Sorry for the wakeup call, but the end of summer is upon us!  Living abroad in France has been nothing short of an adventure, and I know the lessons I’m learning are ones I’ll hold close to my heart for years to come.  I’d like to take some time to recap my top 5 from the month:

1. The Fourth in France

Living in France has been incredible.  I’ve met so many wonderful people, eaten so many yummy things and seen so many incredible sights.  I do love this country, culture and people, but sometimes you just need a slice of home.  For American Independence Day, I planned a Fourth of July party.  Brownies, fruit salad, caramel corn (bless up), Coke and chips covered the table.  Even though we couldn’t have fireworks, I helped set up a mini photo booth with some crazy props, and you can be sure “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus made it onto my playlist.  Our group ate, danced, colored flags and answered American trivia.  Ça c’était très génial!  It was truly enjoyable and is something I’ll cherish for years to come.

2. Princess for a weekend

I literally still can’t get over it: I slept in a freakin’ castle!  My friend has nobility in his family (casual) and invited a group of us to spend the long holiday weekend at his family castle in the countryside.  Read more about my adventures here including proper castle etiquette and a tower climb.

3. Time to rest and reflect in seasons of change

Even though my days consist of work, coffee dates and grocery shopping, it still feels like I’m living life as if drinking through a firehose.  During our road trip to the castle, I spent some time in the car listening to music, watching the scenery roll by and letting the wind play with my hair.  But most importantly, I took time to simply think—to reflect, to summarize, to anticipate.  Living in Europe has been incredible, but in a few short weeks, I’ll be fully immersed in work and studies in America.  It’s hard having your heart on two different continents; it’s impossible to completely abandon one or the other.  It’s easy to live life full speed ahead, but I’m learning that reflection is a necessity.  Without it, we feel overwhelmed, lost and purposeless.  I certainly don’t have my life figured out, but I’m spending time to think about what I’m learning this summer and what’s most important to me.

4. New project

Writing blog posts gives me so much joy, but it’s been a dream of mine to go bigger and deeper.  I’ve started writing an e-book on—you guessed it—travel.  There are plenty of books on specific destinations and road trips.  But I’m taking a more practical and anecdotal approach on how we can travel better in areas ranging from documenting to mindset, photography to saving money.  This e-book will feature some of my best failures, victories and lessons I’ve gathered from living abroad and traveling.  Follow me on Instagram and like Round Trip on Facebook for more updates.  Coming Fall 2017!

5. A week in Slovenia

To be honest, Slovenia has never been on my bucket list.  But I spent a week there for a work conference and truly enjoyed it.  Right on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, I enjoyed clear ocean water, inexpensive prices and Eastern European culture (something I don’t know much about).  Post to come on my adventures in Slovenia!

It honestly overwhelms me, thinking that all of this happened in 31 days!  Here’s to bigger and better things in August.

Bises,

Kristin

{How do you take time to process your experiences?}