On The Road Again: Paris

Still utterly exhausted from Meghan and Marc's wedding weekend, I boarded a plane bound for Paris 72 hours later.  Somehow I had finagled a spot on one of EF's training tours - basically a trial run of a tour for our first time group leaders, so they are prepared for what it's like to bring a bunch of teenagers on a massive trip to the other side of the world (to which you may say that there is no possible way to prep for that!).

According to every Parisian, it was HOT with daytime highs in the upper 80s and low 90s.  According to me, it was hot but not as hot as the 100 degrees that was hitting Boston the same week.  With sunset around 9:45pm it was easy to make it to midnight without even realizing it was late - seeing the Eiffel Tower light up on the first night of Paris' official six weeks of summer vacation was spectacular.

We also happened to be there for the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France which unfortunately I just missed seeing finish on Sunday night but there was no shortage of excitement at the finish line that day; thousands of people staked their claim on seats along the Champs-Élysées up to 12 hours before the scheduled finish.

It was an intense but rewarding few days and I'm so glad I finally got to see Paris!  Remebering how to read an actual map when my phone failed and relearning a metro system in another language was humbling.  The real honor though was meeting our group leaders; they are such a dedicated group of individuals and it's truly special to see them get excited about bringing their students back to have the same experiences next year.  My French may not be any better (Spanish kept spilling out of my mouth accidentally) but I can say for sure that I can't wait to go back!

M&M get hitched

After a year of planning, one rowdy bridal shower and a bachelorette party house to die for, Meghan and Marc finally got married at the York Harbor Reading Room in York Harbor, Maine.  There was quite a bit of weather stress but in the end the sun came out just in time for pictures and an outdoor ceremony in a setting that was so quintessentially Maine, I could barely handle it!

I decided early on that I'd enjoy the day and not stress about taking a ton of pictures - Denise from emilie inc. is super talented and I seriously cannot wait to see her work.  Plus I had co-MOH duties that took priority!

Meg and Marc, I seriously have never seen you two glow more than you were last weekend.  Your wedding was incredible and I hope you had as much fun as the rest of us did!  I think I'm finally over the post-wedding let down and I can't wait to rehash when you're back from Mexico.  Love you guys!  xoxo

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Twice the fun

I've spent the last 5+ years attending a mind boggling number of weddings.  Naturally many of my friends are now in the baby stage! Diana and I met at our first "real" job in 2005 - I still work at EF while she quickly moved on to work for her parents' fitness club.

In true small world fashion, Diana went to high school with my dear friend, Lily, from college.  Even though Diana and I worked together for less than a year, we have stayed in touch over the years.  Last fall, she gave birth to fraternal twin boys, Henry and Graham, and I had the pleasure of spending a recent Saturday morning with the three of them and their proud papa, Brady.

Diana and Brady, thanks so much for letting me hang out with you guys!  I had so much fun, can't wait to watch these little dudes get bigger!!