The South of France

After our last day of touring Paris we headed back to our adorable boutique hotel to freshen up, print out our tickets, and grab our bags. Then Alex and I took two night trains (which turned out to be a bit of a terror) to get from Paris to Nice and arrived looking less than rosy and feeling exhausted. But once we were there, and once Alex picked up our Mercedes rental car, we were in much better moods. Alex drove us to our hotel, Juana, in Juan les Pins, a beautiful beach town on the Cote d'Azur. We picked up sandwiches to enjoy on the boardwalk while we waited for our rooms to be prepared. It was so relaxing and so beautiful. And our sour moods changed to sweet ones after a short nap :)

We spent our first day/evening in Cannes walking along the marina, getting dinner at an adorable bistro, and sitting in the sun. I had my very first French crepe by the beach. When we got back to our hotel, the view from our balcony took my breath away.

The next day we spent in St. Jean cap Ferrat on a tour of the Rothschild mansion - the most beautiful home I have ever seen. It was one of many highlights of our vacation.

St. Jean cap Ferrat was stunning - full of beautiful villas with pockets of exclusive beaches. It took Alex and I a good amount of time to find a tiny staircase that lead to the water. But it was well worth it as the rocky beach leading to the water was a nice little break before our short trip to Eze.

Eze is a medieval village preserved on a cliff overlooking the water. Walt Disney spent a significant amount of time in Eze - and some believe it bears a close resemblance to the settings of some of his animated films. We took a walk through the exotic gardens at the top of the town and hiked up the narrow cobblestone streets checking out shops, homes, and navigating our way around this tiny village. Here's a view from the bottom at night:

After our short tour of Eze, we got dolled up for our evening. And Alex planned the most romantic evening of my life - a dinner at Chevre d'or's Gastronomie. It began with a walk around the gorgeous grounds. And was followed by a delectable aperitif on a terrace with a panoramic view of the mediterranean and a refreshing glass of white wine. We were then escorted into the dining room (which also has a panoramic view of the mediterranean) and enjoyed a scrumptous 11 course meal. I felt a bit like Arielle from The Little Mermaid (except I didn't trade my voice to a sea witch and I most certainly didn't comb my hair with the fork). I'd never had food as rich or delicious served to me so precisely. Each bite was better than the next. Our table always looked perfect and beautiful. We had our own little corner of the dining room with a perfect view of St. Jean cap Ferrat (we could even see the Rothschild mansion lit up when the sun set). It felt like a real life fairytale.

That Friday we took a drive up to St. Paul for a walk through a modern art museum/sculpture garden - it was very nice to be in the shade for a bit! The art there is playful - we rang gongs that read "Desire" and "Dream" and sat by a water sculpture made of tubes. Then we took a stroll through St. Paul du Vence another medieval town (slightly bigger than Eze). After stopping in Vence for a quick bite, we drove to Grasse where perfumes are made from the many fields of flowers that bloom in the area. It was such an incredible experience - turn a corner and you get a big whiff of lavender, turn again and you can smell jasmine, turn again and you can smell any number of combinations of glorious scents. We shared a twisty specialty pastry in complete with orange blossom perfume. We went to the Cathedral to check out this 10-11th century church and look at the paitings there by Rubens. We drove part of the route Napoleon took to escape imprisonment on the island of Elba on his way to the Alps. We attempted to go to Monaco for the evening but the entire country was shut down for a running race. So instead we took a (very short) drive through Monte Carlo and headed back to Juan les Pins for dinner at a cafe.

Our last day was spent enjoying the beach, heading to Nice, and taking the most scenic train ride of my life back to Paris. We enjoyed looking out into the countryside as we wizzed by town after town and the sun set at around 9:15. After a very short stay at the airport Novotel, we headed back to New York. I had the time of my life with Alex in France. It was magical, exciting, and so much fun. I love Paris and I love the French Riviera. But most of all I love Alex. As we landed in New York, I turned to Alex with my teary face and thanked him for taking me on the most romantic trip of my life. He smiled and told me not to be sad because this was the first of many adventures for us. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous vacation.

American in Paris

The first of a two part post about my amazing vacation with Alex in France.

I absolutely fell in love with Paris! I love the history and the beauty. I love the people and the culture. I love the food! With the exception of one small terrential downpour, the weather in Paris couldn't have been more perfect. We were lucky enough to enjoy a trip full of sun and warmth and beauty. On Friday, May 4th, we flew Aer Lingus (a very Irish airline with very green planes) from New York to Dublin. Upon arrival we ran "Home Alone" style to our next gate to catch our connection to Paris. Another smooth flight later and we landed safe and sound in Paris. We took a gypsy cab (our one and only taxi experience during our time in France) and got to our amazing hotel, Les Jardins de la Villa - a beautiful boutique hotel in a very nice non-touristy neighborhood - close to the Arche de Triomphe but far enough away that our street was quiet. The hotel had the most incredible shower with a crazy big shower head on the ceiling. It felt like being in a warm summer rain. It's no surprise that we were the two cleanest people in Paris having taken advantage of the awesomeness of our shower at least 2 times (sometimes 3 times) a day. We spent our first day in Paris acclimating ourselves to our neighborhood and trying to get rid of our jet lag. We walked quite a bit just taking in the beauty of this romantic city. Seeing the Eiffel Tower took my breath away - it's even more beautiful in person. We snapped a few pictures before the skies opened up. We took cover in a cute bistro and grabbed a quick (and delicious) dinner before heading to bed nice and early.

The next morning we woke up super early ready to see as much as we could - which we did! After pain au chocolat and espresso, we went to the Arche de Tromphe and walked the 284 steps to the top to take in the view.

Then we walked down the Champs Elyesees and grabbed macarons at a famous pastry shop before heading to San Chapelle with its gorgeous stained glass windows depicting the entirety of the bible.

After stopping for awesome paninis, we were off to Notre Dame which was absolutely stunning. Luckily, we were there on a Sunday and got to hear a bit of organ playing.

Then we headed to the Pantheon complete with a pendulum swinging from the ceiling and beautiful sculptures in every corner. Downstairs we got to see the crypts where many great men were buried including Voltaire and Rousseau. After a stop at the Cluny, a preserved medieval house, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner at Alex's cousin's home. Our first complete day in Paris ended with dinner at Alex's cousin's home - a gorgeous (and very large) apartment in a beautiful garden. She showed us footage of his family in France during World War II and it was incredible. We ate home cooked dishes with his cousin and great aunt (who is 98!). Footage of the French election results on the Parisian news played int he background. After a delicious meal we walked in the beautiful park and headed back to our hotel.

Monday began with a trip to the Louvre to see all of the famous pieces of art and historical artifacts in the largest (and most beautiful) museum in the world. Following our exciting morning at the museum, we had sandwiches in the touleries (which might be one of my absolute favorite spots in Paris).

Afterwards we went for a walk in the beautiful gardens of Luxembourg and relaxed for a bit. We bought pastries at the cutest little pastiserie and brought them back to our hotel to enjoy on our balcony. At 8 we headed to another one of Alex's relative's homes. We were greeted by the two sweetest children (one of whom played a tune on the piano as we got off the elevator). The children were left at home while Alex's cousin's drove us to Le Plage, a beautiful restaurant on the Siene with a view of the Statue of Liberty and the Eifel Tower. We enjoyed a delicious meal and tons of wonderful conversation. Tuesday was spent at Versailles - an absolutely incredible experience! We toured the opulent, rich rooms of the palace listening to our audio guides explain the significance of paintings, the history of furniture, and the functions of each space. It was absolutely gorgeous.

A short light-rail ride away and we were at the Museum Orsay to look at French impressionist art. Alex describes this museum as the prettiest museum in France and I completely agree. Our last stop in Paris was to our favorite artisinal bakery to pick up pastries for our journey south of France for the second leg of our trip.

NYU and The Tale of the Perpetual Student

I've been enjoying my first year of life after grad school. No essays. No homework. No late nights at the library or computer lab. I actually watch TV sometimes. I read books for fun. Sometimes, I don't do anything at all and just veg. It's great to have down time!

...But when I found out that WCMC offers tuition reimbursement, I asked around the office to see who was taking advantage of it. After getting some feedback from other girls in the office, and with the encouragement of my boss, I decided to take the plunge and dive back into the academic pool.

I knew I didn't want another master's degree - I would burn out in a day. Although I love the idea of being a serious student, I know that with a more hectic schedule at my job (compared to my sweet sweet summer Fridays at Juilliard), I would be completely fried if I took on too much.

So, I enrolled in NYU's Professional Certificate in Fundraising at the prestigious Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising. The program itself should take me about a year to complete. It consists of 7 courses and then I'll have earned the certificate! I've decided to slowly ease back into the grind of schoolwork with just one class on my agenda during the summer - Fundraising Concepts and Pracices: Develop a Fundraising Plan. It only meets 10 times on Thursday nights. Sessions are held all the way down town in the Financial District (ick). But on the bright side, it forces me to explore that area of the city so hopefully I'll be a pro at navigating a new section of Manhattan soon enough.

I love being emersed in academia and I'm excited to (once again) be a student.