I love surprises.

If someone whispers in my ear hey...psst... I have a surprise for you... I go nuts. Literally, I have to cover my mouth from yelling "Hurray!!!!" at the top of my lungs. I have been like this since I can remember. And, I equally love surprising people. Acquaintances may not see this side of me often, but the people closest to me do: I hide around corners and giggle when people jump, I make Christmas cards from scratch every year from old magazines, photos and watercolor paper, and I love planning dinner parties and trips. I. Love. Surprises.

And I got one this weekend.

The mister decided to take me on a trip- he planned it at one of my lowest points in December last year, when I was so lost and lonely and nagging him all the time, and at my wit's end. He planned a weekend away to cheer me up, and told me not to sniff for any clues..just to wait. Oh, the blissful injustice!!

He got back from a business trip on Friday evening, told me to pack one bag (I laughed, as the man clearly doesn't understand women yet), and that we would leave at 8am on Saturday.

And on Saturday, I walked through the boarding gate of the Eurostar, and 2 hours later we were in Paris.

Mais oui, I was jumping up and down for joy!

Not only that, as were were exiting the terminal, our very dear German friend that lives there came to greet us, and we stayed at his beautiful apartment, near the Gare du Nord. We walked around...


sat at cafes and ate too much cheese and drank too much wine...





went out to see Iron & Wine perform, and came back to the apartment and danced to Dean Martin until the wee hours of the morning...



What a fantastic time.

Paris will always hold a special place in my heart, as it's the city where the mister proposed, on a bench at sunrise, while we sat overlooking the Seine. But that weekend was such a blur, I didn't really connect with the city or the people at all. I didn't fully appreciate it until this past weekend. Just outside of the hustle and bustle of cameras, fanny packs and tourists reading their maps, there is a quiet city hidden in winding streets. There are shops with fresh tulips wrapped in brown paper, people walking by eating fresh, warm baguettes. The air smells a bit like flowers. You can easily get lost, both directionally and linguistically. I like hearing people speak French, and I want to learn, and people were very receptive to my basic French that I tried to speak. As my native language is Ukrainian, and I've lived in Italy speaking fluent Italian, I feel like maybe I could pick it up quickly.

Honestly, I really want to live there someday. The mister would love to as well, but I think it's the language that would be tough for him. It's not an easy place to settle in, and the people are very private with their lives and friends, but I feel like I found some brief connection, even after just a day. It inspired me to an even greater degree to just be unique, to be me. If I don't find that many people interesting in London, I don't have to. I'd rather enrich my own life and find things interesting in my own way. Even if people think I'm shy and anti-social because I would much rather sit home and read while my mister likes his nights out. So I'll take Beck's mantra: I'm a delicate and unique snowflake!. I like to travel and get lost in the culture and landscape of foreign countries. That's what thrills me. That's what makes me happy.

If you've never been, and have the time and cash, try to visit once. You won't regret it.