Half-way to Paris!

When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to take French at another school (my high school only offered Spanish, and I had already absorbed two years). We were assigned a project to come up with something "French" so I wrote a cookbook. I found recipes that I liked in other books, and translated them into French, hand-wrote them on soft, recycled brown paper, then bound them myself. I was so very proud of that little French cookbook, and the most amazing thing is - I don't even like to cook!

I retained some of the French that I learned in that class, and can certainly read enough of the language to get by, but I've always wanted to go to Paris. To date, I've visited Australia, Mexico, the Bahamas, Canada, and a small little island in the south Pacific where one of the "Survivor" series was filmed, but I've never been to Europe. In my thirties, I would plan a vacation and fly off to unknown locales, almost always by myself, and continually enjoyed the adventure that awaited me. Now, I find I don't want to part with my money as much as I used to, instead preferring to invest in my quilting business.

But . . . I'm not getting any younger, and the yearning to see Paris has been growing stronger over the last couple of years. Especially since some of my favorite fabric designers have taken to using French motifs and references in their collections. Most recently, Fig Tree Quilts has introduced a collection called "Patisserie" by Moda Fabrics, and seeing those beautiful colors and designs helped me make up my mind to finally make those travel arrangements. But . . . you just can't jet off to Paris without knowing what you plan to do/see/eat when you arrive, so I stopped by Barnes & Noble on the way home and bought the above two books - Paris for Dummies, and The Patisseries of Paris. Paris for Dummies is chocked-full of very practical recommendations for getting around town, things to do and see, places to eat, and hotel information. Patisseries - ahhhh, what can I say? It's a beautiful little book with little tidbits about all of the bakeries that serve breads, cakes, tarts, pies, cookies, along with the most lovely pictures!

I also ordered the Michelin Guide to Paris 2008 from Amazon 'cause the 2009 version won't be available until April, and I'm going to the "City of Lights" at the end of March. I remember how useful the Michelin Guide to New York was when I moved to the Big Apple in 1980, and how I carried that publication with me everywhere.

My plans once I arrive? To see at least two museums each day, shop the fabric stores and flea markets for French fabrics to use in my quilts, take a boat tour on the Seine River, walk everywhere, and eat as many French pastries as I can! And take lots of photographs to share with everyone once I return!