Other stops on our Parisian journey included Le Musée du Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, a Seine River "Illuminations" Cruise, "Le Crazy Horse" Cabaret Production, and the famous Moulin Rouge "Féerie" Cabaret Production.

Just outside of Paris, we travelled to the Palace of Versailles. Having always been intrigued by Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution in general, it was a real treat to tour the extravagant home of France's Kings and Queens. The most famous area of the Palace is probably "The Hall of Mirrors", which was absolutely stunning (even on the rainy day that we had to endure!)

To top off my trip, I'd like to share a few of opinions & observations with you about French people, French mores, and French food! (These are based solely on my own experiences.)

• French people aren't necessarily rude, they just expect tourists to at least *attempt* to speak French with them first. Just saying a simple "Bonjour", "Ca va?", and "Merci" goes a LONG way.
• ...That being said...Actually being able to handle yourself en Francais in social situations (like in a restaurant for example) seemed to earn me greater respect from locals. Using phrases like "Je voudrais" turned out to be a good idea.
• Beware: if you ask a question in French and seem fairly confident, you will receive an answer in French! This makes for an awkward situation if you understood little of what was said in response.
• To be quite honest: there's no way to get around speaking French in France. You don't have to be perfect by any means, but you absolutely must know important key words. Very few locals I encountered could speak English fluently.
• One thought that kept racing through my mind throughout the entire trip: "Thank God I studied French for 3 years!"
• Locals thoroughly enjoy people-watching. In fact, I might even go so far as to call it shameless gawking! To prove my point, there are cafés on every corner with rows of chairs facing the sidewalk like an audience! As a tourist, this was definitely not an offensive or threatening thing, but I can't help but imagine this same scenario playing out in NYC, where the person being stared at would shout, "What areyou looking at?!" (HAHA).
• French food is...saucy. There's literally sauce all over everything you order, except for maybe onion soup.
• The French (and maybe Europeans in general, excluding the Irish and the English), do not "mind the queue". Mom and I were elbowed, shoved, and cut in line on countless occasions. I'm an easy-going person and I like to think that I've gained a lot of patience since moving to Ireland 2 months ago, but c'mon people! lol!

Bon voyage to mom & me!

Now to the point of this info. :)

In some ways, I feel like I can relate to what was said that night at the concert. The more I think about it, the more I realize that if I'm ever going to achieve the things I've been working towards and dreaming about for so long, I've got to continue "shaking off" all of the unnecessary, mental blocks I've created for myself.

Although I'm not afraid of failing, and never really have been (which, I suppose, is one of my greatest strengths as a young woman in a business that delivers more rejection than acceptance), I do understand what it is to be slightly jealous of others in a competitive setting.

In my case, I've struggled with the swimsuit portion of the competition at Miss Ohio for two years now. It was no one's responsibility but my own, and no one's great struggle other than my own, to attain the level of physical fitness necessary to be a truly competitive contestant at state.

If I'm being completely honest with myself, I probably spent more time talking about getting into swimsuit shape than I did actually taking concrete action. As I reflect on this, I know it was only because I suspected what a long journey it would be for me. I understood just how much effort and focus it would require. And really, I don't know if I was quite ready for it at that point in time.

I am not ashamed to share this truth with you.

Much has changed.

My own realization and acceptance of the facts has motivated me with such a fire that it's difficult to put into words. What I CAN say, though, is that reaching my peak level of physical fitness is no longer something I'm whining about; it hasn't been for over 5 months now (and thank God for that!). It is now an inherent part of Who I Am.

Here's the good news (and I dedicate this to anyone who may be wrestling with the same commitment that I have finally, and fully, grasped):

The closer I come to my desired weight and ideal level of physical fitness for Miss Ohio 2010...and let me tell you, I'm already closing in on my goals and it's only the beginning of October!...the easier it is to simply let go of the mental blocks that had previously held me back from my own, personal finishline.

In closing...

I posted another, new Fitness article! Have a look:

"4 Simple Ways to Manage Stress"

...is getting mail ;)

I don't know about you, but whenever I take a peek inside my modest little mailbox and see that I have a package waiting for me, it makes my day!

I've been extra spoiled lately because I received care packages from both my momand my older brother, Kevan (not to mention the fact that I ordered a book from Amazon.com. I have to say, I'm nearly convinced that international shipping doesn't take quite as long as people would have you believe—good news for me!)

In light of the fact that I couldn't find a decent box of chicken noodle soup at the "Eurospar" grocery store across the street, my mom sent me a few boxes of my favorite brand from home: Mrs. Grass!

Kaitlyn, my good friend and roommate from Wake Forest University, has enjoyed dipping into my soup supplies as well. :)

Little did I know that all the way from Memphis, Tennessee, Kevan was planning something very special for me, too! He sent me some hilarious pictures that he took with messages on the back, and a fantastic University of Memphis tee. It's my new, favorite shirt to sport around town. :)

On a different note, I have quite a busy day ahead of myself. Aside from working out and finishing my research paper for History of Ireland, I will be going to a Joshua Radin concert at The Academy tonight!

Joshua Radin is one of my favorite artists. He hails from NYC's West Village and, in my opinion, has some of the most beautiful, original material out on the market today. He may not be the biggest name in the recording industry (yet!), but I bet you would recognize some of his music, i.e. "Brand New Day".

Have a listen to these 3 songs off of YouTube and see what you think!

I'd Rather Be With You (2:48)
Brand New Day (3:33) ⇐This song has been featured in a commercials.
Star Mile (4:41) ⇐Doesn't this style resemble Simon & Garfunkle??

• Find out about why obesity has become the world's leading cause of cancer in my latest Field Development article.
• Get the "R&R" you need in order to attain the level of health and fitness you deserve! For all you need to know (and more!), check out my Fitness update.