Paris in the fall...

Last spring I decided to finally summon the courage to take my first big adventure.  I have never traveled before, certainly not on my own.  I have always dreamed of traveling abroad, but I have kept that hope at arm’s length.  I never made plans; I just assumed that it would happen in that mystical illusion of someday.  But, that kind of adventure doesn’t happen if you don’t take steps to make it happen, and I found myself in my 30s having never really fulfilled that dream to myself.

Currently, I am a returning adult student.  This means that in addition to working 40+ hours a week I am also trying to complete course work towards a bachelor’s degree.  The technical school I am attending has a study abroad program which includes a 10-day trip to France at the end of the spring semester in odd years.  I have wanted to do this since I graduated from there the first time around in 2007.  Now that I was back in school, I decided I was going to make plans to make this happen including taking 2 semesters of French (which I needed for my general studies anyway).  I applied for the 2013 trip, and then I wished and dreamed and tried not to get my hopes up.  It didn’t work so well, and I was crushed when I found out the trip was canceled due to lack of applications.

I didn’t know how else I was going to make my dream of France a reality, so I did what any heroine would do in my situation…I moped for a bit.  Okay, most heroines wouldn’t just mope.  But…after I got over myself, I just couldn’t shake the idea of going.  I was so close this time. 

For my French class, one of our assignments was to listen to French music to help us explore the culture and language more.  There was a song that kept playing on NRJ (sort of a Pandora-esque music streaming station) that stuck with me.  In researching it, I discovered it was the first single released relating to a production of Robin des Bois.  I am a HUGE Robin Hood fan.  A book or movie or TV show (or you name it) with some sort of Robin Hood theme, and I want to get my hands on it.  Anyway turns out Robin des Bois was a musical set to open in Paris in September of 2013.  I started following the news updates and video releases desperate to get my hands on anything I could in the hopes that one day I would find some nugget of a story that told me the musical was going to come to the states after it finished its tour of France.  No such luck.  And that is when I started looking at travel packages…you know…just to look.  I certainly wasn’t going to purchase a plane ticket just for a silly musical.  Besides, it didn’t hurt to look.  There was no commitment involved.

But, by then it was too late.  I was going.  My husband was supportive.  He had big adventures in his youth,  and he knew I never had traveled or had a chance to do anything like this before.  One of my dear friends at the time was planning a long tour of several countries abroad, and I had been listening longingly to her stories and plans.  So in March of 2013, I signed the papers and purchased a ticket and a tour package for Paris.  I was going the first part of October.  I was going to have an adventure!

Of course this is my story which means there is a healthy dose of neurosis layered over my enthusiasm, and I was afraid to tell anyone.  I was afraid it would be canceled again, so I didn’t plan as well as I should or get the right kind of advice. 

I did get to go to Paris and I had an adventure.  There were so many things about that experience that I am unbelievably grateful for.  However, there were also a lot of disappointments and frustrations that I had not planned for.  I have waited several months to reflect on my time there before I decided to write this travelogue.  I wanted time to absorb the experiences, sift through the good and the bad.  Now when I find myself thinking back wistfully, I know it is time to share that adventure.

There were ups and downs and not everything I share will be rose colored. But it was a beautiful experience and I can’t wait to share my story of Paris in the fall.