This trip almost didn’t happen. I found the hotel nights and the flights weren’t too bad. But life always gives you reasons not to go like family obligations (kids’ and their activities or planning holiday dinners), guilt about spending money or the holidays approaching – it never seems like a good time.
I took this trip with a gf I’ve been friends with since we were 16 – though we’ve never travelled together, I stayed with her and we’ve always had an amazing connection analyzing and reflecting on life and different situations. Paris/London were never high on her list, she’s huge into photography and cafe hopping so I knew Paris/London would be great! Like me, she had reservations about flying off right before the holidays especially while helping family move. But earlier that year, we lost a close friend – someone close in age, someone who still had his whole life ahead of him. It was a quiet reminder that life is fragile and the things you keep putting off don’t always wait.
So despite the 300 reasons why we shouldn’t go, we decided this was an opportunity we couldn’t let slip by. We said yes and we’re so glad we did.
The hotels, Christmas markets, historic landmarks all stunning, this trip gave us slow mornings with coffee and croissants. Time to just pause, reflect and reset at the spa and in different restaurants. We explored different alleyways and got immersed in all twinkling lights lining all the streets.
I hadn’t planned much for this trip having been to Paris numerous times and hitting all the main attractions during my first visit to London; And yet, somehow, I still made out with about 25,000 steps a day.
There was so much to see. I felt wonderfully immersed in everything Paris & London had to offer. From the quaint architecture and tree lined streets of Paris to the bold graffitti artwork splashed across buildings in London. Banksy even unveiled new artwork in one of the areas we visited!
This trip wasn’t perfect by any means, we had a 6 hour delay leaving Toronto, almost failed to submit our ETA to enter into London and the jetlag meant staying up late and missing complimentary coffee in the mornings. Despite all that, this trip will have a special place in my heart – not because of where we went or what we did – but because we said yes.
It’s a reminder that there will always be a multitude of reasons not to take that leap of faith, not to step outside your comfort zone and choose yourself. But often when you do, you gain a new perspective, countless memories, moments and space to simply be.
Cheers to saying yes. I’m really glad we did.
I’ll be sharing food, travel tips, sights and everything we loved over the next few posts – stay tuned!
Coming soon: everything we ate in Paris
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