My husband and I have been planning this trip for months now. We leave in two days. And I still am almost obsessive about exactly what we should do and when, and thus, I visit these boards all the time.
I have found the information her absolutely invalueable. No question about it. I have learned so much, and everyone has been incredibly helpful and kind.
But there comes a point when I just have to let it go and remember that I%26#39;m not going to be the quintessential Parisian woman; no, I am an American visiting Paris, and the entire point of our trip is to explore and learn. I%26#39;m doing as much learning here on these forums as I can, but I must remember that a lot of learning will (and should!) come from my own travels, whether or not they include mistakes or blunders. Who cares!? It%26#39;s all a part of exploration and travel! And it will make our French adventures that much more memorable.
This realization makes a perfectionist like me feel a bit more at ease, thankfully. :D
Katie
|||
i know what you mean, only recently started using board for my pending trip ( left it til last minute) but have become obsessed with it ....though will be thankful when trip begins. If I hadn%26#39;t uused - I tihnk I would have ended up booking a family trip in an apartment in the red light district ! Info helps!
|||
I make very detailed day-by-day plans, just so as not to spend one moment going %26quot;what do you want to do?%26quot;...%26quot;I don%26#39;t know, what do YOU want to do?%26quot;...
By the time our trip is over, there are always plenty of places left to see, because we got distracted and did something else, or it rained so we moved things around, or we took a nap instead, or............
By the way, for others in the planning phase, the %26#39;Maison de France%26#39; will mail a package to you (might cost a couple bucks on your credit card for shipping) that includes maps, brochures and their annual visitor information guide. This guide is very lightweight (think Readers Digest, if you%26#39;ve seen that in the US) and has all the museums%26#39; opening hours and addresses, and loads of things to do... it%26#39;s great to tuck into the daybag so if you get stymied, you can pull that out and pick something to go see. I did pack a guidebook but never took it out of my suitcase.
http://tinyurl.com/bk7ny (Franceguide.com - Paris brochures)
|||
Yes - you really do have to go with the flow. My husband was so worried that I had every minute of our trip planned out. And wouldn%26#39;t you know it.... When it was time to visit St. Chapelle and another place they were both CLOSED at the time we went (that was not in any book, or listed on this wonderful board). It was just closed for some unknown reason. Fortunuately, we were close enough to a wonderful park and went there instead. My kids had a great time and I never would have made it there had I been able to stick to the plan. You just CAN NOT get stuck on a set plan.
I had to get over the fact that we were just not going to get to see everything. I plan to go back %26quot;someday%26quot; but probably by myself so I can do the things I really want to do!!!
HAVE FUN!!!
|||
I think you%26#39;ve got the right attitude Katie. We leave in approx 3 weeks and I%26#39;m following the advice of some other posters which is make a list of things you want to do and if you don%26#39;t do everything on it, it doesn%26#39;t matter but you%26#39;ll at least have a rough plan!
Enjoy your trip.
|||
I was just like you Katie! My husband and I went to Paris for our honeymoon in July and I was super-obsessive about planning the trip... eventhough we had a detailed itinerary we often strayed from it, and had the best time. Planning your days out definately does help, but we made sure we didn%26#39;t get so lost in %26quot;staying on schedule%26quot; that we missed out on memorable moments. I am a perfectionist also, but could not have hoped for a more perfect trip... some of our most memorable moments were things we could have never planned, like getting caught in the rain with no jackets or an umbrella, getting totally lost on the metro system, or discovering hidden streets in montmartre (while totally lost again), or not being able to find a taxi at 2 in the morning and hiking it back to our hotel in the 17th. Point is... you will have a fabulous time... even if you don%26#39;t plan everything out ahead of time! Have fun!
Ann
|||
Just remember, when you get home the stories people most want to hear are not %26quot;and then we made it to the Louvre at precisely the hour we had planned%26quot; or %26quot;we never once made a mistake reading the map%26quot;. They want to hear about your blunders and secret finds. Those surprises are why you travel, not to have the perfect vacation.
Otherwise, you could just stay home and watch a travel video!
|||
My Family and I are going to Rome in November. I started researching last Year, and now that we have 34 more days, I%26#39;m really on the computor all day, any way I can put Rome in a sentence and type it in search, I%26#39;ll read everything that pops up, and enjoy it. We are having a Family meeting about this whole Vacatiion, and I%26#39;m basically in charge of all the travel arrangements, and I really am fellin some stress now. But your title say it all, sometimes You just gotta let go, and let it happen. So other than searching for the ultimate Meal while in Rome, I know we%26#39;ll have blast.
I went to Paris last Year and had the time of My life. I am planning on going back real soon, alone to conquor what I want When I want and How long I want Vacation. Remember to give us Your review when You get home. American in Paris.
|||
Katie -
Do you ever recall seeing joie de vivre
on an itinery ?
It%26#39;s something that just happens to you
if you make room for it and let it be.
When we arrived on Tuesday, September 13th
(our 5th trip) at 2PM we laid down and
woke up at 5:30PM the next day ! We walked
around and got acquainted with the neighborhood. Never would have happened otherwise in that way.
Wanted to photograph in the Cluny but it was
closed at the time so sat and watched young
children play nearby. What a joy !
No matter how good you are at planning, STUFF
HAPPENS! Be in a place to enjoy it
and take it all in.
No comments:
Post a Comment