My First Summer in Europe

Hi everyone!

It’s been SUCH a long time since I’ve written a post for this blog – since before I moved to Paris one year ago! Time truly does fly. I do love having this blog to write when feeling inspired, and I’m really grateful to have people who may still be reading my posts all these years later:)

With school resuming Monday, I thought it would be the perfect time to recap the past few months, my first ever summer in Europe! 

Sure, I’d visited France during summer before, but being here for several months of the season was an entirely new experience and it was wonderful to have time with nothing to do to explore. 

During the first month of summer (May) I was able to go to Valencia, Spain for a couple of weeks which was amazing. The weather was perfect and it was not touristy at all. If you ever visit Valencia, they have these amazing chocolate croissants that are filled with a melted chocolate😍. I ate wayyy too many while there!

During this trip in Spain, I also traveled to Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean. It was a quick trip staying primarily in Palma, and I think if I ever went back it would be cool to see other parts of the island, too. It’s very drivable, so you can take a rented car all over the island on day trips. 

The month of June I returned back to Paris for a busy few weeks. I got to see Harry Styles in concert, go to Roland Garros (the French tennis open), attend VivaTech (a conference highlighting innovations and startups) and visit my friend Marie in northern France. This was also a month of great weather and spending time with friends here in France.

At the end of June, I was able to head home to visit my family for a couple of weeks. The weather in the U.S. was pretty rainy while I was there, but I loved getting to see all of my family and relax at home. Plus, there’s nothing better than having home-cooked meals from mom:) I miss my family already! It’s certainly the hardest part about living abroad, thankfully we have FaceTime to help a bit.

Returning back to Paris on July 12th, I made it just in time for Bastille Day, the French national holiday on July 14th. On the 13th and 14th night in Paris, they have what’s called the “Bal des Pompiers.” This is basically a party that takes place at the fire station and run by the firefighters, literally translating to the ball of the firefighters. My friends and I went on July 13th and it was crazy. We waited in line for 3 hours before getting in around 1 a.m. and there were so many people. The balls take place in almost every arrondissement of Paris on either the 13th or 14th of July. On the 14th, the national holiday is celebrated with a huge fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower. I spent this night in the 18th arrondissement, but it was hard to see the fireworks, considering the Eiffel Tower is so far away from this area. 

Also in July, I had the opportunity to go on a cruise with one of my best friends from school here in Paris, Paige. The cruise began in Barcelona and went to France, Italy, Corsica and Ibiza. Out of these places, Corsica was definitely my favorite; it is absolutely beautiful there! 

Overall, I had forgotten just how much fun cruises are, with endless games, events, performances, food and more, all while visiting so many new places. Paige and I were definitely some of the youngest people on the boat, but honestly it made it all the more fun! I would definitely recommend this vacation to anyone; I truly had the best time. 

Coming back to Paris at the end of July, most of my plans and travels were over. With plenty of time this past month, I’ve found new activities and hobbies that I really enjoy. The first is cooking. It’s been so fun trying new recipes that are more complex than the pasta and frozen vegetables that was my school year staple. My roommate and I started a cookbook that we’ve been adding to which has been a nice activity. I hope it continues during the school year! 

The second activity I’ve been up to this month is exploring each arrondissement of Paris. As you may know, Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (sections). In August, I decided to visit each arrondissement corresponding to the day of the month (so on the 1st I went to the 1st, 2nd to the 2nd, etc.). This was super fun and definitely helped with my geographical orientation of the city. 

Now, after months of free time and relaxing, it is time to begin my second year as a Masters student. This year I will be doing an alternance, meaning studying and working part-time. The first semester should be busy, with 6 classes and 3 days at work, but I am hoping to find new topics and the time to write about them on here, too. 

I hope you all had good summers as well, and I’d love to hear if there is anything that you’d be interested to read from me about life here in Paris, traveling or the French culture! 

À bientôt, 

Julia