telophase | (no subject)

(no subject)

asteres wants to know something happy about the day of everyone on his friends list. Fine. Don't blame me if it makes you feel depressed.

I found out yesterday about a one-day sale with insanely low fares to London on British Airways, emailed Mom, within four hours, we had tickets for ten days in London in December. And Mom suggested spending a couple of days in Paris this time.

Going abroad twice in six months. I feel so incredibly weird and yet so cosmopolitan at the same time.

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if I hadn't started my savings account this month, I'd have grabbed one of those tickets. However, because I did (and it's the smarter choice in the long run), th emoney I woul dhave spent for that is now safely stashed away.

That's awesome! That's good news! By all means, enjoy!

James

I have schizophrenic ideas about what's better in the long run. I read a travel book once where the author said that she got a big laugh when being interviewed on a talk show and they brought up the money question and she said that a newlywed couple should put their money towards something that would last, like a trip, instead of something that wouldn't, like a fridge. But she meant it. And I understand what she meant. I'm the type of person who prefers to eat ramen and travel isntead of eat pot roast and stay home.

But the money issue is moot right now -- what Mom wanted to do with her retirement was travel, and she prefers to travel with me instead of by herself, and she's willing to foot the bill, and I am all about being a total leech on that.

Thanks! I've been to London several times (she says with a world-weary air...), but never to Paris. I suggested to Mom that we do a side-trip to Paris this summer, when I did my internship in Shropshire, but we couldn't work it in, so I'm glad she suggested it this time. I'm now in the throes of trying to figure out where we should go and what we should do when in Paris for a day and a half. Once we get there, of course, we'll throw all our plans to the wind and do whatever, but we have to have plans, otherwise we end up sitting in the hotel room reading instead of going out. Heh.

I thin she finally decided on Paris after she told me a few weeks ago that her dad had been in Paris when he was in the service in World War II and loved it to pieces, but when he and my grandmother retired and started a bunch of European traveling, they went to Paris once and then never went back again. Mom doesn't know why. I'm guessing she started thinking about it then.

Following up to myself, of course, I should add that if I were *intelligent* I'd start practicing my writing so I could write about travel, and then I could take it off my taxes and get some small benefit from the occasional sale.

There are fiction writers that take travel for "research" off their taxes, too.

But I've got my camera, and plan on using it when possible, and maybe something good will come of that. I think I'm trying to figure out the most picturesque bits of Paris to go to, which is pretty hard because as far as I can tell, it's *all* picturesque.

Hmmm. In my opinion, avoid the Eiffel Tower. I really like La Defense (although that's more something you see from the freeway), all the new buildings... The metro stations have some gorgeous murals, and I really enjoyed Pere Lachaise Cemetary (Where Jim Morrison is buried, but he's NOT the best part). In fact, you could spend a week there ALONE.
Also I wanted to see the catacombs, but apparently they have specific hours.
Yes, the entire city is picturesque in different ways.
OH and the Luxembourg Gardens are pretty sweet, as well.

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