i want to go back to paris
 

hi fodorites,

i'm looking for some advice...

DH and i spent a week in paris and then a week in provence this past sept/oct. ever since we came home, i've been feeling like i have unfinished business in paris. i can't really put my finger on it and it's kinda driving me (and DH) a little crazy. i keep thinking/talking/planning/ researching about going back to paris.

i've traveled all over the world and i generally prefer visiting new places as opposed to returning to the same destinations time and time again. there are still TONS of places i haven't been to ... and yet, i can't get paris out of my system. i know where i want to stay. i've got a running list in my head of all the things i want to do. i've even looked into flights. it's like i'm planning a trip but i'm still not sure if i'm going!!

when researching for my recent trip (and then trying to quash this nagging feeling that i want to go back RIGHT NOW), i read a lot of posts on this forum. one thing i noticed was that there seemed to be a lot of posters who return REGULARLY to paris and/or other areas in france. i TOTALLY get it now.

i'm a hurry-up-and-go type of person and i will admit that our time in paris was rushed as i tried to cram everything in ... with the assumption that i wouldn't come back for a very long time. as i read other posters' trip reports, i'm green with envy AND filled with regret of not doing ABC while in paris!

i don't know if i have a particular question ... i guess i just want to know if anyone else experiences something similar to my craving.

as we start 2009, i'm looking at vacation plans ... or renovating our kitchen - ick! paris seems like so much more fun. but doing our kitchen seems so much more practical. as an aside, DH is completely supportive of going back to paris ... or anywhere else ... or doing our kitchen ... or ... well, you get the idea.

should i go back to paris? should i try something new? will going back make this craving worse (gasp)???

thoughts?

THANKS!

I am LOL here because I got back from Paris on 1-2-09 and am obsessed with going back. I have checked my delta miles, been reading the europe board..looking at my pictures. Like yourself, I usually like to go some place new - I am not "that" well traveled (like some on this board) I have been to Italy once, France twice and Switzerland once. (In Europe)

I want to go back to Paris!!!!!!! I have no money and no business to go any place but I keep thinking...oh I can use miles, get an apartment, blah blah... I want to do "this, this and this"... I am now firmly convinced that there is truly something magical about Paris.

I suppose I have not helped you at all eh? :)

Signed,

Dawn, deeply in love with Paris

The last time I left Paris I cried and immediately started making plans to return. Unfortunately it will be a while until I get back but I keep a running list of all the things I didn't get to do that I want to do next trip.

There is the chance that another Paris trip will make you want more - it's an addicting city!

lilaki - at least we know we are not alone. I am almost always ready to come home from my "vacations". I wanted to stay in Paris. I joked with dh that we could send the kids home and that he and I could stay a few more days alone...

We had only 3 days in Paris this summer and I will definitely go back. I think for me, I need a week there. I wanted to sit in the cafes and watch the people. I felt like we ran through the city and saw flashes of people :)
So, yes I will go back.

I've never been to Paris so I can't relate specifically to your conundrum, but the same thing happened for me in Greece. I've been there twice now and I know I'll continue going back. I feel like I belong there. I still travel to other countries and have so many other places I want to see, but every few years I'll make my back to Greece.

lilaki, you are in good company!

There's a reason that Paris continues to be the most visited city on the planet and probably the most frequent topic of questions here. Not sure what it is about Paris - in fact, suspect that it is not any one thing but rather he sum of it all - that has this effect on so many, including me.
Go to Paris - you can get by with that formica counter top another year!

I think I will have unfinished business in Paris forever.

I always choose trip destinations on impulse. Whatever place is being the squeakiest wheel on my long list of desired destinations is the one that gets greased. That isn't always Paris - but it's always a candidate.

I feel it too and wonder why that is. I went two years ago with my husband and 2 kids, a year ago with my daughter and now she and I are checking airfare & apartments and thinking of dashing off to Paris.

When I think 3 times to one destination is a lot, I think of my neighbor. He's in his 60's and told me last year that he and his wife went 18 times in 15 years. She died a few years ago and he doesn't regret a minute spent in Paris.

I hear you! I've also traveled to many places, but NONE calls me back like Paris!

I don't know how many times I've been, but I've been averaging twice a year for the last few. To feed my addiction I find less and less expensive ways to do this (apartment over hotel, off-season over on, etc.)

If I ever feel like I've had enough of Paris, I'll see a doctor because I know there will be something wrong with me:)

I've been to Paris more than once, and as soon as I unpack I'm planning the next trip!

But as a retiree and on a limited and shrinking income this might not be possible ever again (sob!).The only other concern is it's such a long , long way from Australia- never less than 23- 24 hours flying time, which is why I wonder whenever I read about Americans complaining about the time spent flying there!

I'd be there again in a heartbeat.(And yes, the craving will get worse!)

I try to quench the Paris thirst by getting to Paris to or from another new destination. One never gets enough of her, though!

Absolutely understand and share your feelings for Paris and many places in Italy. Why? I don't know. Some special site(s), food or shared event?

Get your kitchen done and cook French food first. Then go back to Paris and buy new cookware!

Sigh.....

Luckily I love Europe and no matter where we're headed, ALWAYS go via Paris! This May will be no exception as yesterday my DH gave the go ahead to book our trip to Ireland. I can't begin to describe the glow I feel inside knowing I will be back in Paris this Spring!!

Welcome to the club...

Forget the kitchen and go back to Paris.

Research shows over and over again that people are more satisfied over the long run when they spend money on experiences rather than things.

When you are old and can't travel any more, your memories of Paris and other places will give you a lot more satisfaction than your memories of granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, which real estate agents tell me anyway are becoming the new Harvest Gold and Avocado.

lilaki, you've certainly come to the right place! Yes, Paris has become an addiction for me, as well. This board will only help you feed it. EJ ((#))

lilaki

I hear ya.

I had the same feeling about Italy after our trip 3 years ago (Venice, Rome, Florence and Tuscany). I plotted and fantasized constantly about a return, took Italian lessons, and generally obsessed. (So much better to think about Italy than drab Central Pennsylvania weather.)

In 2007, we did a trip to England, Scotland and Wales, to humor the rest of the family and also because I do enjoy English history and literature. Fantastic trip...but not Italy.

After I made a desperate plea to my husband, we made a return trip to Italy this September (Bologna, Umbria, Montelpulciano). This was a more relaxed trip and, to some extent, it did help soothe my Italy obsession and that feeling of unfinished business. But there is something about Italy that will always call me back.

I know there is a great big world out there that I want to see, but with limited resources and time, I keep getting drawn back to my favorites. (If we explored more, we would probably add many more favorites, though.)

After reading some great trip reports, I am hoping to head back to Paris next year, after a 25 year absence. (Again, some unfinished business.)

It's a disease. For me, the treatment is a daily Fodors fix; gifts of travel "coffee table books" and calendars; language lessons (gave up on Italian and hope to revive my high school French); and dreams about the next trip.

Put me in the accumulate experiences over things camp.

That's a perfect way to phrase it "unfinished busines". My husband and I feel that way about Paris and Rome. That's been the hardest decision lately; which one to return to next?

Like the commercial for some insurance company says with its hook-line, "Yeah, I'm there."

Paris is always tugging at me. I read too many books about it, try to view every movie, read trip reports here and other websites...

My DH lost his job right before Christmas, so we have to be quite frugal until one or both of us get a job BUT, what are we still doing?
Planning a trip to Paris! Probably in April or May...but might have to stay at a Marriott, Hilton or (ewww) Holiday Inn on points!

She's a beautiful seducing city.