The Paris-Pastry-Per-Day-Diet

I'm currently on the "Paris-Pastry-Per-Day" diet. It's the best (though perhaps not the most effective) diet ever. With just a week or so left on this side of the Earth, I've decided that I need to fully enjoy Paris—et vivre la vie au maximum.

If you want to know what life tastes like, this is the diet for you.

Basically, you walk into a boulangerie/patisserie and you demand (politely) the most decadent, sweet, beautifully constructed, magnificent little pâtisserie that they've got.


And then, you enjoy it.

Now, one unfortunate side effect of this diet  is that you will probably be happier, wiser, and kinder for the rest of the day. If you happen to find the right pâtisser, and pick just the right pastry, you may even reach Total Enlightenment.

On Wednesday, I came close. The pastry, to the un-pastry-trained eye, looked odd—a light green jumbo macaron, ornately decorated with swirly sea-foam colored cream and perfect little red raspberries. When I took a bite, the world froze. Suddenly, everything made sense! All the world needs is Pistachio! and Raspberry! and Sugar!

Creamy, light, airy, sweet.
Delightful.

Yeah, It was THAT good.

But seriously, this "Paris-Pastry-Per-Day" thing is less about pastries specifically, and more—if not all—about living well in general.

Lately, I find myself going for walks through the city without a camera, phone, or journal. I just walk; I take in the environment.

It includes the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the sad.

No stressing about tomorrow, dwelling on yesterday, or keeping my mind and heart captive in another place.

It's about experiencing the moments of pure joy, peace, love, hope and understanding that are as ephemeral and sweet as a dainty little Parisian pastry.

This leads into the other theme that's been on my mind. I feel like it's important to document that my life here in Paris is NOT a photo-album, a movie, or a fairy tale...

I write a lot about my experiences traveling on weekends, and I tell cute little stories about moments—just brief moments—that are a little bit magical, funny, or interesting.

These moments that I write about are kind of like pastries—and we know that in life, you can't just go around eating nothing but macaroons and strawberry tarts and chocolate eclairs, just like no life consists solely of those exciting moments worth documenting in a blog or in a photo.

I guess, abandoning this silly pastry metaphor for a minute, what I'm trying to say is that living in Paris has been HARD, too. Living in an apartment by myself, being away from my friends and family, not being able to communicate quite properly with anyone for months—and generally feeling a little bit lost, judged, incompetent, and stupid—has been, to say the least, a challenge for me.

Now, these are not the worst challenges a girl can face, nor are they unique. Anyone living in an unfamiliar place and culture would experience similar adversity (which, by the way, is something we all should try to remember about one another).

But still, I'm just being honest and real. It's not always a good time.

The challenges and the constant pressure of the unfamiliar have shattered the shell around me of what once seemed comfortable, normal, and right. Though difficult at times, that change has been the most valuable part of this experience. I know that the greatest souvenirs that I'll pack up and take home are the lessons and new-found strength that spawned from those challenging times.

So, realistically, life in Paris has been filled mostly with moments ranging from ordinary (if you choose to see them as such) to challenging. That, however, only makes the magical moments that much more enchanting...

and the pastries that much more sweet.

:)