Mom & Janine Visit

Every time I've been abroad, be it study abroad, my masters and now Paris, my mom and Janine have taken a long weekend trip to come visit me. When I was studying abroad we had the most amazing time in Milan. We went for a repeat trip when I was getting my masters but instead I got the flu when they came, so I spent most of my time in the hotel. Luckily, they were able to come visit me in Paris and everything was perfect! The food, the wine, the shopping, the company and to top it all off, the weather- blue skies, sunny and warm!

Out to dinner :)

They arrived Thursday morning and after work, I met them for dinner at a cute restaurant across the street from my apartment. Instead of a wine list, they have a wine cellar, so you climb down this really small staircase and choose your wine from the racks and boxes piled high.

Friday, while I was at work, Janine and my mom walked around, saw some sites, and did some shopping. I met them after work for some wine and cheese before our delicious dinner at Un Dimanche à Paris, or as I refer to it...the chocolate restaurant. The founder, Pierre Cluizel, son of the founder of Cluizel chocolates, created the restaurant because of his love for chocolate. The food was absolutely delicious and the desserts were out of this world (we ordered one dessert that won best dessert in 2010). I highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely be back before I leave.

Delicious desserts at Un dimanche

Saturday we had the whole day to spend together. We started with a traditional French breakfast at a café: coffee and a croissant (and some fresh squeezed orange juice). After, we headed in the direction of lunch and meandered through the streets of Paris enjoying the weather and walking in and out of some stores. For lunch, we headed to my favorite crepe place to have traditional lunch galettes and cidre and then a crepe (my favorite is lemon and sugar).

Mom and me enjoying the beautiful weather

After lunch we took a little stroll along the Seine back to their hotel and then headed to the Champs-Élysées and spent some time walking around. After an afternoon stroll, we headed back to the hotel for a little and then it was time for dinner. We went to Le Christine, a petit restaurant in the 6th and it was the perfect restaurant to end their trip with. We ended our night on a river cruise that meandered down the Seine. It was really nice to see Paris from the water and we learned some fun facts that I wouldn't have known otherwise...like the Eiffel Tower weighs around 7,000 tons...which is the equivalent of around 1200 elephants!

Views from the boat and Janine & I after our cruise

Janine and my mom left early Sunday morning. Although the trip was quick, it was an amazing weekend. I loved having them here, as we always have such a good time when we're together.

Heir to the Cluizel chocolate dynasty, Pierre Cluizel decided to open a two-level pastry boutique, restaurant, chocolate shop, hot-chocolate salon and bar that spans nearly half a city block. Not only will it blow your mind, but the pastries, as crafted by Michelin three-star veteran and current captain of France’s 2012 Pastry World Cup Team, Quentin Bailly, are sure to delight you. - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/archives/top-10-pastry-shops-in-paris-review/#sthash.EltTkuPz.dpufPi

Heir to the Cluizel chocolate dynasty, Pierre Cluizel decided to open a two-level pastry boutique, restaurant, chocolate shop, hot-chocolate salon and bar that spans nearly half a city block. Not only will it blow your mind, but the pastries, as crafted by Michelin three-star veteran and current captain of France’s 2012 Pastry World Cup Team, Quentin Bailly, are sure to delight you. - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/archives/top-10-pastry-shops-in-paris-review/#sthash.EltTkuPz.dpu

I gotta run!

This morning I ran the Semi-Marathon de Paris! 

This was my second half marathon, I ran my first one last year with Jeannie in Edinburgh. This year, I didn't have much time to train, just a little over a month and with work and French classes it was hard to find the time to add in runs. However, when there's a will there's a way!

The race began at Château de Vincennes, in the east of Paris. Sunday morning at 8:30 I headed to Metro line 1 and made my way over. The metro was packed! It was similar to rush hour morning when one of the lines is slower than usual. This time, we were all huddled in the metro with our running sneakers and iPods instead of dress shoes and newspapers. The weather for the race was perfect, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was around the low 40s when I started. I couldn't have asked for better weather!

Château de Vincennes

The race didn't start until 10am, which was nice, as it allowed more time in the morning to get ready. A little after 10am I was penned in with the other thousands of people in my time group getting ready to start. We were off a little after 10:30!

The race went through the Bois de Vincennes, up past the Bastille and to Notre Dame/Hôtel de Ville. It then circled back around bringing us through the Marais, back past the Bastille and into the Bois de Vincennes to finish. I thought the course was nice. I hadn't run in that area yet, so it was totally new. The Paris Semi-Marathon is large, this year they reached their threshold of 40,000 people! On the one hand, it is great to be a part of something this caliber, however, I spent the entire race dodging people and squeezing by to pass them. It was as if the bottleneck at the beginning of the race never ended. As the race wore on it got rather warm and I was very thankful for the water breaks at every 5k. The last 5k was a struggle. I had a time goal in mind, under 2 hours, and I knew I would be able to break it if I kept pushing myself. Once I saw the finish line I mustered up all of my energy and sprinted towards it. I finished the Semi-Marathon de Paris in 1 hour and 57 minutes, a new PR!

My T-shirt, bib and medal!