eight days away from traveling and not a single bag packed.
i’m planning to take only one bag, by the way— either my backpack or B’s pack, plus a small messenger bag as a purse/water/guidebook/camera holder. i’m also bringing a duffel bag that folds up so that i’ll have extra luggage to carry stuff home. i don’t plan to buy much except perfume. and maybe some shampoo. oh, who am i kidding, i’ll come back so loaded down with stuff it’ll be embarrassing. longchamp bags because they’re cheaper than in the states. mariage freres tea because it’s cheaper and i’ll be able to smell all 500 selections and choose what i want instead of orderling online based on description. a couple of cheap wrap scarves because i love them and again, they’re much cheaper overseas. postcards, rhodia paper pads, soap, champagne (it’ll have to be at least a half bottle). my two weeks abroad is slowly becoming a giant shopping spree. oh, lord.
i do plan on not shopping at all some days— i can’t wait to simply live and breathe and soak in the sun of provence. and think about van gogh. drink volvic and vittel water, gorge on yogurt and escargot chocolats, write in my journal, share dinners and table wine with my family. i can’t wait to just be in another country, another atmosphere, away from work and home and traffic noise and the copy machine. a true vacation!
i’ll be spending the first 3 nights with my 18-year-old cousin in paris. C’s a cool kid; he starts college this fall and we have a couple things in common. i asked him in the spring: are you cool with sharing a room with me in paris? and he said, yeah, no problem. paris is blessed with a killer nightlife and i plan on taking advantage of this. our hotel is in the 6th— quite possibly my favorite arrondisement— and nearer to the seine there’s all sorts of late night restaurants and bars.
i told him, look, all i’m interested in doing in paris is perfume sniffing and absorbing the city. you can come along with me on those adventures or not. he seemed cool with that. i don’t think he’s too much into museums or touristy stuff and at this point, neither am i. i think we’ll make a good team.
after three nights in paris we’re taking a train down to avignon to meet my dad, his mom and uncle D. we’ll be staying in st. remy for five or six nights; i can’t remember. from there, i may go back to reims or may head back to paris with C. he flies out a day before me, leaving me with a whole day in the city alone. one last huzzah to load up my bags before coming home.