Happy Sunday!

I've had a busy busy busy month since my last post.

I moved into a new apartment (pictures forth coming, in a week or so when everything gets hung up on the walls) and I took a little Tour de France (and 5 other countries.)

It was great. We stayed at Air BnB's and a few hotels and did Europe on the super cheap, which was great. I was anxious about the flight (I'm a little claustrophobic) but it was perfectly fine and comfortable.

My favorite secular parts:
The architecture in Paris! I've seen paintings of it and even pictures but didn't realize that the white stone with flower window box look is THE ONLY architecture in Paris besides a few Churches and other monuments. And it is gorgeous. I couldn't get enough.
Monaco. It's literally the playground of the rich. We saw huge yachts and gorgeous homes tucked into hills overlooking the Mediterranean. The beaches in Monaco weren't as pretty as in Cannes but from a cliff hundreds of feet up, who cares if they're rocky?!
Mont Blanc. It's the tallest mountain in Europe and the largest of the Alps and right on the border of France and Italy. There was snow on top which was melting, creating lots of beautiful waterfalls with icy green water that was the prettiest color I think I've ever seen.
Switzerland. Lake Geneva is set against an amazing backdrop of the Alps and is an adorable town for shopping (if you're rich) and chocolate and cheese.

My favorite religious parts:
The Cathedral in Lisieux. Hands down, without a doubt, my favorite. The Cathedral is GORGEOUS and Zelie and Louis are buried in the crypt. Lisieux is this tiny little town in Normandy of about 20,000 people who are surprised when pilgrims come from all over to visit their Cathedral.  When we were there on Saturday evening, there were only a few people in the Cathedral so it was perfect for praying and silence. Afterwards, I just kept remarking that a little girl who left the world for the cloister at 14 years old and her devotion to Jesus inspired all of this. It was awesome. St. Therese is buried in the Carmel there, which we did not have time to see. Next trip, for sure.
Lourdes. Because, duh. My soul felt refreshed to be where Our Lady appeared, but it was hard to pray there because of the sheer quantity of pilgrims. It really is a universal Church!
St. John the Baptist in Torino, Italy. This Cathedral is also gorgeous, but more importantly it houses the Shroud of Turin and the tomb of Blessed Pier Giorgio. It was quiet enough to pray, and my Spanish plus the tour guides' Italian was a good enough combination to let us know where Pier Giorgio's tomb was. His body had just returned from World Youth Day the day before we got there!
Notre Dame + Sacre Coeur in Paris. Both are too much for words.

Overall, I feel so so lucky and blessed to have been able to go on this trip of a lifetime. I am so thankful that I had a little 8 month reprieve from weddings so that I could save up some cash to get to take trips like this! (Anddddd now I have 4 in 4 weeks in October/November so there's that. But I'm excited! God is so good!!)

Also, my PRECIOUS Goddaughter, Gianna Marie, was born on Friday and I cannot wait to hold her and squeeze her and love on her, in one month!

I'm sorry there are no pictures on this blog post. Stay tuned!

St. Therese, pray for us!