Is This Thing On? Life Update

In case you’ve been on a social media break, or just innocently missed all my recent posts, we decided to spend a month living in Paris. I first broached the topic in my vision board planning at the top of the year. Even with our extensive travel experience, the idea felt too grand. A month is a long time. And, though I’ve yet to reveal what’s next, our trip in total will last for a little over 2-months. I’m not a spring chicken, or nomad, anymore. We have things, and a home in Bali, and a staff that takes care of everything, and, and, and. 

That’s how I thought of it when we first began considering the possibility. I am an anxious person, and a writer. My imagination knows no limits when it comes to dreaming up concerns. There will always be a reason why I shouldn’t do something, when my mind gets involved. 

If you’ve read much of my blog, you know my go-to solution to this problem is a good ole’ PR spin. If I can create concerning scenarios to scare me, I can create exciting visions to encourage myself. So, that’s what I did. I started thinking of how great the trip could be, and admitting the desire I’ve always had to live in Paris.

I feel like my life gives me clues and then I’m trying to work it out. Like, ‘Am I supposed to live in Paris for a year?’ We’ve visited Paris a few times. Once, we stayed for a while (I think 5-6 weeks), but we were not in proper Paris. We were a train ride away from the city limits. Accessible, but not the same. Another time, we stayed in proper Paris (the Latin Quarter), but only for a week. I needed a longer stay to figure out if this is somewhere I’m supposed to live.

So, we packed up four suitcases worth of stuff, headed first to Jakarta (where we stayed at the Four Seasons, and it was magical). Then, flew to Amsterdam (Business class on Emirates, again, magical). We timed the trip perfectly to surprise Jarrell’s mom and stepdad on her birthday trip in Amsterdam. We stayed there for a few days and then caught the train down to Paris, where we got to live for a full month (and it was May, so a long month).

I’ve been sharing everything on my daily IG stories. My goodness, it’s gone fast. We have had a nice blend of touristy things, and doing nothing, as we most likely would do if we lived here. It’s been a huge shift, culturally.

Cities are aggressive, man. The energy is just so different. Everyone is racing around between these tall stone buildings that block all the sunlight. The architecture is beautiful, so I guess there’s a bit of balance, but green space is reserved for parks in cities. I forgot about that. Oh, and it’s cold! I never anticipated how cold it would be in Europe this late in the year. The sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 PM, so there’s light, but little warmth. After years in Asia, which is always hot, I’m officially a tropical being. Layers are not my thing.

What else? Oh, right, work. I was set on writing my next book here. It’s romantic, right? Writing a romance novel in Paris. Well, according to my tabulations (furiously types on a calculator), I’ve written zero words. Actually, I edited a chapter I’d been working on before we left Bali. So, I might have went into the negative of writing productivity. I’m laughing as I type this.

It’s been a really nice change of pace, and reminder to us of some of the lessons we’ve already learned. We are not city folks. We’re just not. I do not enjoy the fast pace. Jarrell does not like the necessary caution you have to embody with so much chaos surrounding you. (Side note: Pickpockets in Paris are exhausting.) It’s worth noting again, I need warmth, year-round. And more nature. I think even the French countryside might have been more in tune with what I need. 

We’re heading to Portugal next, for a quick stop in Porto before going to the states to visit our family for a bit. That is the real highlight of the trip. I’m really happy we added Paris to the itinerary, though. I’ve enjoyed myself and the experience, but I’m ready to wrap this up. I’m going to get my hair done again (here’s a reel of my salon experience in Paris), we’ll have a photoshoot, and see a few more tourist attractions. Then, we’re outta here.

I think this was kind of a journal entry, publicly. Sometimes I just need to write (and publish) something to get back to writing regularly. Thanks for reading. 

I’ll add more details about the trip as I can. I know people are interested in the thrift stores and areas we visited. I’ll share the details eventually.

XOXO