Le films

by Ang
I was organizing my movie cabinet (I do this frequently, I'm a bit obsessive about it) and I was noticing all of the movies that take place and/or were filmed in Paris. I have quite a few! I'm going to try to watch some before our trip. It's fun to see different shots and areas of the city.

I can start off with some classic Audrey Hepburn movies - Funny Face and Paris When it Sizzles:

And then watch Charade (also Audrey Hepburn). I love this movie. It is a GREAT comedy and definitely in my top 20 favorite movies ever!

And then we can move on to the newer ones in the Action/Romance/Comedy catagories:

Then take a trip back in time with Marie Antoinette and the famous Opera House:


And how could we forget Remy??

And then I could watch ACTUAL French movies, such as Diving Bell & the Butterfly, La Vie en Rose, and Avenue Montaigne:


Oh, and we can't forget The Netherlands! Oceans 12 with it's wonderful shots of Amsterdam in North Holland, and Girl With a Pearl Earring taking place in Delft, South Holland:


Maybe these movies will help cheer me up if I'm depressed after our vacation! :)

Oh, and on another sad note, yesterday I learned that my beloved Domino magazine is closing . This is probably the last issue I will receive.


Goodbye Domino. :(

Pieces of Paris....Now

When we decided to go, sister started buying me things to build enthusiasm. Not that I needed any further help. But it's always fun to get stuff! I love staring at these little treasures. They just remind me of what I will see, in the flesh, in eight weeks. Here's a picture of my little collection thus far.....

I love it all. Ange bought me everything except for this little gem....

I ordered this off of Etsy. I love Etsy. It is a website that people can sale their homemade goodies. They have the cutest stuff. I'm going to use this little pouch for my ipod. One of the first things that Angela bought me was this box.

It's beautiful isn't it?!! When I got it my youngest son suggested that I put my Paris spending money in it. I thought it was a great idea.

Think that will be enough? (:

Oh, the Places We'll Go!

by Ang

I am a habitual list-maker. I always have multiple lists going, usually they are the typical ‘things to do’ lists, with a few variations like ‘long-term’ or ‘before xx/xx/xx’, etc. Well, my lists at this point are out of control. I have five currently right now. Three are Paris related, and two are related to the baby shower that Amy and I are throwing for our brother and sister-in-law in March (10 days before we leave – yikes!). The three Paris related lists are: Things to buy, things to do, and things to pack (the very beginning stages which only has one item on it--a small compact umbrella that I can fit in my purse). The ‘Things to Buy’ list includes things such as a backup memory card for my camera. The ‘Things to Do’ list is much, much longer. Right now there are 19 things on it. Some of them are funny. Like ‘Clean everything’. Seriously, that’s what I wrote. This includes the cleaning out of closets, drawers, etc. Another one is ‘Clip cats nails’. A lot of them are actually related to our trip though, such as ‘Copy all travel documents and give to brother-in-law’. This list grows daily.

My whole point in writing this though, is that it just occurred to me TODAY to make a list of things I still need to do as far as our itinerary goes. And I’m afraid that list is long. But hopefully it will help me after I post it here to get the big picture of what I still need to do. (I have become the designated trip info getter/map person/etc.)

As I said before, we have a rough day-by-day itinerary. Here it is:

Wednesday: Travel all day (arrive in Paris Thursday at 9:00 a.m.)
Thursday: Eiffel Tower & Rue Cler (and possibly Les Invalides – Napoleon’s tomb)
Friday: Louvre, Opera House, Montmartre
Saturday: Versailles
Sunday: Meeting & meal w/ Megan’s family, walk along the banks of the Seine
Monday: Amsterdam
Tuesday: D’Orsay, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees
Wednesday: Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower again, Boat tour of Seine
Thursday: Nothing yet
Friday: Travel

And here is the list of things I need to do & research:

*Can we buy tickets to the Louvre, D’Orsay & Arc de Triumph online so we don’t have to wait in lines?
*Print off info about Les Invalides in case we decide to go there (our apartment is situated right between that and the Eiffel Tower, so it’s close)
*Figure out which Metro line we need for each destination for the ones that are too far to walk to

*Buy tickets online for our Boat Tour and figure out which Port we need to depart from
*Look into the One-Day Pass for Versailles that grants access to the entire estate and possibly purchase online.
*Figure out which train we need to take to Versailles and what time it leaves and if we should buy our tickets in advance.
*Review the buildings at Versailles (some are only open in the morning, some are only open in the afternoon, etc.) to plan accordingly.
*Watch Marie Antoinette (with Kirsten Dunst) again just for kicks

Versailles has a nice website:
http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/

*Decide how we’re going to get from the airport to our apartment and vice versa. Discuss with Pascal (our French rental agent guy). Taxi, train, metro, shuttle?
*Make sure we know where Megan’s family lives and how to get to them.
*Research orange cards/photos
*Check on international texting rates (so we can text each other at the Louvre when we’re going to split up and do our own thing)
*Research a bus pass to see if we want to ride bus 69 to experience the crazy traffic.


Amsterdam deserves its own list:
*Decide what we want to do first (the Square, Anne Frank House, Canal Tour)
*Figure out where each of these things are located and the best way to get to them (metro? Walking? Canal bus? Tickets?)
*Buy tickets to the Anne Frank House online
*Figure out which Canal Tour we want to take OR if we should just buy a one day canal bus ticket and hop on and off as we please. Or both. ?
*Figure out how early we need to be at the train station for departure back to Paris
*Print out canal bus maps
*Learn some Dutch phrases


So now I have 7 lists. But I feel organized and now have a clear picture of what I need to do.

J’aime prevoir!

Ang

p.s. – How in the WORLD did people ever plan international vacations without the internet?

Believe It!

Oh yes it's true. I will be in Paris is almost 8 weeks. It's something I have always dreamed of doing. And now I get to go with two beautiful people! My sister Ang and my friend Megan! I wouldn't want to go with anyone else. It would be nice to visit the city of love with my hubby but he has no interest in going. His exact words were, "If I'm going to be on a stinkin' plane for nine hours there better be a beach waiting for me." So Paris awaits. We will be gone for nine days. I will definitately miss him.

I may even miss these guys too.

I most certainly will not miss this......

Or this!

In the meantime I'll deal with my dirty laundry, dishes and bathrooms. Until Paris.....

The Countdown Begins!

Actually, the countdown began a couple of weeks ago, when we purchased our airline tickets to PARIS!! Only 57 days until we leave. It all started when my amazing sister sent me an email that simply said 'I want to go to Paris and you're coming with me'. A dream vacation! There's no other place I would rather go. Our friend Megan is coming along as well. She has been there before, so she's been a wealth of information and will lead the way when we are navigating our way through the City of Lights.

The initial planning is done. We have our dates, our tickets, a round trip train ticket to Amsterdam and a place to stay. We rented an apartment in the 7th District, approximately 6 blocks from the Eiffel Tower. We have a rough day-by-day itenerary. It still needs tweaked a bit, but for the most part I think it looks pretty good.

But the list of things to do beforehand (at least for me) keeps growing and growing! First off, I have GOT to start reviewing my French books a little more. I have no excuse not to and I have an abundance of them. I don't want to be an 'ugly American' that knows nothing when I go over there. Look:

Is that crazy or what? And to think I actually almost bought another one today. I didn't, but I came close.

I also have too many of these. I can read them over and over, and never tire of them:

I even have some books IN French for when I get really good, if that ever happens. But when it does, I'll be ready:

So, on that note, I think I'll go study!

Ang

p.s. - we realize no one will read this blog, but we wanted to have a place to record our thoughts on the process and post updates and pictures when we're there.