I want to say I’ve been better at documenting the past few months on analog—been diligently logging my days in my Hightide Les Agendas de L’année weekly planner. I can’t say the same for my daily doodles. Most days, I’m on my phone, scrolling (or sometimes autoscrolling even) TikTok and Instagram endlessly.
Since my last update here, I did indeed get another short stay Schengen visa (what’s a girl got to do for a longer one than a month and a half?!) and made my way to Amsterdam to see Harry Styles (and Robyn!). The show was a dance party from start to finish and I’m glad that at 43, I can still last at these things (I say it like I’m a grandma, lol). After being so anxious about taking the Eurostar by myself to Paris, I managed to make it in one piece (luggage and everything). This time around, I stayed in Montmartre, which was an absolute dream for me. I got to live my Amélie dreams for a week. Unfortunately, I was there for the first round of the heatwave, which, even for a tropical girl like me, was terrible. But I got to go back to the beautiful Musée d’Orsay; have croissants, choux vanille, and other delicious pastries any time of day; and say bonjour, merci, and oui outside of Duolingo. Unfortunately for me, Paris is still my dream city and I’m grateful I’ve gotten to visit again. I made sure to make a trip to Barcelona to visit my friend Sandra who moved there a year ago. I can’t believe she’s about to become a mother! It was lovely to get to know her new home, spend time with her, and finally meet her person. The bonus was I got to see Sagrada Familia, which was jaw-dropping especially inside. It was the only ticket I booked an entire month before the trip, and even then, I barely got a ticket with the time I wanted. The way the stained glass lit up inside was glorious. I can’t describe the whole experience any other way than transcendent. You could truly feel something spiritual in that place. I’m glad I got to go see it in person.
It was a glorious barely 2-week trip where I saw friends, spent some well-deserved me time, and pretended I had no work. Of course I had to come back to stay employed and earn back everything the trip cost me.
I’ve been back for a month and it’s back to my regular grind. Yesterday, I baked a banana bread with espresso cream cheese and descaled my espresso machine. Today, I napped after a 3-hour breakfast. Happy to report that I finally finished Wuthering Heights after 4 months. In the past month, I have gone through the final season of Hacks (beautiful!), The Bear (emotional!), and started Not Suitable for Work (cute!) and DTF St. Louis (strange but in a good way!). I’m in the middle of Yesteryear (looking forward to whatever Anne Hathaway has planned for this) and have Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love since it dropped.
I can’t believe the weekend is coming to an end already and I wish the hours would stretch a bit longer. I’ll go make myself a fried rice with leftovers and maybe finish my book. But let’s be real, I’ll probably put TikTok on autoscroll until I fall asleep tonight.
