paris here i come!

My brand new passport came in the mail on Saturday, which means... I'm going to Paris! After finding a super cheap milage ticket on Alaska Air, I booked my first trip across the pond!  I'll be staying in an artist's studio and even though it will only be for a few days, but I'm thrilled to finally see a little bit more of this world beyond our US borders! Domestic travel for me no longer stretches me out of my comfort zone. I feel completely competent and comfortable traveling in any city in the US, but international travel is definitely out of my comfort zone and I desperately need to push past that comfort zone. I want to fill this passport with stamps and need a new one before it expires because it's already full. I want to understand more of this planet and the people on it in an experiential way. I want to grow personally through stretching myself out of my comfort zone, and putting myself in different cultures.

I've had two different flights across the Atlantic that I had to cancel.  Not this one.  Not this time.

 
 
"What woman does not know this broken promise by heart? 'As soon as I finish this I can go. As soon as I can get away... when the springtime comes, I'll go. When the summer's over, I'll go. When the kids are back in school... Late in autumn when the trees are so beautiful I will go. Well, no one can go anywhere in winter, so I'll just wait till sprint... I really mean it this time.'
... Your dog will try to make you think you are abandoning a child on the highway, but will forgive you...
'I am going.' These are the best words ever. Say them. Then go."
- Clarissa Pinkola Estes Ph.D. Women Who Run With The Wolves

I am going.

So, friends, give me all your Paris advice and recommendations.  Food, drinks, sights, favorite bloggers, all the things!

I'll be there the first week of December, so I'm not getting the springtime-in-Paris experience, which I'm actually fine with.  I tend to prefer traveling on the off-season so things aren't overrun with tourists.

And if any of you are in Paris and want to meet up for coffee, drinks, or do a photo shoot, let me know!  I'd love to!

photo credit //  Georgianna Lane,  Tell Tale Blog, + unknown