Paris update...

I want to start off first with how terribly saddened I am about the bombing in Boston. I may be way over here but I do check CNN.com every so often and my heart breaks to know of such tragedies. My prayers go out to all the victims and families involved today...

So again, I go along time without writing much. But to be quite honest, I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to get well adjusted. The "honeymoon" phase has well surpassed, and now its time to get serious..... well almost.

School has been quite difficult, I spent 2 weeks trying to switch my classes because I was not happy with the first professor I was assigned to. Lets just say she was lazy, and that's me being completely nice. So I had to go through emails with the director of the college, and meetings. Long story short, I was able to switch and couldn't be more content.

I've been just enjoying the fact that I'm here. I've met a few people, taken every chance I've had to just go out and explore. I find the most simplest things to do out here are the most enjoyable. 

Me and my roommate have had quite the "adventures." Time to time we tend to over exceed the "fun factor" (aka booze nights), but hey... in my defense you only live once and how many times are you going to able to say "I lived in Paris?" And if you think about it, most of the intelligent writers and Artist of all time (like Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Picasso and Gertrude Stein) lived in Paris for years and all of their most brilliant work came from complete inebriation! Ok, I'm not going try and make excuses here for my booze nights out. But on serious note, being here has opened my mind in a much broader sense then before and I can understand why some people just need to be somewhere completely different out of their "norm" to get a sense of life, and a sense of the world. 

Ok, so I'm not some party animal, but I do enjoy my Jameson on the rocks from time to time. A girl can have a little fun right? The other night me and the rommie decided to take a little trip down to Place De La Concorde to Buddha Bar. Fancy place, and I don't recommend unless you're willing to cough out 20 euros for EACH drink (thats $26 in US). But the atmosphere, you got to love it! 

That's also right next to the Luxembourg Gardens, very beautiful if you're just looking to take a nice stroll. It also happens to be where the book shop I go to buy my weekly read is located. Laduree, my most favorite dessert stop is also around the corner. Most yummy macaroons in the city! 

Yesterday had to have been the best weather yet! It was 75 degrees, and you know what that means... "When the sun is out, the Cali girls come out and play!" Me and the roomie grabbed a blanket, packed the whisky, stopped by for some french baguettes and headed over to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic. It was such a beautiful day for it, I even took a little nap because it felt so good (the Jameson also was a factor in it). 

The clip starts off us walking to the lawn (excuse my language, I kept loosing Ashley) then us settling in.... then us after we finished the whisky. Nothing like a little Celia Cruz while snoozing under the Eiffel Tower, totally random, but it's how we roll :)

We had dinner at Frogs, which is an American place down the street. Continued on with a pitcher of the darkest beer they had, along with 4 shots of raspberry vodka. Hey, it came with the pitcher, no judging! Anyhow, on our way back I behaved very badly, well not so bad. I attempted to sneak onto the metro without paying and was caught. I don't recommend it, just follow the rules and that's all I'll say about that...

Well my loves, until I have something interesting to post again, there's a bed with my name on it! I have class tomorrow and I'm beat! Bon nuit!

Jessica

Road trip to Mont Saint Michel

Hello my loves! I am so sorry for going this long without updates! So much has been going on it was difficult for me to get myself to sit and write but I have kept everything updated in my journal and images to allow me to remember. 

I was under the weather for a few days after St. Patricks Day, I've adjusted to the cold but my body seems to disagree. So I sat in my apartment for almost 4 days with a bad flu. School has been a little disappointing. Long story short, (to be kind) my professor is such a nice lady but I'm not thrilled with her lazy teaching strategy, so I'm in the process of having my classes switched.  

St. Patricks day was a blast, we went to a pub that a friend of ours from school works at and had the infamous "green beers" all night and sang to Scottish music. 

So last weekend we decided to take a road trip to Normandie to visit Mont Saint Michel. It felt surreal! Almost like i was on a movie set. I couldn't grasp that I was standing right in front of something that dates back centuries and centuries, that all started in year 708! I read up on the history of Saint Mont Michel, so to actually be standing inside of this huge palace like church was something so astonishing. 

Hope you all enjoy this mini movie, for some reason it wouldn't allow me to upload it on here so here's the direct link if you'd like to check it out....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oTkknDU7vk

The next day we visited the beaches of Deauville in freezing cold temperatures, but it was beautiful none the less. I made the most of it and collected some of the biggest seashells I've ever seen. Then we warmed up to some Vin Chaud (basically a warm version of Sangria) it was yummy. 

Well I know this is short one, but I just wanted to update you all. I promise I'll try to make a habit of posting more. I just don't want it to be boring, I'm sure it wouldn't have been much of thrill to read an update on me being stuck in bed with a flu haha. Well it's late, I have a long day tomorrow with school and an Art Gallery opening I was invited to. Should be fun, Bonsoir!

Jessica

Montmartre & The Sacred Heart

(Yes, I know its noisy and you can barely hear me but bare with me...)

Hello again my loves! So I'm finishing up my second week here in Paris and it has been very eventful! I wanted to visit the more artsy side of Paris and I was told Montmartre was the place to see. Although they failed to mention the mission it was going to take me in order to get there.

The thing about Montmartre is that it's on a hill north of Paris and its the highest point of Paris. So once we exit the train, you climb stairs.... stairs...stairs.... turn the corner....and oh yeah, MORE STAIRS! I'm sure my butt will thank me later for it. But once you get to the top it is WAY well worth it. A little fun note for all you art fans out there, Salvador Dali, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso all had studios and worked in that area. It blew my mind! I'm definitely going back for a Dali exhibit I saw posters around the city that they're having soon. Well none the less, I sat outside a cafe, drank a French Coffee (espresso/Cognac/with whip cream) and just enjoyed the moment. I watched the artist just paint and do what they love. And tried to ignore the fact my waiter kept calling me his girlfriend haha. 

(I'm breathing quite heavy, but take into consideration that it was the 3rd flight of stairs we had to climb after walking up a hill...)

So proceeding on, right next to it is Sacre-Coeur Basilica (The Sacred Heart of Paris). An enormous Cathedral Church on top of the hill. I was standing on the side thinking it was it, until I walked around the corner and saw the front. Walking inside was a tremendous feeling, it was so big and beautiful. It looked like the Cathedrals where only royalty is aloud to attend, if that makes any sense. There's stairs in the front where people just sit on and take in the view of Paris which you can see all of. I felt as if I were just looking at the world from up there. Im so upset I could have sworn I took that image but I guess I didn't.

So last weekend we went to a new club called Le Club 79. It had just been open for a week and so we went to go check it out with friends. It was really nice, different with the naked dancers, but nice. We stayed till 5 am, that was when my feet gave up from all the dancing, I could literally not stand anymore!

So today it was such a beautiful night, I couldn't resist, I had to go back to the Eiffel Tower for a drink. We walked Trocadero Street, sat at a cafe with the view of the Tower in front of us and just enjoyed. I have to add, oddly for it being Paris, they have the most delicious Mojitos here. I know weird, but I don't know, they just do. Anyways, we watched the tower light up, finished our drinks and made our way back home.

                                           


Much more to come, our next adventure is to Versailles! Another thing to cross off of my bucket list and something I've been dreaming about for years! I can't begin to express just how much I'm in love with life I am right now, and happy to be sharing it all with anyone who's willing to read about it. So until my next post... Bonsoir!

Jessica 

Bonjour Bienvenue!

Bonjour! I have arrived in Paris, France. It's been 3 days now and all I can say is it was l'amour au premier site (love at first site). This is truly the most beautiful city in the world! 

I spent an 11 hour flight from LAX to London. I had a 2 hour layover and then jetted to France. There, my lovely friend Ashley was there to greet me. We traveled about an hour and a half on the metro to get to the apartment. It seemed like a good idea at first, but dragging 3 pieces of 50 lb luggage up and down stairs was not exactly a good call. Luckily, along the way, there were very nice gentlemen who helped with the stair situation, "Mercy."

The first night I spent settling in, I unpacked, and we walked down the street to grab a bite. It was snowing so I just spent the evening taking it all in. 

(Yes I know, I said "Hola" to the policemen instead of "bonjour")

It was brought to my attention that across the street was the stadium David Beckham now plays soccer for, some eye candy perhaps? 

The 9 hour difference is not the easiest to get adjusted to. First night wasn't so bad, since I had been up most of the day. We started off by heading over to the school to finish my registration. Needless to say, we both forgot our student Visas. Nice job right? Well we decided to head back and just try again the next day. We went home, I took a 2 hour nap, BAD IDEA, and when I woke up we got ready and headed out.

The stop of the night was at Tocadero, where I witnessed probably the most beautiful site I have yet to see....

Amazing right!? It was more breath taking at midnight when it lid up, the only way I can describe it is like swarovski crystals on drugs! It was such a site and I advise everyone to put it on a bucket list. We had dinner at a place called FROG. Very trendy, nice wait staff, but they've never heard of RANCH! "A" for effort though because they attempted to make some from scratch for us.

The next day I felt the jet lag very bad. I was woken up early to go back to the school, long story short everything was taken care of. A friend of Ashley's picked us up and we went down more into the city to look at the shops. We drove by the Notre Damn Cathedral, I'm definitely going back! 

Once back home we decided we were in need of major groceries, but we soon realized we had no clue where the market was, so we stopped at the small store around the corner. Lets just say I'm happy we chose that store because carrying all those bags just down the street was a mission (there we go again thinking its a good idea until we actually do it.)

Today Ashley wanted to take me to go walk the Champs Elysees and see one of Paris most famous monuments the Arc de Triomphe ...

We decided to stop in a coffee/pub on the side and have a nice hot Irish coffee to warm us up, Paris

is quite cold right around now, but I feel I've gotten quite well adjusted to it. What's not 

to like when there's nothing but beauty surrounding you? 

I will close this entry now by just saying how enjoyable this has all been so far. I still can't

believe I am where I am. I feel truly blessed and full of joy from the minute I wake till the 

moment I lay down to rest. Tomorrow holds another eventful day, and I can't wait to 

share it all with you soon. 

Until then, bonsoir!

Jessica

Erika & Anthony's road to the altar!

Hello my loves! Wow, it has been quite the whirlwind of a week. I want to start off by first apologizing for not updating, the resort we stayed at has no wifi! I know can you imagine?! I had no communication with the outside world for almost 5 days. I'm not going to complain to much though, I was in paradise!

Well I believe last I updated it was the first night. The second night we all got right back on that tour bus and went to eat some real authentic panamanian food. The place was great and delicious! 

We spent the rest of the night by the pool at the Trump Ocean and my sisters suite, since the boys decided to take Anthony on one last boys night out haha. 

The next morning it was off to the Royal de Cameron Resort! We all got on an even BIGGER bus and drove the 2 hours over to the coast. We made a pit stop on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for a bathroom break and some food! And I must say, probably the best food of the trip! I also got to see exotic birds and have a coconut cut down from a tree to drink it. 

By the time we all arrived to the resort we were excited. It was breath taking and more beautiful then I imagined. We were greeted by music, dancers, and shots of Panamanian tequila! As soon as all of us checked in we went to our rooms to freshen up and meet for dinner. 

After dinner they had a carnival type show, it was great! They brought my sister and anthony up on stage and the dancers gave them a little "dance." Then it was off to the discoteca! That's all I really remember about that night, the next thing I remember is being woken up and being told I was late to rehearsal! The bride was not to happy with me momentarily, but the heat was taken off of me quite quick when the best man lost the ring! Sorry to put him on blast, but it's something we can all laugh at now...

We eventually all got ourselves in order and everything came together perfect. By the time I arrived to my sisters room she looked absolutely beautiful! We put the finishing touches on each other and then the photographer showed up to take pictures. Afterwards my father showed up to escort my sister down to the ceremony, there was a decorated golf cart waiting for them outside. As soon as she walked out of the room everyone just looked at her in awe. 

I was dropped off at the ceremony by one of the shuttles and everything seemed ready to go. It all looked like a dream. The ceremony was perfect! It went so smoothly, the music, the performer, even the surprise at the end when a machine showered everyone in flower pedals. It was all amazing. 

The reception was even better, Anthony and Erika walked in as husband and wife to the song "that's amore" by Dean Martin and everyone just sang along to it, it was a very happy and warm moment. We all had our dinner, we got to choose from 4 different courses. The champagne toast could have been better, I had no speech and the minute I opened my mouth I sobbed like a baby! I got through it, thats all that matters. The best man lightened up the mood thank goodness. Afterwards, for the first dance, was a huge surprise. Straight out of a movie, I wish my camera hadn't of died. They walked out to the beach and stood in the middle of a heart, all of sudden giant sparkler fireworks shot up from the heart and their first dance began to "cant help falling in love" by Elvis. Yes, I cried again... Right before the party really started the guest were treated to a huge firework show on the beach, it was quite beautiful. Afterwards we all put our party masks on and the party started with panamanian carnival music... The party went on all night... It was truly one of the best gatherings I've ever had as one big family and welcoming another family into ours. 

The next day it was all about rest and relaxation. We laid by the beach all day, jumped in the pool for a bit. At night we went down the road for dinner, afterwards we went to the discoteca again but didnt stay long since we all planned to go on a "booze cruise" the next morning.

The booze cruise was so much fun! They had us put life jackets on and then get on this small boat that would take us to the bigger boat. The boat took us up to this tiny island like place, and all of us jumped right off the boat into the ocean! It was my first time ever just floating around the ocean like that but it felt quite liberating believe it or not. Once back on the boat, me and my sis just laid out on the deck and caught some rays. It was the last thing we were able to do before check out.

After the cruise I went to my room and prepared for check out. My parents thought I would stay with them at their beach house till I leave tomorrow and this is where I have been for two days now. It's pretty secluded, no wifi but thankfully my dad has a usb with internet connection. My first communication with the outside world in 5 days. As much as I've enjoyed this all, I think it's time to go back to reality, all this seclusion is driving me nuts! I have a million and one things to do before I leave to Paris on Saturday! I'm so excited and can't wait to see what that journey has in store for me.... Well I hope I explained the last few days the best I could, as soon as I get more pictures I'll be sure to update and post more.

Until next time my loves, hasta luego...

Jessica

1st Day in Panama

Happy Valentines Day my loves! For all those with or without a significant other, I still send you all my love.

So wow! What I cant say? I am literally in paradise. My first day was an amazing one at that. When I landed I was so happy to get off that flight! 7 1/2 hours of on and off sleeping and watching movies just made me anxious! 

But I was greeted at the gate by so many people who flew in for my sisters wedding that it was all setting in, let the festivities begin!

The trip to the Trump Ocean was so much fun! About 20 of us got in a shuttle bus, and drove through the city to get to the hotel. Once we all got there, I was amazed, the hotel is like a dream by the ocean. My room is amazing. I have a beautiful balcony view and A tub in the middle of the room, its pretty great lol. 

For dinner, we all got right back on the bus and shuttled on over to a place we had reservations for, I forgot the name of the place :-/ BUT we all ate good food, had amazing cocktails, and cheered to the soon to be bride and groom. It was quite the warm and welcoming night.

Here's a little clip of the bus ride to the restaurant ...

We continued the "party" afterwards in my sisters suite. We couldn't make up our minds and had no clue what to do with the rest of our night, so we all hung out had some drinks and good laughs. 

I got in pretty late last night, so I overslept and missed breakfast. But to my defense, even though breakfast here ends at 11, technically its 8 am on my time lol. I met everyone down by the pool afterwards, its something I wanted to do the minute I arrived. The pool overlooks the ocean so I was not going to miss out on that! Right bellow I'm in the green, my sister (and bride to be) in the hat, my cousin Yemila in the pool with her Pina Colada and probably the most intelligent 9 year old I ever met Stella (the flower girl).

Well my loves, I'll probably take another nap in a little while. I have to be down in the lobby dressed and ready by 6:30. So until my next post, I send you all my love!

Jessica 

Welcome!

Hello out there my loves! I'm very new to writing a blog, but after conversations I've had with friends, it was brought up that maybe I should start writing in "diary like" form to document my upcoming adventures. So to give you a brief explanation of where I'm going with this, I'll try and break it down... 

2012 was quite the memorable year, not exactly in a positive way but lets just say I couldn't be more happy to put that year behind me. Being how not so great (and thats an understatement) it was, I still kept my head high, smiled when I wanted to break down and worked harder then I ever had before. I did my best to try and be positive about a lot of situations, and lets just say good things come to those who wait. 

I was given the opportunity to take four months and move to Paris, France and just LIVE LIFE! Learn the language and take in the culture. I can't even begin to express how blessed I am to just be able to say I'm going to Europe. It's definitely something I've only ever dreamed of, and just like everyone else would say, "yeah, I'm going to go one day." Well that day is here! You're only young once, and I know if I didn't jump on this opportunity now, I never would. 

So that being said, I'm very excited to document and share my entire adventure with anyone who is interested to read about this incredible journey I am about to embark on. Of course it's no fun without images and videos, so I will be taking and making a lot of them to share as well.

I will start this journey off with one pit stop in Panama City, Panama. I leave tonight and the reason for this is my little sister is getting married!!! So I guess you can say to start off this blog of mine, I will begin with Erika & Anthony's (my soon to be brother-in-law) road to the altar.... Kind of catchy, I think I'll use that title exactly. 

So to end my first entry, I hope you all enjoy my blog and keep checking in for updates. So much LOVE to you all....

Jessica