Remember this song? It was from the Sound of Music (a story I often refer to in my life!)
I was sitting here in the dark, in the little cabin in the woods, cozy in pjs and fuzzy socks and just reveling in how much good is in my life these days. What happened? When did the planets shift? Why so long?
Regardless of whether or not I am cashing in karma points, I don’t want to take a single moment for granted. Just to catch you up, we have finally recovered from our Disney Trip (financially and physically.) THAT was a grueling trip. We had so much to cover, see, and do – it was such a push to get to all of it. I would like to return some day, go through it slower, and just experience the place. Note to friends planning a trip: I think you will enjoy it, if nothing else for the childhood novelty, but try not to do so much in such a short amount of time.
Looks like I have about 3 months until my wedding! THAT is hard to believe. Now we are down to the wire with little details. Though I am going completely non-traditional, there are still many, MANY things I need to take care of before the big day. For one, we start our pre-marriage counseling this week. This is a non negotiable for both of us. We chose to use a Christian Counselor (since I have lots of experience with being spiritually unbalanced in my former relationships.) We are looking forward to possibly picking up a few new tools to make sure we get this one right.
I have some other news! We booked our honeymoon! And boy oh boy, was that a fiasco! We went from possibly flying to St. Lucia, to heading to the Pacific side of Mexico, to finally agreeing on the Dominican Republic… that was, until I got on Trip Advisor. (I have to tell you, I’m not sure if TA is our friend or the kill joy for Tourism.) After reading the reviews on a certain hotel I had my heart set on, we opted to bypass the foam parties/twerking contest hotel option. Apparently, it is quite the hangout for young people.
Then we went back & forth on cruises. Carnival versus Norwegian. Celebrity versus Royal Caribbean. Honestly, I’ve never taken a cruise. The idea of being locked on a ship with a thousand other people does NOT sound like a vacation. However, I warmed up to the idea. The price was right and the locations were doable. Except for one thing – They all left on Sunday at 4:30pm. Not a big deal, right? Ummm.. We live 8 hours away from the ports. Our Wedding is from 7 – midnight on Saturday. There will be drinking. Just. Not. Sure.
So we backed out of the 7 day cruise option and began to explore the idea of a shorter cruise from either Charleston, Tampa or New Orleans. Well.. it would be Mardi Gras in New Orleans, so the Tuesday port of call would be difficult to navigate. Tampa? Blah. Charleston – yeah.. I’d like to do that trip another time properly. And the destinations were sort of boring: Mexico… Bahamas.
Okay.. so we regrouped. And this is when I realized I had a keeper. I was randomly throwing out dream vacations: Santorini, Croatia, Bali, Bangkok… and Tim was genuinely trying to make it work. Either it was going to be too far away with travel time for the limited amount of time we had (did not want to spend 4 of our 7 days traveling.) Or the prices were double what we were interested in paying. (Which is why the Caribbean seemed so much cheaper.) Then he asked – Where have you dreamed of going? He was worried that I sort of shrugged my shoulders every time he mentioned Mexico.. or something like that. Heck, we even tried to compromise and look at traveling out to Sedona. Then… he said… What about Paris? I thought – you have to be kidding! That is my #1 since the beginning of time. Sure, I’ve traveled overseas and even to many, many places in America – but somehow, Paris has always alluded me. He said, if you can do it for “said” price, we will go. But the only caveat is that I have to plan it.
Not a problem. Can we say… Boom & Done!
Now the real fun begins… and that’s where you guys come in. I need help researching fun things to do OUTSIDE of the obvious. I’m fairly well versed in Paris (I mean, I’ve been dreaming of going since I was in elementary school.) So telling me I have to visit Versailles or the Lourve… I hate to say this, but – DUH!
Our flight leaves Monday night from Atlanta (Delta.) Overnight direct to Paris! We should arrive by 7:30am. I prearranged a shuttle for us. We are staying at the Melia Colbert.
Our hotel is located in the Latin Quarter of Paris on the Left Bank.
What I like most about this is that it is within sight of Notre Dame.
Not too shabby!
Then one of the items I have picked out for Tim & I is a little culinary tour of Montmartre!
Of course, the promo video is one.. what about the actual experience?
Macaroons, Chocolates, Cheeses, Bread, & Wine – Oh my!
I shared it with Tim and he smiled and said – Count me in! Score on first excursion!
Obviously, I want to hit one big thing per day – Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Louvre, Sacre Couer… etc.. and we will – but those hidden French experiences, I want those more than anything else. I did check out this website – Paris Pass. It is a little expensive, but seems to cover 60+ museums and an unlimited bus pass.
I think I have a good start.. and uh.. I need to pull out that old Rosetta Stone and brush up on my Francais! 
Destination Unknown 