Never settle for anything less than your dreams

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Two nights ago, I asked myself plenty of what-ifs questions, one being: “What if I never came to Paris?”

The answer placed me in immediate despair and brought me to a 7am trip to Trocadero, where I saw the Eiffel Tower in all its glory but with no tourists bombarding the square like usual.

Even though it had been a rainy and grey week, I decided then that it was going to be a fabulous day and it turned to be exactly that.

It’s almost scary to think of what would happen if I didn’t end up pursuing the Paris dream. It would have been so easy to stay where I was because things were so comfortable already and I was scared of shaking the ground to make a new start. Just looking at the difficult process could quickly turned me off. We all know Paris is never going to be just about croissants and pastries. I also couldn't help focusing on everything that could go wrong instead of all the possible goodness that might come my way.

But just like my decision to have a fabulous day, I made the decision to pursue Paris and left Sydney. At this moment in time, I could tell you with confidence that I don’t regret making this decision at all.

I’m not saying that going to Paris should be your dream too. What I’m trying to tell you is that you must do everything in your power to follow your dreams. Don’t lose sight of it, no matter how rough or tough the journey might be because you’ll never know if you don’t try. If things don’t work out, pack your bags and go home. It’s as simple as that. I know theory is usually easier said than done, but I’m writing as someone who’s just done that and wants to encourage you to do the same.

Every decision you make is in your hands, this means only you have the power to make it happen. Start by telling yourself “I won’t settle for anything else other than my dreams and today is going to be a wonderful day”.

My Paris Photoshoot

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I never post pictures of myself here aside from my “about” page but I absolutely love these photographs that I must share it with you.

Before I met my friend Carin, I was always (and still am) a major fan of her blog “Paris in Four Months”. Her photographs are always so bright and wonderful and she has an incredible talent of working with natural lights which I really admire. It's easy to see and feel the love she has for photography and Paris.

Carin is an expert of the city and knows the best spots in town so if you'd like to have a special reminder of yourself, perhaps with your lover, your girlfriends or your family, I suggest you get in contact with her and take the perfect piece of Paris home with you. Please note this is not an endorsement. I only post about things I experience myself and really believe in.

I must particularly also note the fact that even though Carin did the session as a favour to a friend, she remained ever so professional and efficient. I have dealt with a lot of photographers on my end and she tops that list.

To Carin: "It’s absolutely heart-warming to see someone being so deeply in love with both their career and passion that they can’t put the two separate and that is you. Keep flourishing and aim for the stars. Love, Grace"

Thank You

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The other night after walking a friend home, I took a longer route home and what should’ve been five minutes, turned to thirty.

I was literally smiling even though I was walking alone. If anybody saw me, they probably thought I was a nut. But you know what? It was nobody’s business but mine. I was smiling because I was happy. My hidden lifelong dream had been to live in Paris and here I am typing this post in my tiny Parisian hole-in-the-wall apartment and I am so thankful.

It’s actually been nine months since I landed in Paris and within this time, there had been times where I sadly forgot to remind myself, the amount of effort it took to get my bum on the plane to Paris. The sweat (no blood) and tears that flowed, oof!

Now to give you a background story, Parisians are infamous for their once-in-a-blue-moon smile policy. No smiling on the streets especially to strangers, no excitement over anything less than extraordinary if that, and things can get really boring to them quickly. Little by little I’ve taken to this custom as you know, things rub off on you as you get used to it.

But there's never been a chance to take things for granted on my end because every single time I see all your comments or emails, you get me wide awake and you make me smile and realise even more how amazing it is to have the chance of living in this beautiful city. I would like to thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog, follow my journey and communicate with me. You encourage me to write more and share more and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Welcome Back

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Happy Easter to you. I really hope you have had a good break and forgive me for the little hiatus from the blogging world. After having returned for over a week now, my schedule left very little time to update but I can happily report that I am well re-acquainted with Paris and thanks to the loveliest girlfriends ever, my time here just gets better and better.

View of Sacre Coeur from Printemps Haussmann

You can't imagine how much I have missed my strolls having been away for a few weeks. Strolling in other cities is just not the same as strolling in Paris which is just the greatest thing to do and the best way to really explore this beautiful city. Alas the weather got me all confused. When I left for Italy in February, I could have sworn spring was around the corner but apparently it is clearly not. Last week, the sun came out for a little bit on some days then went away all too quick and it is still very chilly even today. But regardless of all weather, I just really took my time walking from day to night as if I'm telling the city "I've missed you..". Cue "aww"

Rear view of Notre Dame Cathedrale from Pont de la Tournelle

Pont de l'Archevêché

A sunny day in Île de la Cité

Au Vieux Paris

Place Dauphine and Pont Neuf as seen along the Seine

Seine in the evening

Palm Sunday mass at Notre Dame Cathedrale

View of Tour Eiffel from the top of Tour Montparnasse

So aside from strolls, the touristy side of me went up all the way up both the Montparnasse and the Eiffel Tower

I have always admired the Eiffel Tower but going up the tower really makes me realise even more the complexity of this structure. Just amazing!

Cityscape

Champ de Mars

Les Invalides

Clichéd French landmarks called for equally clichéd French food items, the likes of chocolat chaud, escargot, duck confit, frog legs. Checked, checked and checked. Foie gras at a wine bar called Frenchie? Checked.

Macarons? Aha! That was such a one-of-a-kind highlight.

I happily participated in the 2013 Annual Macaron Smackdown hosted by Milsters of Little Pieces of Light. We tested 150 macarons from the finest pastry houses Paris has got to offer and then decide who does it best. Best. Job. Ever. The outcome from this event really puts those macarons into perspectives in terms of who makes the best macarons depending on which flavour. For example (in my opinion!) Carette makes the best salted caramel mac, Pierre Hermé always wins on Mogador mac (passionfruit and chocolate), Hugo & Victor on their light & tangy raspberry mac, Sadaharu Aoki for the black sesame mac and so forth. To see the full description of the event, here’s the full post from the host herself. I’m also linking posts from the other bloggers who posted about the event:  Carin of Paris in Four Months, Vicky of The Golden Bun and Edna of Expat Edna so you can see what each of us thought about the macarons.

Easter Saturday at Château de Versailles

Marie Antoinette's bed chamber

I update my Instagram regularly and here's a collage of what I've been up to. You can also see snippets of Iceland in this collage and oh dear me, that was such an unforgettable experience. I can't wait to start up my travel posts again so I can share with you all the wonderful things I saw.

Being away from Paris made me homesick and that’s a good thing as it shows that I really enjoy my time living here and when I no longer do, I will definitely miss it very much. I know I say this everytime I return from my travels but really, there’s no place like Paris.

Why Everybody Should Travel

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I’m finding it rather difficult not to start this post by saying “forgive me for the lack of blog posting”. A major backlog of unwritten travel posts awaits but I have some downtime now whilst hibernating in my comfy studio apartment in Iceland and I’d rather share with you something that’s been on my mind.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you would have known that I upload regular updates of my travels. On one of the photographs, a page liker asked “Why are you travelling?”

I was really dumbfounded reading this because I thought travel is common and everybody is doing it. To have someone asked me that question got me thinking, how blessed I am to have this experience. I replied short and sweet, “to see new things, learn and experience different cultures”. But let me talk about “travelling” just a little more in depth.

Travel is the best form of learning.

Back in my schooling days, it was typically few minutes before my attention span went out the window. Travelling has got to be my favourite form of learning method because although I don't feel like "learning something" is the main objective, every time I come back from a trip, I have more knowledge, opinions and thoughts.

Travel broadens your horizons.

In arts, in biographies, in architectures, in history, in cultures, in languages, in culinary. The possibility of learning new things whilst travelling is endless. It allows you to see new things and learn about what it is. If you’re curious, you can research and find out more about it. Travel allows you to see that thing you’ve watched on TV, see in movies, read in books and glanced over in magazines.

Travel creates new social circles.

Travel gets you making new friends. You get to meet people from all corners of this world and hear about their experiences, their tips on places they’ve been to and plenty other fascinating information.

Start planning that trip!

Now if you can't travel because of health issues, then that’s different. But if you are physically okay and have the capacity to earn money then you have all the capability to save up and book that trip! It does not need to be luxurious nor expensive as there are so many alternatives available that are cheap, safe and convenient. Information is at your disposal whether it's online or via travel agencies. My favourites are TripAdvisor, blogs and forums. Bottomline is: planning couldn't get any easier.

Travel is relevant to your dreams.

It gives the possibility of making your dreams closer, taking it one step further or driving it to a completely different direction. Travel affects your mind in the most positive ways.

I'm signing off this post with a picture of Sagrada Familia, a church in Barcelona, Spain. This magnificent church (even though still unfinished) is only one of Antoni Gaudi's masterpieces scattered all around Barcelona. Spanish-born Gaudi is probably the world's most celebrated architect. His creations are amazing and I cannot stop gushing about his work. You know what? He too, travelled. And you know what else? I did not know who Gaudi was, until I went to Barcelona.