Friday, January 19, 2007

paris . . . un



i am feeling
a little
dis-
combobulated
tonight
[can one feel
combobulated?].

after chatting
with a dear friend,
i got an email
that really
got me down.

so i am
feeling
antisocial
and blue
tonight.

. . . . .

before i begin,
i have
to share with you
how i pack clothes
for my trips.
people always
laugh at me
but i have found
a few people
who use
a similar method.
first i decide on
2 colors.
usually on base color
(brown, black,
gray or blue)
then
one real color...
everything i pack
(except jeans)
must be
those colors-
that's how i limit
how much i pack.

then i pull out
everything that
i have
in those 2 colors
and
make
a little chart:


(paris colors were
brown and pink)

does anyone
do something
like that?

. . . . .

how do you feel
when you get
off the plane
in a
foreign country?

i have traveled
quite a bit
but i always
forget that
initial shock.
part of it,
i am sure,
is that you have
been traveling
for the better
part of a day
and so you
are out of sorts...
but then
there is
that aspect
that suddenly
buying something
is a bit scary.

i speak french
pretty well
but i am
out of practice.
so when
i heard french
come
out of my mouth
as i asked
for a phone card,
it was like
listening
to a girl
speak french
in some bad
american movie.
ugg.
i need to
start practicing
my french again.



i arrived before
my mother...
so i had
to figure out
where she was.
i had 2 hours
so i had time
to take
this silly photo
in a photo booth
while i was waiting.


when she arrived
we had
a café crème
and croissant
{of course}
before heading
into paris
and our home
for the next 10 days.

we were staying
right by
notre dame.



the stairway
to our
apartment
is historic
and so
beautiful
{and crooked}.


after
crepes
{mais oui!}
for lunch
we decided
to walk around...
but
first i made
my mom
take a picture
with me
at the metro
photo booth.


we walked
around
st germain
des prés




and
la houchette,
where
the jazz club,
where my mother
would dance
sometimes
40 years ago,
was still there!



we ended up
back again
at notre dame
as the evening
ended.

more tomorrow!
xo

20 comments:

lisa solomon said...

i am not clever enough to pack like that and i LOVE your drawings - do you have all them for all your trips? they should be a book.

am looking forward to hearing more, but am dismayed that you got a sad email???
xo

Anonymous said...

oh how I love your adorableness, the drawings are wonderful & I agree with Lisa S, if you have them from all your trips, they should be a book:)

I'm loving hearing about your trip but I'm sad your sad. I'm sending a virtual hug (squeeze).

xooooo
ash

julie said...

Oh Gwen sorry to hear you are blue - hope you are feeling better today!!
Your photos are so beautiful!!! I know what you mean about arriving in a foreign country...it takes me time to adjust when i go home to London...english, cold, proper...
cant wait to hear the continuation.. xxx

bubamaca said...

I always draw what i`m going to pack for journey,too! It`s fun and keeps me from packing too much things!

Anonymous said...

How wonderful to see pictures of you and your mum. I love that cute little skirt you are wearing! You are amazingly organised to draw little charts for packing, I am so impressed. Hope you feel better soon from your trip, it looks fantastic can't wait to hear more.

Beta said...

Great photos. We missed you last night - hope you're feeling better.

Anonymous said...

this is beautiful! thanks for sharing this pieces of your trip.
your packing system is fabulous!!

i'm so sorry that you are feeling blue. hope that things are better today.

Anonymous said...

I *love* how you pack. I agree with Lisa s, you should do a book. I look forward to reading more about your trip.

lori said...

your openness about packing was pretty inspirational. i'm travelling to europe in a few months and i am currently agonizing about what to pack. your "guide" has given me lots of ideas.

your trip with your mom makes me wish i could take a trip like that one day.

bikeandbeer said...

oh, you know i do a color theme for my trips also... but i don't do drawings. instead, i imagine all my combinations, and pack a week in advance. then i constantly put things in and take things out, until it is the perfect bag -- or so i think. every single time i wish i had taken one more piece... or one less. good to have you back!

Anonymous said...

I NEVER saw or heard of ANYone packing like that before - that is AMAZING! I would LOVE to try and do that the next time I travel ;o)

Oh and Paris! Lucky you for going - I know I just went in September, but I could go anytime ;o)

Hope you're feeling better....

Eero said...

My admiration for your organizational capabilities just went up a few notches. My packing is made in lists, not images, and I am a little like Bike&Beer: pack and re-pack (and re-pack) until I've gotten it right. The basic tenet of packing for me is bag size. I only travel with one small backpack. Everything's gotta fit!

amisha said...

such wonderful stories & photos from your trip... and i too am amazed and delighted by your packing style and the drawings! i usually just make a list but don't coordinate very well... your idea is very efficient *and* fashionable.
i hope you are feeling better and look forward to the next installment of the story...
warmly
amisha

Kerstin Svendsen said...

grrr. just left a long comment that disappeared. that is how my day is going. it's been a bad week for me so it is especially nice to escape into your photos and words. traveling sounds so good right now.
wow you're organized about packing, but that doesn't surprise me given your purple calif. trip and your documentations of bugs, collections, etc. the drawings are so sweet.
hope your blueness is passing quickly. ox

kgirlknits said...

I think the way you plan the "colours" of your trip is just darling! I too shall be doing this from now on! Can't wait to see more details from your Paris adventure...

Heidi said...

Yes, I do the color packing, but without the cute drawings. Hey, there's a pink and brown swap going on now. You would fit right in!

Amanda Jean said...

I love your packing system! I have packed for a trip based on brown coat/shoes or black coat/shoes, but I have not planned out the outfits in advance...but how fun. Loved your cute little drawings, too. hope you are not feeling blue anymore... Thanks for sharing your photos of your trip...fantastic!

Tracykins said...

Paris looks tres fabulous! And yes - you can combobulate something. At least Steve and I think so. We use that word quite a bit.

Anonymous said...

I am not smart enough to choose a base color, but I *do* sketch out what I'm going to wear. It was my little secret for so long, but I am happy to discover that I'm not the only one.

Anonymous said...

Glad you are back and glad to get a little glimpse of your special trip to Paris with your mom.

I've heard of that level of packing planning but certainly don't do it. But if I could make cute little drawings like that I probably would too. I agree that you could make a book out of all those.