6. Paris

When I was 13, the summer in between 7th and 8th grade, my grandma took me to Europe. She let me choose between a tour of England, France, or UK/France/Germany combo (but less time in each). I was in French class, and the thought of going to Paris was the most glamorous thing I could think of, so the choice was easy! It was my first trip to Europe, and I'll never forget it. My eyes were wide, my heart was naive and innocent, and my memory so impressionable. I'll be forever grateful to my grandmother for such a grand adventure! Here are some of the the amazing things that stick out in my mind:

The escalators at Charles de Gaulle airport--just like human hampster runs!



Despite all the rich food we had, the best thing was buying a fresh, warm baguette on the street for 5 francs in the morning.



There were 3 other kids my age on the trip--Lauren, Whitney and Jared. We became fast friends and played the French Monopoly I bought every night in the hotel lobby. We had about 1 million inside jokes by the end of the trip and kept in touch for a few years.



Ok, it's outside of Paris, but Mount St. Michele is the COOLEST place in the world. It kind of reminds me of Gondor meets Disney...there is a monastery at the top, and when the tide goes out it becomes an island. The road winds all the way around the island to to top and is lined with cobblestones. Dreamy!



My mom collects Limoges boxes (like the one below..mom why don't you have this one????) She wanted us to buy one for her at the mythical Limoges Box store somewhere in Paris. My mom and dad had been there before, but for some reason NO ONE in Paris knew what we were talking about. We spent a really long time spanning several days locating this teeny tiny store lined with thousands of Limoges boxes. It. Was. Magical.



Honorable Mentions: Croque Monsieur's, the Loire Valley filled with Sunflowers, The Opera House, a million chateaux, and Giverny