macarons

After the first batch was in the oven, he had us work on each of the steps so that we could fully understand what we were doing. Getting the perfect macaron size and shape was a lot harder than it looked! Each one had to match so they would all bake evenly and in order to make it easier to sandwich them later. However, that is a lot harder than it sounds, so they were not all equally sized.

Piping macarons

The hardest part was not forming a small peak on the top of each shell after we picked the pastry bag up. While the shells were cooling, we were able to make the three ganache fillings which were used to sandwich our macarons.

Macaron Steps

The class was three hours long but time passed quickly as we were always busy and the class was lighthearted and fun. At the end of the class we were give recipes for each of the three flavors and boxes filled with our homemade macarons. After trying them they were a bit crunchy, but the filling and the macaron flavor were spot on. I think they were a little overcooked as they were all different sizes making it impossible to bake them evenly. Shelley and I now understand the difficulty in making the perfect macaron! 

Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life

Saturday, Shelley and I headed to Reims about 45 minutes by train from Paris and located in Champagne. Our first stop was Notre-Dame de Reims which was built between 1211 and 1516. Starting with Louis I all of the French Kings were crowned here except for Louis VI and Henri VI. The Gothic style Cathedral's size and grandeur were exceptional. Sadly, part of the outside was under construction, but they had a small replica inside to see the exterior detail we missed. During WWI the Cathedral was heavily bombed destroying the exterior, stained glass windows and statues. Through major donations, notably by John D. Rockefeller, the Cathedral was repaired. Through these restorations you can see a mix of the original stained glass windows and newer more modern ones from Artists such as Marc Chagall and Bridgette Simon.

Notre-Dame de Reims

We then headed to lunch which finished just in time for our Veuve Cliquot Champagne Tour. Veuve Cliquot was founded in 1772 by Phillippe Cliquot Muiron who's goal was to have his champagne cross all borders. Phillippe's son, François, married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Cliquot, but he tragically died a few short years later, leaving Barbe-Nicole a widow at 27. The family was unsure what to do with the business but Madame Cliquot decided she would take it over, becoming one of the first business women of modern times. During her tenure she changed the name of the brand to Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin or Veuve Cliquot as we know it, meaning "Widow" Cliquot. Madame Cliquot was instrumental in growing the business while ensuring that their ideas of innovation and quality stayed central to the business.

The main symbol of the brand is the anchor, the Christian Symbol for hope & rigor. When Veuve Cliquot started labels did not yet exist and the anchor was branded onto the bottom of the cork to differentiate between brands. The VCP on the anchor stands for Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin. The hexagonal shape surrounding the initials and anchor represents the comet of 1811 that is said to have predicted the excellent harvest that year. In the 1860s the house added a label its bottle and the "yellow" color was chosen. Over the years the yellow became darker as a way to distinguish the bottle in the dark cellars. Lastly, the muselet, the wire cage that fits over the cork, has the portrait of Madame Cliquot, in her 80s, as a testament to her hard work and dedication in growing the brand.

Veuve Cliquot Journal and one of the original labels

After the history of the house, we headed down into the crayéres, or the champagne caves, 25 meters underground. The Veuve Cliquot crayéres were built during the Middle Ages and have quite the history! Each shape of the crayere is different as they were excavated not for storage but for the chalk for building materials. Over 400 crayéres exist underground for Veuve Cliquot alone! After the Middle Ages, bandits, who didn't want to pay taxes on imported goods would attempt to cross the city borders underground. Then during the World Wars they were used as shelters, tunnels and mini cities. The writing on the walls still exists, such as numbers and even red crosses for the hospital! Today, the labyrinth of crayéres are perfect for champagne production. They are dark and cool, keeping the 10-11 degree Celsius temperature needed year-round for champagne production no matter the weather outside. The Chalk walls also act as a giant sponge absorbing the moisture and providing the necessary humidity.

In the crayéres

With our crayére tour completed we were able to enjoy a glass of Champagne. A bottle of the Veuve Cliquot Brut, takes up to 3 years to create, and definitely not that long to drink! Champagne consists of a blend of different wines in order to give it its complex blend. The Brut consists of a minimum of 50% but upwards of 60% Pinor Noir, 30-35% Chardonnay and up to 40% reserves. In order to keep the champagne consistent from year to year up to 40% of the Veuve Cliquot mixture is reserve wines from previous harvests.

Post Tour

* Title quote by Charles Dickens

Belleau Wood

After a weekend touring the D-Day beaches and the North of France with my parents, I came back to Paris and they went on to Champagne. However, I was able to take Friday off and jumped on an early morning train to Château-Thierry My parents met me at the station and we headed to the Château-Thierry American Monument and the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery located in Belleau Wood. 

Old home in Belleau

The Belleau area is very important to the US Marines, especially my brother's regiment, the 3/6, which fought there. The battle was significant because it stopped the German advance to Paris, only about an hour's drive away. More Marines were killed in action and wounded on the first day of the battle of Belleau Wood (1,087) than in all previous engagements combined. However, the battle not only proved the embodiment of the USMC through their determination and dedication but was also the catalyst for the Marine Corps we know today.

The Château-Thierry American Monument commemorates the soldiers who fought in the region during WWI. Located on a hill, it provides striking views of its surroundings. The Monument's inscriptions are in both French and English and they tell the story of the battles fought in the region. On the front of the memorial is the American Eagle and a large map that depicts the battles in the area. 

Château-Thierry American Monument

We then headed to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. This cemetery was smaller than Normandy but very moving. The Aisne-Marne cemetery is located on the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau was fought and those who are laid to rest died at the Battle of Belleau and the Battle of Chateau Thierry. That morning I was able to pick up roses so that we could lay them by some of the graves. 

The Cemetery & the Chapel's stained glass windows

A Memorial Chapel is located in the center of the cemetery with the name of all those who have not been found inscribed on the walls. Walking into the chapel and being surrounded by all of their names was very powerful.

Panoramic of the inside of the chapel

 
Located not far from the cemetery is the Devil Dog Fountain at Belleau. When the Marines took Belleau Wood from the Germans in June 1918, the Germans had begun to call them Teufelhunden or "Devil Dogs," a name that is still used today. When the Marines entered the deserted village they found the bull dog fountain with fresh water. The fountain helped solidify the devil dogs name and their mascot, a bull dog in a WWI helmet was born. Legend has that if a Marine drinks from the fountain he will gain 20 years to his life. We obviously bottled some water up for James to drink! 

With the Bull dog fountain

After our tour of Belleau and the surrounding area we headed back to Paris for the night. The rest of the weekend went quickly! We spent the rest of the day and all day Saturday walking around. Sadly, my parents didn't get to enjoy Spring time in Paris weather, as it poured, but a little rain never hurts, right?! My parents left Sunday morning after their last French breakfast of croissants and coffee. I really enjoyed our trip and loved having them here! See you both in a few short months on the other side of the pond!

Saturday night in Paris