Paris Syndrome…

During my illness, I watched a lot of Youtube videos. There is not much more you can do when you are too sick to do anything else, and I didn’t want to drown myself in a sea of negativity scrolling through my social media newsfeeds. Smart right?

One day I stumbled upon a Youtube channel called “Ame, in a van.” Ame’s videos are 10-15 minutes long, and I liked her concept of spending two years building her travel van. She is a young woman in her 20s traveling alone through Europe.

Her parents did the same thing, sold their home and all their belongings, building their van, just larger. They, too, have a Youtube channel of their own which is successful like Ame’s.

I watched Ame’s video on Paris and was highly disappointed and disgusted by what I saw in the city of lights. The city that has been my lifelong destination to visit one day.

The place I dreamt about since reading the children’s books, Madeline. I’ve written about Madeline before on my blog. I still love those books!

So many people! This is last summer in high season, but more people have started visiting Paris during the off time; most likely, those times will also begin to be crowded. I think people, in general, have forgotten about their manners, respect, and regard for others since the pandemic.

Then I learned about Paris Syndrome. I was experiencing Paris Syndrome without even traveling there. Paris Syndrome is real; I can attest to that, even sitting on my couch. Instead of me trying to explain it, here is one of the articles I read Paris Syndrome.

No, thank you!

This is what made me realize why I never made the trip before, I am not a world traveler, and neither is Marty, even though he traveled to many places and cities around the world with his family as a child. I didn’t want to happen in Paris what happened when we traveled in the past.

Our wonderful trips were trips to Aruba for our honeymoon, Puerto Rico with our friends Daniel and Michael, Montreal with Marty’s brother, Germany, where he has relatives, New York City, which we know like the back of our hands, and Phoenix.

I went to California for three weeks when I worked for Giorgio Armani, but the whole trip was planned for me, and I worked the entire time. I did get to sightsee on my only day off; one of the other employees took me to LA. What a cool city to see through a local’s eyes.

The trips that were total fails for us were to Austria, Amsterdam, East Germany, Boston, and Las Vegas, to name a few. When we get to places alone, we aren’t familiar with; we are like deer in headlights.

We research places to eat, attractions to see, and hotels to stay at; we wander around aimlessly and always feel disappointed or have Paris syndrome with those trips.

I think travel tours and cruises are wonderful for people to see the world. My bio mom has traveled all around the world and loves traveling. I am very envious of her love of travel, but I didn’t get that gene or her slim tall figure. Lol.

She used to travel with her husband, but after his passing, she goes on tours and cruises with her friends; they have amazing times. She has worked hard and spends her money practically to be able to travel. Kudos to her. ♥️

Shortly after, I made my realization about Paris; I found out about the possibility of having severe lung issues. I wasn’t sad if I couldn’t fulfill my fairytale dream because of an illness, which was very telltale about my Paris decision.

I decided to keep Paris as my fairytale dream and not spoil what I have in my head. It’s like watching a bad movie of your favorite book; it ruins what you had previously imagined.

About a month ago, when I was in a deep, dark state of depression, Marty asked me if it was time for me to finally have a little baby girl Frenchie to help with all my heartaches, illness, and loss had I experienced over the last few months.

I don’t write about everything since I don’t want this to be a woe-is-me blog. For instance, I took a horrible fall at 6 am on Easter morning, stepping down from the porch to our driveway. I rolled down the driveway since it is on a hill.

I was holding Nelly and somehow managed to not fall on her. I landed on my right side and did a number on my right arm. The next day, I felt like I was run over by a truck.

Back to Paris, I apologize for getting off track; that’s my Irish storytelling. After being ok about not going to Paris, how fitting it seemed to adopt a Frenchie, I love Frenchies and would freak out whenever I saw one.

There are lots of Frenchiee that go to the Troy Market, and I remember most of their names. I never thought there would be a possibility of having one before; we didn’t want to get any more pets after Klaus since we wanted to travel. Lol.

Well, you all know what happened next…Nelly! The perfect puppy for our family, it feels like she’s always been here and has blended into our lives seamlessly. She is brilliant and learns things quickly.

Nelly and Klaus are in love with each other and are inseparable. Nelly is so much fun for Klaus at this older stage of life. They love playing and resting together outside on warm, sunny days on the couch.

Here is a short video showing how much fun they have together. Klaus is an old softie, and Nelly has brass balls.

I traded my fairytale dream place that would have lasted for a week for a life to be fulfilled right here in Arlington, VT, and travel to places we can drive to and bring Nelly & Klaus along.

Will we ever travel again? Of course, but on vacations, we feel comfortable such as visiting different all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean or Mexico.

What a relaxing trip it would be to go to a resort where we wouldn’t have to leave if we didn’t want to.

A vacation we don’t have to think about, and the only expectation is beautiful blue-green water, blue skies, sunshine, and which island cocktails to try every day. 🍹

Have you ever had Paris Syndrome on one of your trips somewhere? I doubt we are the only ones. Au Revoir, friends.