Did you miss me! I am back and this week is Paris, the “City of Light”. The other day, I was talking to my brother about his 20th wedding anniversary to Paris which I planned to gauge his excitement. While we were talking he asked, “How many times have I been to Paris?” I said 4 or 5 times.
The Very First Time
The first time I went to Paris was in August 2009, three (3) years after my first solo international trip to Rome. Don’t panic! I did travel between 2007 and 2009 but that is for another blog post. Anywho, I wanted to celebrate my birthday abroad and this time four friends came along.
So let me give you some background, two (2) of my friends knew French, while my other two friends and I knew how to say French Fries. So once we got to Paris, my French friends dumped us and it was just the “gringo” Americans trying to survive. Who needs them? lol Boy, did we have a ball! We did the Hop On Hop Off bus and was able to skip the line for the Eiffel Tower (I flirted with the security) and made it to Versailles. To this day it is my favorite memory of Paris.
Second Time
The second time was in December of 2014. It was my second anniversary to celebrate After Christmas/New Year’s abroad. Once again, I went with another great friend. Oh, boy was it cold! We also did the Hop On Hop Bus and literally froze to death and I had dinner in the Eiffel Tower. Did I mention we clowned around and in the Louvre?
Third Time
The third time was in December of 2016. This was another solo trip and other Christmas/New Year’s aboard. By the way, when I posted on Facebook about this being solo, a friend connected me with another person who was solo and we toured for 2-days. On this trip I didn’t want to do the Tourist stops (i.e. Eiffel Tower, Louvre) with Google maps and internet, we explored different parts of Paris.
The Fourth Time
The fourth time was in November of 2017. This was a recon mission for a group trip I was planning. My partner-in-crime and daughter came along. I had a chance to show them Paris and yes we did the touristy stuff. This trip was different because I got to see the excitement of first-time travelers to Europe. It was cold but we had fun.
The Soon to be Fifth
The fifth time will be this month — actually June 28, 2018. This trip well be so different from before. I will be going to my first international concert – Bruno Mars! Doing a photoshoot! Visiting the countryside of France – Cognac/Bordeaux region! and Checking out the French Riveria!
You are probably wondering who did the planning for my various trip to Paris. How do I say moi? If you are interested in visiting Paris, just contact me. Oh, and make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as I explore more of Paris and France, as well as other countries.
Lord willing next trip to Paris I’m going with you… just not when it’s cold Lol