Paris, Unplanned

How I left seeing the City of Lights to chance and had the trip of my life

Unplanning meant finding this quiet street and a delicious lunch….

I have visited Paris three times, but the first two only kind of counted. In 2015, I had a layover in Paris as I traveled home to Seattle from Rome, which I stretched into an overnight, just long enough to taxi into town, have some dinner with a dear friend, and snatch a quick picture of the Eiffel Tower as my taxi waited at a stop light. The second trip was last year, as I accompanied my middle school students (25 of them!) on a school trip through Amsterdam and Paris. They all got sick. Every last one of them. And they gave it to me. I spent most of the trip in the hotel with one or more of them on any given day, while the rest of them saw the sights with the other teachers.

So, I figured third time's the charm.

I went to Paris this time with just one other person- my husband of eighteen years for our eighteenth anniversary. Our children stayed at home. My students stayed at home. And we booked ourselves for a full week so we could enjoy doing nothing and everything in Paris at the same time. Three days in Paris, three days at Disneyland Paris. It was a dream trip.

Getting real with the Parisian locals…

I have learned over the years that there are some trips that require lots of planning and other trips that require flexibility. For example, I will plan a Disney World trip down to the second, especially in high peak season. But, Paris, well... Paris is meant to be relaxed in. To sip an espresso and munch on a croissant while leisurely watching the local life. To stroll through, to experience slowly, to savor.

So, my husband and I went with a short list. Three days in Paris with a minimal to do list. One day we would spend a the Louvre, devouring art until we had had our fill. One day we would explore Versailles, again with no activity planned afterwards... finish when we finish. And a third day to amble about the city, eat when we were hungry, see what we happened upon, hold hands and enjoy.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Unplanning our vacation meant finding this gorgeous gem!

Not having a plan meant that we did not miss out on anything. I recall the first time I visited Rome, carrying my dog-eared and highlighted guidebook everywhere, making sure I saw every religious relic known to humankind, exhausting myself and frustrating myself if I didn't see it all. But this trip to Paris was different. We bought a guidebook, but I don't know that we even opened it. We had a short list of sights we knew from popular culture, but we let the rest of our day find us.

Discovering the colors of the rue Cremieux…

Which is how we found the delightful carousels along the streets on our way to the Sacré-Coeur, and how we happened up on the artists creating their works and sipping wine in the Montmartre, how we found the quiet creperie with locals playing chess, and how we stumbled into the delightful rue Cremieux with it's charming sun-kissed, pastel houses as we searched for dinner one night.

It’s also how we got on the wrong train to Versailles, ending up in the station across town, but meeting Sam, a local tour guide who was born in Malaysia and who walked with us the whole way, telling us the history of the town and the buildings as we walked. Sometimes unplanning means mistakes, but those mistakes can be well worth it.

Lunchtime for artists at the Montmartre…

Not knowing what was out there meant that everything was a discovery, everything was a lucky find that seemed meant just for us. It was like we were on a secret treasure hunt but the treasure was only known once we got there. Around every corner was a new opportunity to find something joyous. Sometimes other tourists were already flocked there; other times we were alone; and still more times it was us among locals who even occasionally honored us by thinking we spoke more French than we do.

Unplanning our day meant time to explore THE FOOD….

I will not make the argument here that all trips should go unplanned. And there may be those among you who would never dare see Paris without a detailed daily itinerary. But for us, Paris "on the fly" was exactly the trip that we needed.

Jenna Greenfield is an independent, home based travel adviser with Destinations to Explore. Contact her at jenna@shygirlgoes.com to plan … or “unplan”… your next great adventure.