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.

<i>will going back make this craving worse (gasp)???</i>

Honestly, yes.

The yearning for a second visit is stonger than the initail desire to visit Paris.

The call of the third visit is louder than the second.

The pull of the fourth visit is stronger than the third.

That's as I far as I can comment first hand. I do see an evil pattern though...

Now I want to go back to Paris, too. Thanks a lot! (:-) )

What's the best of the off-season months to visit Paris? I can't see myself going in January, for example, since I am freezing in San Francisco, when it's 48 degrees F!

I did not mind the cold too much if you dress right. I think I should have brought long underwear - not just tights - since I am a southern California gal.. I LOVED being there in the cold..something was special about it. Crazy? Perhaps.

105 trips and I'm still craving more....

lilaki,

I totally relate. It feels like I lived in Paris in a past life. I belonged the moment I set foot in the city.

After the first time I went, I literally never shut up about it. I obsessed to the point that my husband bought me a plane ticket and told me to just go again already. :)

I figured the second time would help get it out of my system. Nope! Still can't wait to go back!

I think you have found that many of us are fond of Paris.

I have been going for many years. I now like to stay for a month at a time just so the flight does not come around so soon. The flight is the worst part of the trip. I was there last April and a month mid Set-mid Oct and a short 12 days trip the first half of Dec. I am now all set for mid April to mid May.

I am working on my dining now..all takes time.

Enjoy your planning..that is half the fun of it all..

Enjoy....

Joan

Welcome to Paris Anonymous....my friends don't understand why I am not seeing something new each year. But I always find something new in Paris, and for some reason when I am there I feel at &quot;home.&quot; Don't speak the language, don't have any French background, but the city makes my soul swell. I hope someday to emulate Joan and stay for a month or more at a time. But for now I need to continue working so I can feed this addiction and can't blow all my vacation on one visit.

While I love Paris, for me I just can't get London out of my mind. I love the city. I was just there this past May and am going back in late Feb. I've tried to rationalize that I'm going back because I want to see a friend who's in school over there and it's a free place to stay, but really I just want to go back and be in the mix of everything LONDON!

Wow. I'm impressed with St. Cirq's 105 visits. I was feeling pretty smug with 30, but no matter the number, there is always for some of us a desire to return again and again. One thing I've found to help, is always to keep a Paris folder and drop in notes about new places to visit, new restaurants to try, etc. It fulfills a need to feel connected to the place even as it increases the longing to go again right now. The problem for me is that I've recently developed an almost similar addiction for Barcelona. So now I keep two permanent &quot;next time&quot; files that compete with each other. The more you get, the more you want. It's just how it is.

I titled my last Paris report &quot;Paris Again?&quot; because that is what our friends always say to us. Of course, none of them have ever been there.

In comparison to some on this post, we are Paris novices at 6 times, but there is just something about the way we feel in Paris that calls us back.

We usually add another place on to our Paris trips, but Paris is the city we relive over and over again in our photos and dreams.

Getting to chat about it on Fodors keeps the dream alive.

wow!!! thank you to everyone for your insights/advice ...

i checked on my top apartment pick for paris ... it's available for the time we want to go ... and we've got enough FF to get there ... talk about tempting...

and i love the idea about keeping a folder ... great way to stay organized.

to all you fodorties who have been so many times that you need both hands to count, i am JEALOUS! maybe someday i can join the club!!

But of course, this is normal , non?

As my 'nom de plume' implies, I am a big fan of the city. Been 8/9 times and have started planning for a March/April visit. It encompasses eveything I like to see in a city...good food, architecture, history, arts, style, and a certain 'way of life'.

My list of places to see there is not complete, my restos to try is not any shorter. I've been in all four seasons, and each has its own attraction.

I've been at hotels and an appartment, and look forward to trying the appartment life again.

And yes, I find myself scanning real estate prices just to dream that maybe..

I do visit other places, and enjoy them also (Ghana and Turkey were my last big trips). But for going somewhere where I can just relax and do nothing or a lot, Paris will always be near top of the list.

If you want to go back to Paris, then go back to Paris and don't worry that you're doing a repeat trip. You'll not have a repeat experience, but a new one and with new things to do.

I've been going to Paris, almost annually, since the mid-70s. I'm lucky in that I take 1-3 overseas vacations a year, so I can repeat Paris and then on one of the other 1 or 2 vacations, go somewhere new.

Probably for the first 15 years or so of traveling, I stayed traveling in Europe and also North Africa the whole time, before moving on to other continents.

Each year of those travels, Paris fell in there somewhere, although I was living for 20-plus years of summers in Copenhagen and during those summers would train it down to PAris.

Many other years, I just flew to Paris directly from the States.

So, if that's what you enjoy, and are interested in, then do it and don't stress out about repeating a destination. Happy Travels!

Paris to me is magical, I would never get tired of it... but I don't think I'm going back, at least not in any current plans. Reason: I find it the most romantic city I've ever been in, I'm not now in a relationship -- and when in Paris I feel that most deeply, and that makss me melancholy.

Luckily I have fallen in love with Greece, and NEVER feel that way when I'm there... so I have an answer.

Anyone else feel like me?

We too were smitten by Paris and have gone back 4 times in the last 8 years. I admit to suffering from wanderlust and am experiencing a bad dose of it now. After our last trip to Paris in May, I finally felt we could go somewhere else and we are planning on Spain. I studied there in college and speak Spanish. However, last night we watched International Househunters, which focused on Paris, and now we are thinking perhaps Paris again???

lilaki - I feel the same way about Italy. Specifically the Tuscany region, Venice and Rome. After our first visit, I cried when I had to get on the plane to come home. I spent the next two years planning the second trip. And when that trip was over and it was time to go home, I cried again.

Of course I am driving my husband crazy. All I want to do is go back to Italy! There are so many places I haven't seen, things I haven't done, and people to meet! Not to mention all the wonderful food and wine to enjoy.

So, I'll keep saving and planning and I will get back - hopefully sooner rather than later.

And the craving will only deepen with each visit.

Plan to go back ... Paris has a way of doing that to people. We started planning our second trip, upcoming in about 9 weeks) right after we got back from our first trip in November 2007.

And yes, going back will probably make the craving worse, but the solution is to plan a 3rd trip!!!

I think Paris is like an onion -- peel away one layer and many other layers remain unpeeled ...

I like visiting my favorite cities more than once. The more I visit, the more &quot;at home&quot; I feel.

The thing about Paris is that nothing else really quite measures up.

I've been living in Europe for 2 years now and I've traveled all over. Almost once a month I'm headed somewhere. I've been to Paris 4 times (and first fell in love with it 25 years ago). There are a few other cities I would also like to return to for a second look, but none can compare to Paris for me.

I always have a little fantasy when I travel - I imagine if I would like to move to the place I'm visiting. Paris is at the top of my &quot;moving there&quot; list. It has it all - the cafe culture, the art, the Seine, the walking, the FOOD and the FOOD obsession, handsome gentlemen, charm galore.

Also, I personally find Paris a great city for traveling to alone. It's easy to eat alone at a sidewalk cafe. I prefer seeing museums alone - not rushed. There is so much to do that you aren't too focused on being lonely. Stockholm was a city I was glad to have my husband along for - I would not want to hang out there in the winter alone.

gruezi

One more month until our fifth trip to Paris in a little less than 9 years. We are both big fans of city and also do it less expensively each time we go.

We have to take a taxi/car service (gasp!) from the airport, because I have broken feet. It will be about 10 weeks when we leave for Paris, and I might be just fine, but DH says he doesn't even want to think about the RER.

There are so many places I still want to see in Paris. I'm a go go go kind of tourist, but this will be a new experience: being forced to slow down.

Things I haven't seen yet:

St Denis
Musee Marmottan
Canal St Martin
Viaduc des Arts
Opera Garnier
Palais Tokyo (Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris)
Loire chateaux (sp?)
Rouen
Reims
La Villette
La Defense

I could probably think of many more given a few minutes. Many of those on the list above will be places we will see in February.

WOW, I SO feel like all of you!!! I fell in love with Paris and everything French a long time ago as a teenager -- can't even remember how the love affair began! I made my first trip to Paris in 1979 (for only 3 nights!) and the fire just grew out of control! I've been twice since then -- 2002 for a combo Paris/Provence trip (7 nights each) and again in 2006 for a Paris/Provence combo (8 nights in each).

With the economy and my portfolio down 35 to 40%, I have no plans at the moment to return. So, I just feed my addiction by daily (and sometimes twice-daily) visits to Fodors, Trip Advisor, OurParisForum, and anything else regarding Paris to get my fix. My home is &quot;tastefully&quot; filled with French &quot;stuff&quot; and my calendars each year are of Paris. I read every book about Paris (except the history) that comes out. Dreams are what keep us going!

So, see what desire gets the most thought -- Paris or the kitchen -- and go for it!!! I bet I know the choice!

Enjoy!

joy/luvparee