It’s the day before I leave for my weekend trip to Paris. I have so many things to do before I get on that bus to the airport in Pisa, that my head is in kind of a whirlwind. It’s not only packing (which on its own, I need to run a few errands before I can begin), but getting a few papers done for tomorrow morning classes, and finalizing my resume and creating a cover letter for a fellowship position I would like to apply to for when I get back to New York. I just got a mug of chocolate milk to help settle my thoughts and I shall prioritize my tasks for today.
Because you see, it’s not like this is just a short weekend visit to Florida to visit friends. That was easy. It took me all of 20min to throw the minimal amount of things into a duffel and then just hop onto a plane. No, this is different. This is Paris. I’ve never been to Paris before, and I don’t want to make the same mistake I did during the weekend trip to Venice. Don’t get me wrong, Venice was great, but of the two days I went, the first was spent just trying to get my bearings and the second day I did very little walking on my aching feet (rain boots are not the shoe of choice when doing a lot of walking, dancing, or getting lost). I feel like I missed a lot of the beautiful landmarks because I didn’t know what they were or where to look for them. So now with Paris, I don’t want to make the same mistake.
And Paris… well I feel like Paris, especially for those who have never been, is one of those cities where you just dreamily tilt your head to one side, gaze your eyes upwards, and let out a soft whispered sigh, “Paris.” From afar, the city is one of enchantment, global commerce, dreams, high fashion, and of fabled love. And I don’t want to overlook any of the wonders it may hold.
Am I excited? Yes of course, but at the moment it’s more of a muted anticipation, focused more on the preparation than on the trip at hand. I’ll leave the excitement for when I get my first glimpse of the Paris sights from my airplane window, and squirm in my seat with glee!
Have an awesome trip! I LOVE Paris and it is my favorite city in Europe. I doubt you will get this until you return but I recommend seeing all the architectual landmarks and if you only have time for one museum see the Musee d’Orsey. It’s a “modern” art museum in terms of it focuses on 1850′s art through mid 1900′s art.
By: Maggie on February 25, 2010
at 1:16 pm