Paris avec ma mere

After we left Scotland, we headed to Paris. I was so excited to show this city to my mom. I spent a week there when I traveled with Rachel and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible for us. Cold, rainy, cloudy, and windy. Not exactly the same Paris I visited in June. We had a good time, but my mom isn't quite sold on the city yet. YET. I'm planning to take her in the spring sometime in the future so she can see it in all its glory.

Our hotel was in Montmarte a few streets down from Moulin Rouge. I missed this landmark last time I was here, so it was a nice surprise to come across. We walked to Sacré Cœur, which was also close to our hotel. A quick stop in Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, some shopping, Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, and some coffee about rounded up our trip. The rain really put a damper on things. We actually went to the movie theater one afternoon because it was so miserable. Sometimes you have to relax, right?

Because the weather was so bad, I have a total of 20 pictures from this part of our trip. Bummer. If you want to see more, I posted A LOT of pictures here.

Perks of Loneliness

I ran across this post the other day when I was scanning my pinterest boards:

"Sometimes loneliness is God's cry for friendship time with you."

At the same moment, I was listening to "If You Ever Get Lonely" by Love and Theft. Coincidence? Maybe. But it got me thinking about my life lately.

When I was in Spain this summer, it was the first time I ever felt truly lonely. I had no friends, I didn't really talk to my host family, and the time difference made it difficult to have conversations with everyone back in the States. It was a really tough time for me. But I grew so much in my relationship with the Lord. He was all I had.

Now that I'm in France, my situation is almost the exact opposite. I have friends, I'm close with my host family, and even though there is still a time change, I have more free time to talk with people back home. Yet I still find myself getting lonely at times. I am a very independent person and I thrive off alone time. So when I say I get lonely, it's a big deal. Being an au pair is often a lonely experience, even when you're surrounded by people. Not to say this experience is all bad, it's just a side effect sometimes.

So I've been thinking again lately about how much time I spend with the Lord. I'm doing Beth Moore's Bible study on David currently and I am absolutely loving it. Because I don't have too many commitments during the day, I'm able to spend a lot of time on the study, and on my relationship with Him in general. By no means am I excelling at this every day. I am still learning and growing. Yet I've realized that these times when I'm lonely have been the greatest periods of growth for me.

It's interesting how God places us in certain situations and how He uses those situations to teach us. When I am home in the States, there are so many distractions vying for my attention: social media, Netflix, friends, family, etc...not bad things, but also not spiritually edifying. When I'm abroad, I have limited access to these things, giving me more time to focus on the more important things in life.

When I was home this past Christmas, I noticed how quickly I fell back into the trap of those distractions. Next time I come home, I want to make more of an effort to live simply like I do here in Europe. I'm sure it will be a challenge. I'm sure I'll fail a lot. But I've realized how little those distractions matter in the long run. Will I still have Netlix binges on the weekends? Absolutely. Will I waste time on Pinterest? Most likely. I don't want to completely get rid of these things. I just want to limit them and knock them down on my priority list.

Random Thoughts

taken from Mrs. Susan's balcony in Savannah #gorgeous

Here are some of my most recent (trivial) thoughts and things I'm missing:

+ I went shopping yesterday for supplies for a birthday party the family was having. I thought, "Easy peasy. Run into the store, grab some streamers and goodie bag things, and I'm all set." Nope. I was wrong. I went back and forth between two stores THREE TIMES before I got what I needed. And I had to improvise a lot. After I was finished, I got in the car and just really missed America. Where was the party section in Target or the Party City when I needed it?!

+ Sometimes I get a big craving for cake. Like just plain ol' box cake. At aforementioned birthday party, we had cake. It was a fancy chocolate thing from a bakery: rich chocolate cake, chocolate fudge icing, and a piece of thin dark chocolate on top. Don't get me wrong...French pastries are delicious. But sometimes all I want is a Betty Crocker yellow cake with chocolate frosting. And now I'm hungry.

+ I want my automatic car. Enough said.

+ Related to the point above, I can now successfully drive a manual car. While I'm not a pro by any means, I'm no longer nervous to get on the roads. It sucked having to learn, but I'm really grateful for this skill. And hey...I can be on the Amazing Race now!

+ I'm really excited to get home and cook for myself. NEVER thought I would say that. I don't have an option for what I eat here for dinner; I just eat what the family makes me. Can't wait to try out new recipes and eat things I actually want.

+ I'm realllllly excited to get back to the States and start my life. Real world, here I come!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Luss, Scotland

When we first arrived in Luss, it was dark. We weren't really able to see anything. I had seen a few pictures of the town from Lauren's post about the town, but other than that, we really didn't know what to expect. Let's just say we were pleasantly surprised the next morning when we woke up to explore.

Luss doesn't really have anything to offer in terms of entertainment. It's simply a little village on Loch Lomond with adorable streets and gorgeous walking trails. There is a motel that has a restaurant and bar. They also have wifi, which was great for us because our B&B didn't.

We spent most of the day walking around the town. The first street we turned on gave us a very happy surprise: Loch Lomond! We knew it was close to the loch but didn't realize it was right there. It was extremely cold and a bit rainy but so quiet and peaceful.

This village was such a great place to relax. Our B&B was small (just a room and bathroom) but very cute. There was another room in the small house, but no one was in it while we were there. The family who runs it was extremely sweet and very helpful. If you need a little getaway, check out Alderdale B&B. It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done for a great price. If you're lucky like us, you might get the house all to yourself!