ThE cUrSe HaS LiFtEd

True, there was a period of time I detested anything French. But my love of good food, beautiful destinations and art quickly evaporated all ill will. Despite my desire, fate had other plans. And so it was that for the last six years I have attempted on at least four different occasions to go to Paris, whether a full blown trip or simply a layover, to no avail. Almost in fulfillment of this curse, it has never happened. That is, until now.

Attempt 1: After college I went backpacking around the world. My plan was to start in New Zealand, hop over to Australia, head over to Japan and China then jet over to Europe and visit friends in Denmark, Sweden, the UK and head to Paris on my own. However, while in Japan I was offered a job in the UK (dream!), so I cut my stint in Europe short and headed home to get my visa and pack up my life. I figured that a benefit of living in Europe was that I could easily hop over to Paris (or any other number of places) easily enough, so missing it then was no big deal. However, two weeks before I was to leave, the liquid bomb scare at Heathrow happened and everyone in the group's visa was rejected. They tried twice, but before the second round I rescinded my offer and moved to D.C., short a job and short a trip to Paris.

Attempt 2: I was heading to Sweden for a wedding and was allowed a layover. To make up for attempt #1, I wanted the layover to be in Paris. I even had a friend who's family was based in Europe (daddy-o was a diplomat) who was going to be there at the same time and we made plans to hang out. However, they messed up my ticket and I settled on London instead. Loved my stop in London but very sad about still missing out on Paris.

Attempt 3: The industry I work for has a huge trade conference every year in Paris, which someone in my department goes to for story ideas and gathering sources. The first year I (by all rights) should have gone, the economy tanked and no one went. My boss promised me I could go the second year... but he quit and they took the money from my department. So, I decided to go to India instead--and feel so great about my decision!

Attempt 4: When planning my student budget trip to Europe, my friend Rob and I originally discussed staying in Paris for a few days then heading to Berlin and London. After discovering that a flight back to JFK via London was more expensive than via Paris, he changed his mind. Thus, I had to figure out Paris on my own or find an alternate plan. At first I thought I had someone I could stay with in Paris, but she was hard to get in touch with and couldn't commit the time/place. I finally gave up again on the idea of Paris and after a failed attempt to see a friend in Liverpool, I made plans to spend the weekend with my parents in Belgium then meet Rob in Berlin. The plans worked out amazingly well for what was going on in my life, but I was still sad that once again... Paris was not to be.

That is, until Amy and I finally had time to chat skype on Christmas Eve. The original plan for our Euro holiday was to go to Switzerland for NYE and travel around until the 5th. But after finding out that Naomi had most days off that we were in Europe and thinking of expenses, we decided to forgo Switzerland and play with Naye then hit Paris for two days instead when she went back to work. I was really sad about Switzerland but was so excited of the prospect of finally seeing Paris, especially with a near native! Amy and I spent the next hour via skype researching how to get there, when to leave, where to go etc., and finally booked our tickets to Paris for January 3 via the Eurorail. Finally, me and Paris!

Alas, almost kismet, we ended up being able to do both Switzerland AND Paris. And guess what, I'll say it's because I didn't buy a travel guide for EITHER of those countries.