Paris Trip Preparations

I cannot believe that I haven't written about my plans to visit Paris since my post Year Of Paris Planning on March 25, 2017. A year has gone by with me mute about it! Even now I have people find out about my plans and say, shocked, "I didn't know anything about it!" Well, I don't talk a lot about it. Some of the few people I  mentioned it to got a cramped look on their face and managed something like, "Oh, how nice for you," which did not match the expression they were wearing. I quickly decided it was not going to be the type of thing to run about singing to the world, because not everyone was going to be happy for me. And it was such an astounding notion that I was going, I WAS GOING, that I was almost afraid to speak it aloud.

But when I said in my prior post that I was going to do it, I meant it. Directly afterward I found the perfect apartment. It is a 10 minute walk from Notre Dame and a 20 minute walk from the Louvre. It's in a square in Le Marais with cobbled streets lined with trees and the apartment is decorated exactly like you would desire the place you stayed in France to be.  I mean, the wooden beams in the ceiling that I will be looking at whilst I lay in bed are over 300 years old. They are older than the country I live in, just chew on that one. (To see some of the amazing places you can stay in for about the same amount as a hotel suite with a kitchenette, look at  Cobblestone Paris Rentals ) 

an apartment for two

Right after I wrote that post, I purchased the apartment for a week at the end of May. How's that for intrepid? I knew that if I waited, if I debated, there might be a chance that I, or someone else, would talk me out of it. Or encourage me to put it off. But if I had already put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, then it was a done deal. I was going. 

All was stars and rainbows, and then my dear friend who I wrote about going with me suddenly couldn't. There were a lot of variables, but the main one was her sweet daddy's health. I completely understood. A hundred Paris trips are not worth losing a second with someone you love that is ailing...

It was very good then that I had rented the apartment. That probably would have stopped me. Instead, I asked my youngest son to go with me. He was excited about the prospect of flying in an airplane, and eating good food, but not much else about my trip thrilled him. It was he who suggested I ask a different friend, give it one more chance to go with a like-minded girlfriend.

The perfect chance to show you the lap desk I found at Goodwill for $5. It is Paris Planning Central.

I asked, and she was over-the-moon. But then she told me that they were moving. Their house had sold without them having any idea of where they might move. They were leaving it to the Lord to say whether it would be here, there, or elsewhere. And in the uncertainty and upheaval she simply couldn't make plans to leave her family for a week.

I understood. Family always comes first. And so it was back to me and my nineteen year old boy. It was still going to be great, we would be there together in a new and exciting culture. And so I kept right on planning. Then my friend found a home. A wonderful one that was just right. And they were still close. My son said to ask her again. Isn't he the greatest? He kept telling me that he would go and do whatever I wanted, but he wished that I could go with someone who would enjoy it and be as excited as I would be. And so I asked, not fully hopeful, mostly holding my breath.

It even has a bar to elevate the reading/writing area to the desired height!

I told one of my sons that I felt very much like Gandalf in The Hobbit when he said, "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone." (Tolkien) 

But she asked her hubby and her kids and they said YES! And so, two months before I leave, I finally acquired a wonderful traveling companion who loves history, vintage markets, and food. She also happened to have an acquaintance who was a travel agent and could help us with getting plane tickets and arranging our travel there and back. (There and Back Again, a Sammy's Tale...)

Studying in a vintage aqua lounge set. It even has aqua pearlized buttons, happy sigh...

So, Dear Reader, it is really real. At the end of May we will leave from our small airport, fly to Chicago, then on to London. There we will have a couple of hours to look about at Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, and Buckingham Palace. Then we hop onto the "chunnel", a train that will take us under the waters of the channel and up into France. We will have window seats to see the French countryside pouring by in the colors of a Monet painting and hopefully begin to grasp the idea that Paris is our destination. We'll arrive in the evening, pop out for something to eat and just feel what it is like to actually be there. But it's off to bed early, because the next day will be the largest antique market in France... yeah, I got excited just reading that myself!

I have had three years to plan out the itinerary. Compiling information, walking tours, tips, and can't miss sites from various books. My Rick Steves guide book looks like it threw up sticky tabs. 

Did you know that the heart of Paris, where all the main historical attractions are, is immanently walkable? The furthest point from our apartment is the Arc de Triomphe and that is only an hour and 15 minutes walking time. That sounds like a lot until you realize there is an incredible amount of historical sites to see on the way, including the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. Good (but cute) walking shoes are necessary for this expedition.

The yellow sheets below have historic sites, restaurants, bakeries, antique stores, arranged by arrondissement from my perusals in many different books. Then I use the notebook to arrange these into the walking tours I had decided on, by neighborhoods- such as, Le Marais, Ile de la Cite, etc. The sticky tabs are add-ons of random things I find in books or on Pinterest and need to look up, map, and coordinate in that particular section. 

And, in between, I am still working on being conversational in French with cds, as well as writing out standard responses and questions to practice. If I really let myself think about it, really think about it, my heart starts beating out of my chest. It's not fear, (and if it is, it's the kind that makes you feel tingly and excited right before you do something amazing) it's the absolute incredulous wonder that I am going to see, touch, eat, and hear, all those amazing things I have dreamed about so long.

End of May, darlings, and I will regale you with seven days of Paris! My friend suggested we call it, "The Adventures of Sam and Andy". I rather like the thought! But until then I will probably be hushed again. Sit on the beautiful thoughts like a dragon nesting on its gold. And every so often, my heart will start beating so very fast...

"Paris is always a good idea." Audrey Hepburn