Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Almost two weeks ago I spent five wonderful days in Paris. I had been wanting to visit again for some time now (I originally went when I was 16) but when I made plans in the fall, then in March, they all fell through. But! Paris in May is fabulous! I'm so glad I waited. For the next several days I'll share bits and pieces of my trip.

First, welcome to Notre Dame.

We spent a long time inside and outside of the cathédrale. Though it was crowed (however, not to the same standard of Rome right now) I still somehow felt completely tranquil and at ease. The beauty and majesty of churches usually does that to me. I watched as people prayed and lit candles, knelt on their knees, read tiny devotionals, all while a mass of tourists gawked with their heads tilted up and mouths open. In the same moment I felt like both a pilgrim and a tourist. I couldn't believe the lighting in there! It was nothing like I had remembered. This truly is a stunning cathedral - the sincerest beauty is found on the inside. 

I'll be posting more on Paris soon! 

By the way, if you ever go to Paris in May or June, don't miss this! 

Museum Mornings

As part of my habitual goals for living in Rome the next six months I have been going to a museum or cultural heritage spot once a week. This past Saturday I met up with a friend for pasta in the piazza and a stroll though the Keats & Shelley Museum in Piazza di Spagna. 

It was a glorious and somewhat emotional hour reading about the lives of the poets (Byron & the Brownings included), their letters and drafts, looking at sketches and portraits, browsing the many antique books in the still active library, peering out the windows and wondering how the scene has changed in the past 200 years, glancing at objects once theirs, and remembering with others who wrote of the inspiration and influence of these great poets. 

I felt like I an English major once again. I got teary eyed reading about their tragic lives and deaths. Living in Italy never to leave, dying here only to become a monument of English influence in Italy. Oscar Wilde wrote about how he felt Keats' grave was the most holiest of sites in all of Rome. (He's buried in the Protestant graveyard in Rome, along with Shelley)

Okay, I know, too much detail.....

But don't you just love this new goal....I mean, habit!? So much inspiration flowing from these weekly visits, not to mention the excuse to practice photography and act like a tourist in a place where I live! It's a win-win. 

What inspirational habits do you have?

My 2nd Roman Saturday

There are a lot of pictures, I know.

But this was my Saturday (my only full day off at the moment) and I enjoyed it immensely.

Italian class in the morning,

wandering the tiny streets,

enjoying a cappuccino and panino with a new friend,

browsing a locally-made arts & crafts market,

resting our feet over a Spritz (a before-dinner drink)

and reconnecting with other au pairs for a dinner out (eight of us!)

I can't wait for this Saturday to come around!