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Last bits to share from Paris! This carousel is mostly pics from the Eiffel Tower and miscellaneous videos of live musicians we ran into all throughout our trip.

Since we’ve been home, so many people have asked us how we liked Paris, or what it was like. It truly is exactly the way it’s depicted in media. The love in the air is palpable, every single person is the most gorgeous, well dressed person I’ve ever seen, and the art, food, and architecture are all jaw dropping.

One of my favorite things about the city was the way it encourages you to slowww down. Each meal takes 2-3 hours. Coffee is always served at the table in a mug. Oftentimes, the sidewalks are wider than the streets, filled with walkers, runners, and bikers. Far more commuters use the trains than cars. I understand now why Thomas Jefferson said, “A walk in Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”

I wasn’t expecting to be as taken by the Eiffel Tower as I was. I was expecting it to be like visiting the Alamo, cool to see, fun to think about, but generally over-hyped. However, that was the opposite of how I felt.

We sat in the Champ de Mars for hours and hours, staring at the massive structure like you might stare at a campfire, completely entranced. Everyone around us enjoying each other’s company, all creating a lifelong memory in that moment.

If you’re considering visiting Paris, I would highly recommend it. ♥️🇫🇷

“Paris is always a good idea.” by @big.ler

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6 days ago

This day is what our whoooole trip was alll about! Finally getting to visit Musée d’Orsay!!

Chris got us tickets to get into the museum 30 minutes before it opened (!!!!) so we bolted to the 5th floor. Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Manet… I have no words to describe how deeply impactful it was to stand inches from the paint strokes of some of my favorite works in the whole world. It was this room that drew me to Paris in the first place, and getting to walk slowly around the empty room, taking everything in, was so special. I may have cried… multiple times.

Also shed a tear when I turned the corner expecting to see Renoir’s Bal du Moulin de la Galette and in its place was La Partie de Bateau. The former was one of the pieces I was especially looking forward to, but it was away at a traveling exhibition called Renoir and Love. I was devastated, but didn’t let it take away from the beauty of the other pieces. (Everyone, tell Chris to take me to Boston over spring break to see Bal du Moulin de la Galette at the Museum of Fine Arts 😉)

I kept telling everyone I was much more excited for d’Orsay and l’Orangerie than the Louvre, but I was almost expecting to eat my words… however, that couldn’t have been further from the case. Chris and I were mesmerized by everything in d’Orsay! We planned for 2 hours but ended up spending over 4!! Even then, we had to rush ourselves along. Probably my favorite museum I’ve ever been to.

Next up was Musée de l’Orangerie. I’d been soooooo anticipating Monet’s Water Lilies murals. The two oval galleries dedicated to over 2,000 square feet of painted lilies were incredible to see in person. The rest of the museum boasted Cézanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, Renoir, Rousseau, and more. All incredible.

After quick stops along the Champs-Élysées, at the Arc de Triomphe, and through Petit Palais, we finally made our way toward the Eiffel Tower!! I’ll share tons of pictures and videos from this part of our day in my next post, but it truly is as magical and romantic as everyone makes it out to be. Everywhere you look, you see people in love, and you can truly feel the energy in the air. by @big.ler

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9 days ago

Started the morning off in the Marais! We got brunch at Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered food market in Paris, founded in 1615! After that we shopped around for a bit (I got myself a bleu de travail, which is so quintessentially Parisian imo) then headed to the Louvre!

It was exactly how it’s always been described, like drinking out of a water hose. We could not BELIEVE how many paintings, sculptures, and artifacts there were! We kept getting trapped in maze after maze of the most incredible antiquities we’d ever seen. We especially loved the Medieval Louvre, where you could walk in what was once the moat around the Louvre when it was first built as a fortress in 1190. We also loved the Egyptian antiquities wing, though we did feel as though we never need to see another Egyptian antiquity for the rest of our lives after walking through the majority of it hahaha. Sadly, the Code of Hammurabi was in a closed section during our visit.

After hours upon hours marveling at the Louvre, we went out to the Tuileries Garden where we… took another nap. There’s something about garden naps in Paris!

After a quick recoup, we headed down Place de la Concorde towards Rue de Rivoli, where we stopped in at 59 Rivoli for a studio tour. What started as a squat was later legalized as an official artist co-op and studio space. It was so cool seeing everyone’s different artistic setups and all their work. Really an incredible building.

As the day was getting late, we knew we really wanted to try some Asian food while in Europe, it always smelled sooo good when we passed by. So we stopped in for some Indian food. It was one of the best meals of the entire trip. We scarfed down our plates and wanted more afterwards.

From there we headed to the red light district for an evening cabaret show that took our breath away!

At this point it was late in the night, so we stopped at a market to stock up on meats, cheeses, butter, baguettes, and wine before turning in to the hotel room, where we ate some more, drank some more, and got ourselves giddy thinking about all the works we were excited to see at Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie the next day. by @big.ler

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14 days ago

Starting this one off with some photos of Versailles. This was our worst day of jet lag, and the palace was so wildly excessive and expansive that we actually stopped to take a catnap in the gardens before continuing through it. Eventually we snuck out through a side exit and wandered around the city of Versailles, which we were much more impressed by! Such a beautiful, slow, idyllic city. We stopped for a light lunch and shared the best almond croissant I’ve ever had in my life. I can’t stop thinking about that croissant.

When we got back to Paris, we set off for the Catacombs, one of the things we were most excited to see when planning this trip. They did NOT disappoint. I can’t put into words how it felt walking through these tunnels… definitely put some perspective on time, human legacy, and equality. Deeply impactful. Memento Mori.

That evening, we turned to the historic La Rotonde for traditional French escargot, langoustines, onion soup, and steak tartare. This restaurant dates back to 1911 and became a hub for the avant-garde artists and writers of Montmartre in the 1920s, famously serving Picasso, Modigliani, Diego Rivera, Jean Cocteau, Ernest Hemingway, and even Leon Trotsky. The original owner loved nurturing artists, allowing them to stay and spend the day with the purchase of just one coffee, and was even known to accept sketches and canvases from not-yet-famous artists in lieu of payment for their food. The walls became a museum of their own, decorated with the works of the artists who passed through.

Swipe to the end for a video of me trying desperately to convince the camera I enjoyed the escargot. My students were so repulsed by the idea of eating snails I wanted to encourage them to try new things! Even if they make you gag.. by @big.ler

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16 days ago

Wish we could relive this day over and over again!!

Climbed the cobblestone streets to the top of Montmartre to enjoy the view from Sacré-Cœur. Meandered through Place du Tertre, where artists set up their easels and create art right there on the street. Imagined Van Gogh, Modigliani, Utrillo, and Picasso passing through these same steps.

Dug through the Saint-Ouen Flea Market, the largest in the world (and the origin of the term “flea” market, though we didn’t see any fleas!) Ate traditional French fondue for dinner and île flottante for dessert, with (nontraditional) wine in baby bottles!

This view of the city was the perfect precursor to our coming museum days, introducing us to the city and allowing us to see it through the eyes of the artists whose art is the whole reason we chose to visit Paris.

As exhausted as we were, we couldn’t help but spend the evening with another late-night picnic on the Seine ♥️ taken in Montmartre, Paris by @big.ler

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19 days ago

First of many Paris posts to come (Sorry!)
This was night one, completely charmed by Notre Dame and the Seine. Ended the night with some jazz at Caveau de la Huchette and then more wine time on the Seine by @big.ler

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21 days ago

Back to school 🥰📚✏️📓📎🖍️🖇️

SooooOoOOoOoOOoOoOo eternally grateful for all the wonderful people who helped me create this gorgeous new room. Being in this space is such a breath of fresh air compared to my little closet last year hahaha by @big.ler

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a month ago

Me 🤝 playing outside

This summer I launched my natured based summer camp and had the TIME OF MY LIFE! I can’t wait to grow this program and see what all it can turn into. Tomorrow I’ll be back to the cinderblock joys of public education, which I also love deeply, but fulfills me in very different ways. by @big.ler

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2 months ago

Summering 🥰🎣🫶🍉🌞👙🍹💕 by @big.ler

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2 months ago

Happy birthday to the most perfect husband in the whole world!!
Going through my photos to make this post had me grinning and giggling looking back on all the silly times we’ve had and all the antics done to make me laugh.
Chris, I don’t know how I bagged you, but I’m so damn lucky I did. I know with you by my side my life will always be goofy, safe, and so so happy. I hope this last year of your 20s is the best one yet!!!!!! by @big.ler

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2 months ago

I love screaming at the TV with my friends. I love being from San Antonio. And I LOVE MY SPURS.

What a season. So proud of this team and so excited for what’s in store. GSG 💪🖤🏀🤍 by @big.ler

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4 months ago

Today is our one year anniversary. Being a girlfriend was sweet, being a fiancé was exciting, but being Christopher’s wife has been the most comforting, natural, and joyful thing I’ve ever been.
Christopher, I love you so much. I can’t wait for everything our life together will bring. You are my favorite thing. by @big.ler

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4 months ago