goodbyes and the final month in paris.

i've been meaning to post this for a while now, but the parisian heat has really been bringing me down. the past days it has been about 30 degrees celsius, i dont know what that it is in fahrenheit. im too lazy to look it up, just know its hot!! "what is this," you say, "but you're from the desert?? its 120 degress there!" well, that is well and true. but arizona is built to conquer the desert, to work against the heat, and create a comfortable living environment. its 120 outside, but 60 inside and we very rarely venture outdoors. paris is not like that. everything we do is outdoors, and to get there you can either walk or take the metro [and the metro is the hottest of all]. but outdoors is better than the inside here! there is no air conditioning, nor even fans. as i type this, it is warmer in my apartment than it is on the open street below. im having trouble adjusting to this strange environment. winter i can handle, i know its different. but summer is too similar and different all the same time. i keep reverting to survival tactics i learned in arizona, but they dont work here. youll notice in all my pictures, my hair is curly. thats because im taking up to four showers a day. no kidding.

despite all of this, the past couple of weeks have been great. 29 june was the common leaving date for all of my international friends, so they wanted their last two weeks to be great. a few remain today, but not very many. the 29th was a very sad day, but i have made amazing friends doing wonderful things so im grateful for the time ive had with them. ive always known this chapter of my life would come to an end, ive been prepared for it. [but well see how calm i feel when the time for me to leave comes!]

the beginning of their end started with fete de la musique. it was basically a day-long festival of music, all across paris. we woke up early and got to tara's house by noon, with groceries in tow. we had a fabulous breakfast of sausages, egg, and baguettes. we begun drinking mimosas in preparation for the day! after brunch, we went to a club called glazart that was holding a music festival of dubstep and reggae. we stayed there for a short while, then went to see danny's jazz band play in a cafe.

the night of fete de la musique is when it got good. aoife and i split up with the rest of the group to meet romain and his friends. ro was working as a photographer for batofar, a techno night club on an old boat! the queue was unbelievebly long, but we stuck it out and got in. aoife and both adore boats, well, mainly any means of transportation. we dont have many pictures, but here are a few, taken by arnold, romains friend.

we also spent days picnicking, and sitting on the banks of the seine.

we also went to a party at a castle, in the suburbs of paris. it wasnt a real castle, but it was built to look like one. there was even a guest house, which looked like a mini castle. it was set in the woods, a large grassy lawn surrounded by dense forest. the forest hid swings and who knows what other surprises, while the grassy lawn housed a pool and a human chess set. i forgot my camera though, so no pictures.

we ended the last weekend on a good note, with solidays. an outdoo rmusic festival, similar to warped tour in the states. only this was techno with a little bit of hip hop, not rock. it was set almost outside of paris, next to the same park romain and i went to for his birthday. so naturally, on the way, aoife and i stopped and took a little break there.

and this last picture shows you the love that exists between my ame sœur/ jumelle [soul mate/twin] and me. who has unfortunately moved back to ireland. :(

[it looks like love, but really shes trying to shake all the grass i put in her hair onto mine.]

 and the story behind the "twins". one day, we decided to go to the local flea market at porte de clignacourt. we were walking through the many small, twisted alleyways past the outdoor booths and permanent antique stores. we passed an old french man, sat in a rocking chair. as we neared him, he smiled, rumbled out 'oh, les jumeaux!' and looked away. after that short, odd encounter, aoife became my twin. it is very odd living in paris without her, or any of the irish girls, of the swedish girls, or even my american girls. only the french remain. maybe ill actually learn some french now.