On Wednesday, I was busy with internship meetings and an art history exam, so I sent Trevor to the Louvre. When he was done looking around, he met up with the rest of us at Accent, and we all went to dinner at an amazing little restaurant called Chez Gladines. It reminded me a lot of Comet, where there is always a wait, but the food is totally worth it. We waited for about an hour to get in, drinking wine and reminiscing on the sidewalk the whole time. It was such an atypical French restaurant - everyone inside was getting drunk and talking loudly - which meant that we really fit in. The food was traditional Basque food from the Southwest of France, and it was definitely worth the wait. Trevor and I split a duck dish with these delicious garlic potatoes. I don't think I've ever had duck that was so tender - I never wanted it to end!
When Thursday came around, I made sure to take the day a little bit more slowly so that I could really soak everything in. I wanted to be able to remember exactly how I felt about Paris during my stay there, and I think I did a really good job of savoring my last moments.
After attending Professor Busby's last class (another bittersweet moment), we took a class picture outside of Accent and then went to a Scottish pub in the Marais. It felt like one of those really special events, like homecoming or prom, where you never want the night to end because you're having such a good time. Our group got pretty rowdy, but that was okay because the bartender was loving us. We took a lot of pictures and when it was time to say goodbye to everyone, I don't think there was a dry eye in the bar.
I can't believe how fast four months have gone by. I only did about 75 percent of the things I wanted to do in Europe, and there were definitely some rough patches that I had to work through, but I wouldn't change anything about the way I did it. It feels good to finally be home, but I know that part of me will always be in Paris, waiting for me to return and have some more wonderful adventures!
