This week has been an absolute blur of sightseeing and practicing! I’ve established my routine (at least until classes start) of practicing as soon as I wake up so I can spend the day wandering and sightseeing guilt-free. I don’t know about anyone else, but it stresses me out to have practice lingering at the back of my mind all day, and it’s SO easy to come up with excuses later in the day – I need to make dinner, I’m right here at the Eiffel Tower (or insert other inconvenient location to access clarinet), I would love to take a nap, I’m tired, etc etc.  It’s also great to…

Ah, Sundays in Paris – there’s nothing like them (all two that I’ve experienced). Today was no exception, with a walk down Canal St. Martin and a stroll through Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Word of advice: hope you’re using a Stairmaster regularly, because it is a STEEP hill walking up through the Belleville street/neighborhood, and it gets steeper in the park! I copied the locals and sat on the grass while enjoying the talented accordion player nearby. Paris is full of “free concerts” if you just stop and listen. Speaking of concerts, I attended my first one tonight at Eglise St. Eustache, where they were having organ auditions via live…

So far, this week has been an incredible blur of Parisian beauty and sightseeing.  I’m enjoying my schedule of sleeping in, practicing new music, and wandering around the city.  Everything feels more leisurely in Paris, and the days seem much longer without a strict schedule to follow (which will change when I start at the Versailles Conservatoire in a few weeks!).  I spend my mornings practicing pieces for upcoming projects and collaborations (more info coming soon!), then I choose an arrondissement at random to explore.  Highlights from this week include: Les Halles Forum, Eglise Saint-Eustache, Pantheon, Palais Garnier, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Palais of Justice, Jardin des Plantes, Arenes des…

I’ve been MIA the past week – my apologies! My itinerary over here was hectic (Atlanta-Toronto-Reykjavik-Paris), but I enjoyed having a layover in Iceland, a country I never would have had a chance to visit otherwise. I enjoyed listening to music by Icelandic artists on the plane, along with learning facts about Iceland (apparently the majority of the population believes in elves!).  My brother has always wanted to visit Iceland, so I made sure to take lots of pictures to send to him. The worst part of such a long travel day is that I have trouble sleeping on planes, so I am still getting over the jet lag a…

  Hello Paris, here I come! I’m writing this during my 7.5 hour layover in Canada (ughhh). After this, Iceland, then finally Paris! I’m so excited and thankful for this opportunity, and I still can’t believe this is really happening! It’s amazing watching hundreds of people from around the world in this giant airport! Hopefully I will be writing on this blog more regularly once I get settled in to my new Parisian digs, so be on the lookout! You can also find near-daily snippets of my life on Instagram @clarinetistinparis au revoir!