These are a few of my favorite things: Bikes and Gardens Edition

Friends, family, good people of the blogosphere--I'm back!
*My apologies for the delay in posts, however know that good things come to those who wait-- my next few blogs will reflect the busy and wonderful events of late!* (JUST when you thought nothing could beat the excitement of looking in someone else's Parisian apartment ha)

Last weekend, my great friend from home (shout out to Paducah!) Katherine, who has now moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands came in for her inaugural Paris visit. Our weekend began just as the rainy weather in Paris cleared to beautiful sunshine, and as it so often does our spirits/engagements/luck followed suit.

Friday evening we did the Fat Tire Paris by Night bike tour, guided by our Aussie guide and the full moon- it couldn't have been better! As if Paris by bike could be more beautiful, it also included stops to the famous Parisian Berthillon (natural ice cream) spot on Ile-de Cité and a River Seine cruise with unlimited complementary wine. If you are coming to see me, I will happily repeat this tour. It was a blast:

Steps from "Midnight in Paris" as we walked my neighborhood!

My School!

My bike's name: "Wes Anderson" (YES!)

Absolutely loved the full moon as we biked. 

The Louvre at night is as magic as it looks.

Second boat cruise, success!

The fairy tale during the full moon continues as we headed the next day to Monet's gardens at Giverny, a 45 minute train outside of Paris. 

We met up with my friend Guthi and his friend, my new friend Ricardo, originally from Brazil. In what, in retrospect, was the BEST DECISION EVER we rented bicycles when we arrived in Giverny and biked the 5K from the train station to the gardens. All that I had missed in my last visit 4 years ago  (by taking a bus to Giverny) was now visible: the ancient town of Giverny, medieval churches, adorable cafes, and a beautiful river. The entire ride was magnifique, mostly on a quaint gravel bike path weaving through the town, a marina full of sailboats, and residential areas with homes covered in ivy. As for the gardens, I'll save my words and instead post pictures as inevitably my words would fall short of adequately describing their beauty. Let's hope these pictures do better justice:

obligatory cafe stop

rows of flowers leading to Monet's home

group shot

Jardin de l'eau

View from Monet's window

So happy to get to spend time with Katy and other friends, enjoy the beautiful weather.. watch Katherine try her first bite of Indian food (not pictured, sadly) and welcome my first guest to Ma Vie Parisienne. If weekends get better than this, I will let you know, but in all honesty this one ranks high among all of my weekends, here or anywhere. 

A la prochaine!