“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 961 (Thursday) – travel

Kim and I were
stylish in Paris.

Once upon a time in the last century, my friend Kim and I went to Paris. The one in France, not Texas or Tennessee, or the resort in Las Vegas which we saw a few years later. It was the first week of November and we enjoyed sunny skies and crisp air. 

Ever since that trip, in the first week of November, I think “Dang, once I was much younger and was in Paris on this date.” Then I sigh. A lot. It was part of a fantastic stretch of a few years of life when I went to Reykjavik, Paris, and Seoul, and innocently imagined that my life would continue to feature frequent travel. Somewhere along the way, the crap realities of life set in and the international adventures were crowded out. More sighing. 

In Paris, our room was tiny with huge windows. A couple times we bought wine, bread, and cheese from a shop near the hotel and ate it for a light supper in our room. Breakfast each day was coffee and chocolate croissants in the hotel. We walked about a million miles, visited a million churches and museums, rode the Metro, sat in the sunshine in a park, and took a boat tour on the Seine.  It was a terrific week. Despite rumors of Parisians being rude, the only rude people we encountered were other tourists.

Paris!

With careful and strategic planning, clothes for the entire week fit in a small suitcase. We wore skirts or dress pants with chic sweaters, with scarves, hats, and low-heeled boots. Nearly everything we packed was black and we looked stylish and smashing all week. More like New York or Parisian women than typical American tourists. 

This will be the packing plan for Rome. Interchangeable, coordinated pieces, with maybe with a bit more color for the pre-spring season, like the teal suede loafers just ordered from Hush Puppies and due to arrive in a week or so.

I’m really looking forward to being a tourist in Rome. Walking training needs to start right away (more like last month). Gotta build up the muscles and the stamina to avoid being hobbled after the first day.