paris

i've been to paris twice.

the first time, i was a senior in high school. i was pretty upset that my mom wouldn't let me go on the senior trip to cancun with the rest of my classmates... until my friend allison invited me to go to paris with her and her mom and her mom's friend. it was amazing. there are no words.

the second time i went to paris was with my hubby on our honeymoon last year. apparently i had talked about paris enough during our four years together that he wanted to go see it for himself. i had always wanted to go back there, to the most romantic city in the world, with the love of my life. and it was maybe the best trip i've ever taken.

i'm not trying to brag. i never thought in a million years that i would go to paris once, much less twice. i know that i am one incredibly lucky girl. i have stood at the base of the eiffel tower in awe, strolled along the champs-elysees, wandered through the halls of some of the most amazing museums in the world, shopped the seven stories of the galeries lafayette, mastered the paris metro system, gotten lost in the streets of montmartre, and eaten about a hundred million baguettes.

today's birthday boy is i.m. pei (april 26, 1917), the chinese american architect who designed the glass and metal pyramids that serve as the main entrance into the louvre in paris.