Paris, Je T'aime

In a little over a month I will be realizing a dream I have had for over 20 years.

I will be traveling to Paris, France for the first time. Paris. PARIS! Words cannot express my joy and excitement!

Thanks to my best friend, Wendy over at SpookyTimeJingles and MyBrainChild, who said, "You and I should go to Paris one day!". Because you see, I am not much of a planner or a realizer of dreams. I am more a-go-with-the-flow-of-life-and-kids-and-work-and-live-in-the-clouds-but-never-figure-out-how-to-make-something-happen kinda person. Luckily I have a sweet husband who planned the trip and took me to see Leonard Cohen in Boston. And a sister who planned the trip that got me to go to NYC with my sisters and mom and aunt. And the best-kind-of-friend who has planned the trip, booked the plane and hotel tickets and made our agenda for non-stop fun and adventure in the most beautiful city in the world.

Bonus: She and I love the same kinda stuff (except she thinks Finn is cute and I think Puck is cute) so I know there won't be any of that, "Oh geez, she wants to see the complete works of John Smith retrospective and I want to see the Mime Convention in the park"...Examples of our like-mindedness: We went to art school together, lived in Charleston together (and loved all the fun we had there), we both love cats and chocolate, Pride and Prejudice, Halloween, writing letters, romance-drenched movies and books, shoes...

The reason this is such a monumental trip for me is that I have had three trips planned for Paris in the last 20 years. In high school, my french teacher offered the students a chance to go to France. We would live with host families for a week, we would be immersed in the French culture and our french would improve or we might starve (how do you tell a French family that you don't eat meat, or are allergic to cheese if you are trying to flip through a phrase book?). That trip, after my deposit was paid and passport had arrived, was canceled due to the fact that the Gulf War broke out (damn, war!). Our school, and most of America, thought it would be too dangerous to travel abroad.

A similar trip was offered up again a year or two later by the Frnech department, I started making plans to go again and for some reason I can't remember, I couldn't go. Wah!

Then my husband and I planned to go to Paris for New Years Eve 1999 (you know, when the world was going to end). We began saving, looking into hotel and air fares...then a business oppurtunity came up and we spent our savings on a kiln and bisque.

So come HELL OR HIGH WATER I am going this time. For 7 full days, with my BFF. I am relearning French thanks to a Michel Thomas language iPod app. I can say "will you..." and "faster" and "dinner reservation" and "how much is this?" now in the language of love.

Goals: to eat escargot, to order cafe creme every morning, to NOT wear big, white sneakers announcing my American status, have the cliche photo taken of me under the Eiffel Tower, maybe one holding an umbrella on a Parisian street and follow Amelie's footsteps around Montmarte. 

Did I mention I won't have to do any fourth grade homework, cook dinner, wash the dogs' ears, mop any floors, do laundry or work as a secretary for 10 whole days (flying takes up 3 days)? It is like two dreams in one!!!

So let me apologize in advance for how obnoxious I will be as this trip gets closer and closer....I can't help it (and don't want to). In fact, my first Facebook post when we touch down at Charles De Gaulle will be "I'm in Paris, and you are not!!!!"


Now it's your turn: Je voudrais savoir ou quelque chose pas de vous....