I arrived in Paris on Tuesday, May 27th, with my bags all packed. Immediately, I headed for my hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport, and exhausted, I stayed there the rest of the night.
Wednesday--my last full day in France--I took a train into Paris, and met Carlee and her boyfriend Eric under the Eiffel Tower. It was their last day in Paris as well, so the three of us made the most of it.
Although the day was rainy, it was perfect. We ate banana-Nutella crêpes and strawberry-Nutella crêpes (so many delicious crêpes) all day long. We wandered around Sacre-Coeur, sitting on top of the stairs and thinking about this past year as we gazed over Paris. We explored the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery. And that evening, after dinner at the apartment that Carlee and Eric had rented, the three of us climbed the Eiffel tower.
None of us had done it before. There was no line, for it was raining; a chilly, misty rain. We climbed the winding iron stairs for most of the way, then took the little elevator up to the last platform. From the top, I saw Paris in the dying gray light as I had never seen it before. It looked almost magical in the rain.
After one final crêpe under the shimmering lights, I bid Carlee and Eric goodbye. I took the long train ride back to my hotel. I fell asleep. The next morning, I took the shuttle to the airport and checked in. I boarded the plane to London, and then the next one to the States.
After so many months in Europe, I was bound for home.
I know one day I'll be back. Not just in Paris, but in Strasbourg, and Morocco, and Germany, and Annecy, and Ireland, and all the places that I loved as well. Because I'll make it a priority. My mom says that you leave a bit of your heart in the places where you have been happy. I know I've left a lot of my heart in France.
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