Well, all, I am so proud of myself *pats self on back*. These last two days I came home from work, took care of my dog, went to yoga, and returned straight back to my room to research the heck out of Europe. I’ve provided myself with the most fantastic outline for my two and half days in Paris. Having a general idea is my favorite way to travel. It allows a little freedom and plenty of opportunities to get lost taking it all in and yet ensures I won’t miss out on anything. Ya’ll. I’m so pumped.

Day 1 consists of a few record stores and the Eiffel Tower area. Day 2 is the Marias Neighborhood and the historic walk consisting of Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame, Latin Quarter and Sainte-Chapelle. Day 3 is the Montmartre area and the Champs-elysees area. Forgive me for any misspellings or miscapitalizations. I gave it a go and Paris will surely be a success!

This weekend a friend and I took a trip to a lake house at Possum Kingdom Lake with another couple. When I first learned where we were going, I assumed Possum Kingdom Lake was likely kinda gross and filled with possums and other creatures I’d rather not interact with. I could not have been further from the truth. I can best describe the area we stayed at as Arizona meets Colorado meets West Texas. The buildings were cottage-y like Colorado, the landscape was rocky and dry like AZ and the friendliness and windmills were all Texas. It was stunning.

We arrived Friday night to a sky filled with twinkling stars. I haven’t seen the sky so lit up in such a long time, too long of a time, really. The rest of the night was spent by the fire, soaking in the silence of the night (okay, and maybe a few drinking games).

Saturday we slept in, cooked up a big brunch and spent the greater part of the afternoon by the pool mixed in with a little four-wheeler riding. The previous night’s drinking and the pool day drinking had us pretty beat and so we hung out by the fire cooking s’mores for a bit and called it an early night. This morning my friend and I both went for beautiful runs. I chose a walking/running path that wove in and out of the lake’s shore line and up on to a field that provided breathe taking views. His took him through neighborhoods, climbing up rocks and animal spotting.  When I got back from my run, my friend was still on his and the other couple had already headed out for the pool. So I grabbed myself a bowl of cereal and my book and sat outside on the porch. Aside from my obnoxious cereal crunching, the silence was deafening. In Dallas I live in a relatively calm part of town and enjoy the gentle flow of people talking and cars driving by. But nothing could beat the beauty of silence. I can definitely now fully understand and embrace the idea of living in the country, it was unbelievably peaceful.

Anyways, a few sunburns later we got back on the road, turned up the music, and enjoyed this 80 degree weather that Texas graced us with. The trip was a perfect anecdote to the hectic week and daily busy life here in Dallas. I am so happily exhausted.