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The Answer

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Late in the day yesterday, I found a surprise rosebud in the memorial garden. Wonderful!

We had a lovely day together in Rhinebeck yesterday. Perfect sunny and beautiful fall weather. Don found a couple of books, I found two, as well, we had lunch at a pizzeria that has been there for years – we had paninis – and we walked around town for a bit. It’s a rare day when we are together on one of these little daytrip adventures. Usually, we’re running errands, etc., separately. Today, we’re going to run another errand together. Too much togetherness? Nah.

I’ll share a bit more of Rhinebeck with you tomorrow, but here is one of my favorite old houses on the main drag. I think it may have been converted into a business.

I love the charm of Carpenter Gothic homes.

As to our trip –

No, we’re not going to Michigan. (Don drove there last January to retrieve my stuff from my friend’s basement.)

No, we’re not off on a leaf peeping trip. We don’t really need to do that as we live in a place that is spectacularly beautiful in the Fall. People come from all over just to spend the weekend here.

No, the miniature show in Philadelphia is not until November and I’m not sure I’m going to go anyway.

No to any spot in New England – it’s lovely, but I used to live there, and both Don and I have spent a lot of time there over the years, separately and together.

No to Florida, though we do need to go there in the next year to see family and Little Z.

No to Canada, though my family is from Canada and it’s beautiful, but I’ve also spent a lot of time there over the years. No to Montreal, though we haven’t been there and do want to visit someday.

We’re going to Paris.

A few months back, Don stood up and said: “We’re going to Paris.” I was surprised, to say the least. But he knew how much I longed to go back there. Turns out he did, too. We talked about it all the time.

We had the usual discussions about timing and money and is this a good idea and all the things that creep into any conversation about this sort of thing. Especially from me.

We thought about it all day long and decided to go. I wrote to the hotel we stayed in last year and they told me they were booked through October 19th, so we decided to leave on the 20th and made our reservation. We got a pretty good deal on our air fare. We set aside money from our recent respective jobs for the cost of the hotel.

Then we had to pay additional taxes.

This week, I thought long and hard about it and brought the whole thing up to Don and said, “Maybe we shouldn’t go.” I reeled off a list of maybe-in-the-future expenses, some quite probable, some not. Our plane tickets are non-refundable, so we’d be out that money, but we could cancel the hotel up until 24 hours before our arrival.

Maybe we should just stay home.

We gave ourselves 24 hours to think about it. I meditated and really didn’t get any sense of direction. Every time I saw a photo of Paris, I felt sad. Anyway, later that day Don said, “Of course  we’re going to Paris!” I said I didn’t want to talk about it until the next morning. But by the next morning, I felt fairly positive about the whole thing (an answer?) Turns out, the day before, Don had secretly bought tickets to a production of Moliere’s The Miser  at a well known theater near the Eiffel Tower. So he had already made his decision.

So we’re going.

Here’s the thing: we wanted to go a second time because who knows what life has in store and maybe this is the one chance we’ll get to go. We wanted another week there in which we were freed from frantically trying to see everything and, instead, could just be. Where we could sit in the park for hours, if we wanted to. Where we could explore neighborhoods. Where we could sit in a cafe for an entire afternoon, should we choose to. Where we could walk along the Seine and hold hands and celebrate our anniversary and get away from the chaos in our country for a week.

So we’re going to do it. We leave on Sunday night, will arrive on Monday. And we’ll head back home the following Tuesday. We’re doing it on a budget. We just want to soak up the atmosphere and beauty of that incredible city.

I often react from a place of fear. I’m working on being practical yet not sinking into fear. I can’t control the future, nor should I try. But that’s what I attempt to do time after time. So many times in my life, I have made decisions based on a fear of the unknown or of what might  happen. Cautious Claudia was one of my childhood nicknames.

Life is too short not to go for it.

We’re excited. It was just yesterday, by the way, that we shelved our idea of cancelling the trip.

Anyway, there’s your answer.

Happy Wednesday.

Comments

  2. I’m so excited for you I feel like crying for joy. How fabulous, we’re all going to Paris again!!

  3. Yeah!!! I was hoping it was Paris. There will always be reasons not to do something. There is always the unexpected expense or whatever roadblock we conjure up in our heads. You will manage it all. And you will have the memories of the experience of a lifetime. Oh to wander in Paris as an old friend and not a tourist. I’m so happy for you both.

  4. Good for the both of you
    We are desperately trying to pay off our house before retirement in 2 years so we can’t do any big trips
    Wish we could

    • Since we bought our home in our mid-fifties, there’s no way we’re going to be able to pay it off before retirement and we’ve accepted that. So, on we go! Thanks Linda.

  8. Enjoy! If not now, when? I am finally realizing, I need to see and do things before it’s too late. I enjoyed the NYC trip visiting the highlights last year plus four broadway shows. Next spring it is Europe with stops in London, Paris and Rome. I will be 74 when that happens, so I am working on making sure my health and stamina are optimal so I don’t miss anything.
    I am so looking forward to your return to Paris to get some ideas on things to see and do.

  9. Yes! I am so HAPPY for the two of you…I think it is wonderful that you are going back to beautiful, beautiful Paris.

    Take Care,
    Kaye

  11. It’s wonderful that you’re returning to Paris! I first visited when I was a teenager in 1975 with two girlfriends and every time I’ve been back I just love it even more. I think I mentioned last year that it’s only a one and a half hour flight so I should make more effort to go when funds allow.
    Coincidentally I’ve just started watching Series 7 of Spiral which is a gritty, realistic French detective show based in Paris. There’s lots about the French Judicial System. It’s best seen from the beginning as you really get to know the characters plus the acting is superb. In French it’s called Engrenages.

    Happy Tuesday

  12. Oh…I am delighted you are going to Paris! If not now…when? And yes….you might say you are throwing caution to the wind. But….many things come up even though you might think you’ve planned for such things, there’s always something. So go. Enjoy. Life is short.

    Gorgeous rose! Quell surprise! ;)

  13. whee… a return to the city you love!! …so happy for you- this is exactly ‘what the doctor ordered’ to set you up for a wonderful holiday season-
    I am so delighted you stuck with your plans to go- sad experience has taught me that delaying things can mean finding them impossible later-
    looking forward to happy/beautiful pictures-
    as always, regards from Texas-
    barb

    • That’s just what we thought. I was worried that if we delayed things, we would regret it. Thanks, Barb!

  14. How exciting! Glad you made the decision to go. As everyone has said “there’s always something” when you think about it and weigh the idea, and we can talk ourselves out of things we think to be not necessary. In fact, doing something joyful is always necessary! ♡

  16. Have a great trip! One day about ten years ago, I had a flu shot. I had a strange and rare reaction to it, and it flared the rheumatoid arthritis I didn’t know I had until then. I life a joyful life but it’s not the life I planned. Go. Enjoy. Banish any second thoughts.

    • Oh, I feel for you, Linda. My mother had an upsetting life event that the doctors felt triggered rheumatoid arthritis. She’d been perfectly fine; was in her early 60s in vibrant health, so active. It came on rapidly. They said it had likely been lying dormant in her body for years, possibly ever since pregnancy. It’s a sort of mystery disease with so much pain and worry. They shot her full of drugs, aggressive therapy, kicked it into a remissive state, but a lot of joint damage had already occurred in her hands (hands particularly). She went to live on 25 more years, pushing age 90 and, indeed, didn’t get to live the life she thought she’d be living, but my dad and she managed to still have a contented, companionable, loving life with a good balance and routine. A lot of people don’t know or understand what rheumatoid arthritis is, but it’s the most vicious form of arthritis and it’s an autoimmune disease which can’t be cured. It’s a whole lot more than just aging aches & pains. Best wishes to you; I’m glad you didn’t give up on a joyful life (my mother didn’t either; she adjusted; it takes immense bravery).

    • Thank you so much for your kind words, Linda. I’m so sorry about the rheumatoid arthritis, my friend

  19. So happy for you & Don. Paris! And please know that I’ll be reading EVERYTHING you share because I just found out I am going to Paris too! Jan 5-20 with a friend whose daughter has lived there for 20+ years. We’re staying in a small apt. I have many of the same likes as you & I think I may travel similar to you so I can hardly wait to hear about your trip. Again, I am sooooo happy for you & Don.

    • Yay! I’m so glad you’re going to Paris, Luanne!

      I’ll try to take good notes on the trip. Thank you.

  20. I’m so glad you’re going. Sunday October 20th marks the one year anniversary of my brother in laws passing. He was only 62…totally unexpected. We try to “live” a little more each day in Steve’s honor. I will be thinking of you on the plane to Paris that day.
    Have a wonderful trip,

  21. Jolly good for you! It’s such a fabulous city — I know what you mean about finding a park or whatever. I’ve been there enough now that I can do that there and it’s quite a lovely feeling, not to have the pressure we impose on ourselves when we go abroad. I know some guessed this and bravo to them for being right! (Do try to go to the atelier des lumineres, though, and catch the Van Gogh — it’s only there till early December and by now tix should be easier to get.)

  27. Fantastic! I mostly come from a place of fear, too and question everything to near-death. We thought about going to Paris next September – just for a few days and then visiting our friends a few hours south of there. There’s two reasons that we’re not going to do it though: Tim is moving to CA next month and we want to visit him there next March (no way we can afford both trips) and then there’s also what to do with our cats. We need a house-sitter since the cats are on different diets and get fed several times a day, plus Clem also gets a couple of medications. We’re hoping my mom can come for a few days next March when we go to CA…would be much harder to convince her to stay here for at least a week! Anyhoo…I’m very happy for you and Don.

    • We were house bound for about 10 years because of the dogs so I understand. I guess that’s why we’re now traveling when we can.

      You’ll get your trip to Paris, my friend. Thank you.

  28. “Paris is for lovers ” and you are well qualified there Claudia so enjoy!
    I am a woman with a 17 year old car hoping it will make it to 20 ! since I have not nearly enough saved but I still went on a great cruise all round Britain in the summer to celebrate hubby’s 75th B/day and it was amazing. So we are back now and still saving for car but so what?
    Enjoy every minute,looking forward already to the pictures. Megan.

  29. Yes! Yes! Yes! If anyone deserves a trip to Paris, it is you and Don. All that love and good vibes you will bring to the City of Lights, and all that love and good vibes you will bring home. Much needed in this third year or fourth year, of darkness. I can’t keep count anymore. But you two have a wonderful time. I will be thinking of you sitting in cafes and sipping coffee while I am sipping my tea. Love and safe travels to you both.

  30. How nice. Enjoy your stay in Paris. The picture from Rhinebeck is beautiful. Glad you and Don found a few books for you to read and enjoy.
    Marilyn

  31. oh, i am so glad you and don are going back to paris!!! yes, it’s good to think things through (especially necessities like money), but it’s also good to do things that make you happy!

    safe travels and have a wonderful time doing just what you want … in paris again with the love of your life! :)

    kathy in iowa

  32. I am so happy and thrilled for you and Don. Sometimes we have to throw practicality out the window in order to thoroughly enjoy life and our senses. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
    It will be a week of wonder, joy and love. ❤️

  33. So exciting! I like your itinerary (“another week there in which we were freed from frantically trying to see everything and, instead, could just be). Bon voyage !

  34. What a wonderful plan!! I hope you enjoy every moment. Don (my life partner is also a wonderful man named Don)and I travelled there in 2015. We would leave our apartment in Le Marais early each morning and walk all day marvelling at all we saw and experienced.

    A museum that is a little off the beaten path is the arts and crafts museum – Musée des Arts et Métiers. It is a gem and holds some very interesting exhibits including Foucault’s pendulum.
    Le Musee Carnavalet is another small museum in Le Marais. It holds the history of Paris.

  36. Bonjour Claudia,
    So you visit Paris again.
    I hope you will have the time to visit other quartiers. Of course Quartier Latin, Odéon, Saint-Germain des Prés, Saint-Sulplice, La Sorbonne, Le Luxembourg are the best to visit for tourists but the Quartier Montparnasse is fine also. This was “my” quartier although it had changed and not for the best I think. La Coupole and Le Dôme are famous cafés frequented by many french and american artists.
    If you want to see a beautiful museum I recommand the Jacquemart-andré museum situated in a hôtel particulier boulevard Haussman (private mansion) with a beautiful art collection and the house is worth a visit as well as the Café (inside the museum) where they have very good quiches and desserts (miam).
    I am not sure the weather will be as fine as your last visit. Temperatures are droping here and I will advise to take an umbrella ! i am sure will have a ray of sun to take good photos.
    I give you the link of Jacquemart-André museum :
    https://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en/home
    and MétéoFrance : http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-france/paris/75

    Have a good trip.

    • We know the weather will be colder. So far, the forecast has a bit of rain on Saturday, but that may change.

      Thank you for the tips, Helene.
      Merci!

  38. I had actually thought Paris first thing, but was afraid too! LOL. Hooray for Don and Claudia and taking life by the horns! Or by the baguettes! I am more happy for you than words can say. If anything could life my spirits in the midst of the now, it would be leisurely time in the City of Lights, which has seen it all and endured with grace. And you’re going back to the amazing hotel! Truly a gift you are giving yourselves. Bon voyage!!

  39. Oh and I forgot to tell you that in matter of puces there are also the “puces de la Porte de Vanves” (weekend only). When I was young we went every sunday to the puces : we lived next door and walked there. We purchased then second hand books, music sheets for a “handful of cents”. Of course now times changed and it is difficult to find cheap things.
    And remember that 1st november is bank holiday here in France.
    Bon séjour à Paris. :o)

  41. Oh! I’m SO excited for you!
    Enjoy and savor every moment! So happy for you two to be able to do this!

  42. Safe travels (you’re leaving on my birthday) and have a fabulous time! Looking forward to reading all about it.

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