Day-Dreaming of Paris

 I'm supposed to be working on my Saturday chores, a routine I usually find very stabilizing and comforting: restoring order after a long homeschool week. But my heart just isn't in it today. I'm too distracted day-dreaming of Paris!

What began as a silly way of taking my mind off this harsh winter, jokingly dropping hints like, Everybody dreams of springtime in Paris... (But never truly believing anything would transpire as a result) actually became reality. Maybe it was my cheery greeting of, "Bonjour monsieur!" one morning that sealed the deal, I will never know, but shortly afterwards I received this text from Micah: "Hope you were serious. I booked flights."

And now I'm incapable of thinking about anything else.

It's been exactly twenty years since I've walked the streets of Paris.

The pictures I have of Paris are terrible quality. I did not own a proper camera, so I used a disposable camera (remember those?). Not to mention 2005 was long before any of us had ever imagined taking pictures with our phones!

It's kind of remarkable, if you think about it, how massively different we conduct our lives today compared to twenty years ago. I remember driving to a Barnes and Noble several weeks before my trip to Europe and purchasing a travel book on France to study in preparation. But the only real way of getting the inside scoop was to speak to someone who had been there. Now, I watch 3-minute YouTube videos on how to order a coffee in French, (my phone propped up in my bathroom as I go about my morning routine) and another video on the French girl style while doing the nightly dishes.

I've already secured the two main items for my Parisian uniform: a long trench coat and a silk scarf. Everything else is easy... jeans, knit sweaters, white blouse, pearl earrings...

This is what I wore in 2005...

You can see me clutching my handbag for dear life, haha! That's because I had been warned that pickpocketing was a real problem there. I never had any trouble because I had a secret... I was wearing a thin crossbody bag no bigger than the size of a wallet underneath my buttoned up jacket. It held my money and other personal items. I'm sure the larger bag held more easily replaceable items: water bottle, sunglasses, tissues, snacks? I don't remember exactly, except that I know for certain I had brought along a notepad and pen. 

Settling in on the terrace of an outdoor cafe, I ordered a cappuccino, withdrew my journal, and people-watched for a while. I jotted down what I saw around me, what people were wearing, and other observations. 

I tore my house apart earlier this week looking for that notebook and couldn't find it! I sure hope I didn't pitch it. (I've been known to have ruthless purging spells when I think my house is getting too cluttered.)  I just think it'd be charming and fun to see it again.

I plan to take a journal this time, too. I think one like this would be perfect...

Don't you just love the name? Paris is always a good idea... I couldn't agree more!

💐

~ Courtney