HI.

So, wow. I'm home.

I'm amazed at every moment that these passed four months took place at all and even more amazed that it's over. My life doesn't feel ordinary anymore, and I think that's what counts. 

Yesterday, I celebrated my 21st birthday with family and friends. Today, I washed my car with my dad in my driveway. I ate a hamburger with pickles and potato salad for lunch. Tomorrow, I'm probably going to the beach. I love America and New York and Long Island.

In the meantime, I've been scanning tons of photos that I finally got developed at my local drugstore (as is evident from the inundation on my flickr to the right! -->)

I'll write a little about each place and feature my favorite photos as these days pass on. To start, here are two of my most frequented places, Boulangerie de Vavin on rue de Vavin and le Jardin de Luxembourg. This boulangerie had a line this long outside it every day from the hours of 11:30AM until probably 2 in the afternoon. The sandwiches, the quiche, the pastries... it was all cheap and delicious. My personal favorites were the chocolate beignets and the pavé framboise, two dense, buttery biscuits with raspberry jam in the middle. I lost count of the amount of times I got lunch at this place and walked down the street to the garden to eat. Even in the bitter cold of winter it was the most pleasant option, and in springtime it quickly became the only obvious choice.