Down the rue where I live

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you move from one disconnected scene to the other and everything happens rapidly - one minute you're making dinner at home and the next minute you find yourself in the midst of totally different activities in different parts of the world? I feel like I've been living that sort of dream this past month.  39 lessons, 1 written and 1 final practical exam in 30 days, moving from one place to another - I'm not exaggerating when I say there was hardly time to catch a breath. I know I have a backlog of posts to share but in a nutshell, we had our last class session just this past weekend, I took the final exam couple days ago and graduation is tomorrow. In a flash - I think I've  lived through it to truly understand what that expression feels like. There was very little time for anything else, aside from eating out, but for now, let me leave you with the treasures I've discovered down the street where I live, where I take small walks just to wind down and yes, to breathe a little.

I'm so glad that now I'm  much closer to Le Grand Epicerie.....

where I can get decently good Iberico ham, followed by cheese from Quartrehomme Fromagerie just a few steps away

I love the enchanting shops along the street, with inspiring French designs and style, pulled together with elegance and nonchalance all at the same time - such perfect imperfection!

High quality artisan crafts to add that bit of variety to the holiday shopping.....

.... salon de thés dot the street, perhaps one in every 5-6 stores

where I had great hot chocolate, even better than Angelina's but let's save that for another day.....

All of that within a radius of a mile from the new place in a neighborhood which has a very different vibe from the previous one. I still miss the view of  Eiffel Tower but I do get a glimpse of another famous monument from my window (which you can't see from the photo below but it's there - trust me!). I wished I had more time to sit by the window and observe the Parisians go about their everyday life....

....and as much as I dislike the cold, I'm wishing for more snow, at least once more before I leave.  There's really nothing like snow flying in a flurry, sifting white, fluffy flakes on the streets and blanketing everything in white.......

Are you wishing for a white Christmas too?