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Hey there, I'm Kristin, a Missouri girl living in southern France and teaching English. I love planning weekend trips, sharing my best expat tips and sipping iced coffee.

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THINGS TO DO IN EL RETIRO PARK✨ A trip to Madri

THINGS TO DO IN EL RETIRO PARK✨

A trip to Madrid wouldn’t be complete without a visit to El Retiro Park, which boasts more than 300 acres. And it’s not just trees and benches in the park: there are art exhibits, a small lake, beautiful sculptures and many amazing photo opts. The park is massive, so here's three stops to add to your itinerary:

✅Estanque Grande de El Retiro: We spent 6 euros total between the three of us for a 45-minute boat rental. Can’t complain! We enjoyed the sweet sunshine as we rowed around this lake in El Retiro Park.

✅The Crystal Palace: Deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Crystal Palace sits in El Retiro Park just a stone’s throw away from a gorgeous pond. Today it rotates through temporary exhibitions, but it was first built as a greenhouse in 1887.

✅Palacio de Velázquez: A branch of the Reina Sofia Museum, Palacio de Velázquez is a short walk from the Crystal Palace and still in the heart of El Retiro Park. The building is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and houses temporary expositions.

Link in bio has 18 things to do in Madrid.

What are your favorite Madrid spots? Tell me in the comments😍

#madrid #ilovemadrid #madridspain #madridtravel #madridtourism #madrides #espana #crystalpalace #elretiro #elretiropark #PalaciodeVelázquez #EstanqueGrande #spaintravel #ilovespain #thingstodoinmadrid #thingstodomadrid #expat #expats #expatliving #expatgirl #expatblog #expatblogger #expatlifestyle

The French don't celebrate Thanksgiving, which mea

The French don't celebrate Thanksgiving, which means I worked a full day, BUT that doesn't mean I can't be grateful🦃 Here are a few things I'm grateful for this year:

❤️ Albeit thousands of miles away, a supportive family and our FaceTime calls together (also with my cat).

👯‍♀️ Friends — both the ones who make the effort to make my 6- or 7-hour time difference work and the amazing community of expats and Frenchies I've made in Marseille.

⛪My church family both back home and in France. Unbelievably grateful for what I've learned about my relationship with God through my time in France.

✈️The ability to easily travel to Paris for long weekends and last-minute flights to Madrid. Even though it's not perfect or exactly what I pictured, I'm living the life I dreamed of.

🤑A job to pay for my ice cream needs. No, I don't want to be an English teacher forever. I want to get back into the journalism + communications game, but for right now, I'm grateful for these gap years and the ability to provide for myself and still eat ice cream.

What are you thankful for?!

#thanksgiving #thanksgivingabroad #expat #expatgirl #expatlife #expatlifestyle #expats #expatliving #expatblog #expatblogger #paris #versailles #thankful #gratitude #reconnaissant #reconnaissante #reconnaissance #bethankful #grateful #turkeyday #happyturkeyday

I'm a crazy cat lady🙈🐈 Ask my family, ask my

I'm a crazy cat lady🙈🐈 Ask my family, ask my close pals — they'll tell you that I burst with delight when I see a cat. So keep that in mind when I tell you that this dog-themed restaurant in Madrid needs to be on your itinerary: @elperroylagalletaretiro

💃If you’re in the market for an Instagrammable restaurant, El Perro y La Galleta is calling your name.

We visited their Retiro location, which is ~obvi~ not too far from El Retiro Park.

🖼️🐶The upscale, sophisticated dining room is sprinkled with dog portraits and is sure to give you a chuckle.

🍔I ordered their burger topped with a fried egg, bacon, cheese and carmelized onions. And it lived up to the hype.

😋El Perro y La Galleta is worth a visit not only for its ambience but also quality menu, and luck for you, there are currently five locations in Madrid. Link in bio has my latest blog post with 18 things to do in Madrid😍

If you had a restaurant with the theme of any animal, what would it be? Tell me in the comments⬇️

#elretiropark #elretiro #elretiromadrid #exploremadrid #madrid #madriditinerary #madridtravel #madridguide #madridcityguide #dog #dogs #doglover #doglovers #madridspain #madrides #espana #spaintravel #spaintourism #expat #expats #expatlifestyle #expatlife #expatliving #expatslifestyle #expatblog #expatblogger

I dreamed of a life where I could casually take of

I dreamed of a life where I could casually take off to somewhere in Europe for a couple days🌟 After seeing Monte Carlo with Selena Gomez in the 8th grade, I was hooked on traipsing around Europe. And years of watching House Hunters International made me drool over the lives these people were living.

🙈And it’s crazy to say that I am living that life in Marseille, France, as an English teaching assistant. Because when my friend Robin who lives in Paris proposed a trip through Spain, I said, “Sure, why not?!” I quickly booked flights, we found an Airbnb et voilà.

Robin, her friend Riana and I explored Madrid, Spain, and had a blast rowing boats in El Retiro Park, eating empanadas at @mercadosanmiguel and analyzing art at @museoprado

I just published a blog post with 18 things to do in Madrid: where to visit, how to get into museums for free, Insta-worthy restaurants. Bop over to link in bio😍

#madrid #madridspain #madrides #espana #elretiropark #estanquegrande #ParquedeElRetiro #spain #spaintourism #jetset #jetsetter #expatlife #exploremadrid #thingstodomadrid #madridtourism #madridtravel #expatslife #expatlifestyle #expatgirl #expatblog #expatblogger #tapif #assistantsdelangue @tapifusa @assistantsdelangue @visita_madrid @madrid.explore @madridfoodguide

"Wait, are you in Paris this weekend, too?"✨ Las

"Wait, are you in Paris this weekend, too?"✨ Last weekend, on my train to Paris, I saw on Instagram that @katewells7 was exploring the City of Light.

I slid into the DMs to let her know that I'd be there, too, and we quickly made plans to meet up.

🙈Here's what's crazy: we hadn't met in person yet. We started following each other on the 'gram since before I even moved to France because I saw she'd participated in @tapifusa the year prior and I had all the questions for her about the program @assistantsdelangue

💬For over a year, we messaged over Instagram about TAPIF tips, her grad school experience and finding community in France. We exchanged postcards, she sent me a special notebook to document my cheese tastings🧀 And we FaceTimed multiple times to swap stories.

🤷‍♀️But I lived in Marseille, and she was back in America for a while before moving to Strasbourg.

And last weekend, we just so happened to be in Paris at the same time. We met up for brunch and walked up the Arc de Triomphe. There's most definitely a camaraderie among us TAPIF-ers even from completely different regions + académies, and luckily, that means always have a pal to adventure with❤️

Have you made any fun friends abroad? Tag them in the comments!

#tapif #tapifusa #arcdetriomphe #paris #parisjetaime #paristourisme #eiffeltower #assistantsdelangue #expat #expats #expatliving #expatlifestyle #expatgirl #expatlife #expatslife #expatblog #expatblogger #cultureshock #rendezvous #smallworld #instafriends #instagramfriends #nikon #adobelightroom

No one knows where I come from🧐Even among Ameri

No one knows where I come from🧐Even among Americans abroad, many don't know *too* much about St. Louis, Missouri or my university in Columbia, Missouri. "So you live in the boonies?"

"Eh no. It's a city, but it's like a suburb but it's like, uhh ..."🙈

And as small as it may seem, it's very difficult for me to not be understood. I lived 22 years in a certain way of life, in the middle of the United States, where I ate lots of Mexican food and went to to Target often, where I drove my car everywhere and dressed up for sorority socials.

And honestly, it's hard that most people in my life currently just don't get 95% of the rest of my life, of where I really come from. I have made such an incredible community here and am finding my place to belong — that's for sure — but sometimes I simply feel unknown.

That's why when I was walking along the Mediterranean on my way to meet a friend for coffee, a girl wearing a black and gold shirt caught my eye. "That's Mizzou black and gold," I thought to myself🐯

I passed her by and then quickly turned around and asked, "Pardon? Did you go to Mizzou?"

"Yeah, I did."

🤯🤯

We instantly connected, swapped numbers and made plans to get coffee. The world is pretty darn small, but also, God has been providing for me in huge ways.

Little by little, I'm finding ways to belong here in southern France: by investing in my French community and by finding other expats who have similar experiences and struggles.

Do you have any "it's a small world after all" moments? Tell me in the comments!

#expat #expatliving #expatlifestyle #expatgirl #expatslife #expatlife #mizzou #mizzourah #mizzoumade #mizzougrad #missouri #missourigirl #itsasmallworld #smallworld #itsasmallworldafterall #cultureshock #abroad #americansabroad #americansinfrance #menerbes #menérbes #vaucluse #provence #luberon

Can't stop, won't stop💪 This weekend I took a t

Can't stop, won't stop💪 This weekend I took a trip to Paris and Versailles to see my friend and fellow TAPIF-er @robinboch ❤️ On Friday, I taught in the morning and brought my suitcase to school so that I could leave immediately afterward for the train station🛤️

🎨 We explored le Musée d'Orsay and enjoyed the haunts of Monet, van Gogh, de Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas
☕ We sipped on the best hot chocolate of our lives chez @angelina_paris
✨ We watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night
🍕 I ate the best gluten-free pizza of my life @littlenonnaparis
🏰 We took a guided tour of the Château de Versailles
🏙️ I had a rendez-vous with former TAPIF-er @katewells7 and we hiked up all those steps to enjoy the views at the top of the Arc de Triomphe

I am exhausted after a packed weekend, but my heart is full for yet another trip to Paris where I was able to cross more items on my bucket list. And enjoy it all with friends!

@tapifusa @assistantsdelangue #tapif #tapifusa #assistantsdelangue #paris #jetaimeparis #parislovers #versailles #chateau #châteaudeversailles #chateaudeversailles #parisjetaime #expat #expatlife #expatlifestyle #expatslife #expatliving #expats #assistantedelangue #versaillespalace #palaceofversailles #versaillesforever

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