This week, I'm embarking on the first real, (semi-)planned vacation that I've had in (what seems like) forever. It's not just me going to visit Frosty in Dresden or Tübingen or my last "vacation" to Oklahoma in which I showed Schmiddy the touristy sights of Oklahoma City. By the way, that last vacation is in quotes, because, well, parental death sort of cancels out the holiday feeling.
Anyway, this is a real vacation. A traveling-to-a-destination...and staying-in-a-hotel type vacation.
For Christmas, C.Dub made/gave me and Frosty a little coupon for a hotel stay (and coffee) in Paris. Free to cash in at any time and that's what we're doing. Between Christmas and now, I've had plenty of time to at least try to learn some basic French phrases. I have not done this. At present, I can say "hello", "goodbye", "thanks", "thanks a lot", "you're welcome", "cheese" and "the taste of the cheese". Also, I've been practicing my stereotypical French laugh for over 20 years. But that's about it.
My problem is that I dedicated many years of my life to learning German and, for all the smack talk that the German language gets...the way a word looks, is the way that it is pronounced. And, much to my chagrin, learning French seems beyond my capability. And, yes, I do realize that "chagrin" is actually French. Shut up.
And here we go again: I've got a vague idea of what I'd like to do while we're there, but nothing really solid. I'm going to meet up with Frosty in Tübingen beforehand and we'll kind of come up with some sort of working plan there. Or not.
For me, the most difficult part of the trip is the time leading up to the actual transit. If you've ever had the pleasure / displeasure of traveling with me, then you know how difficult that I can be. And if you haven't traveled with me, well...I'm very difficult. I consider myself a somewhat seasoned traveler, but that doesn't stop me from turning into a crazy person that needs to be at the departing gate/station/platform hours in advance of departure. And forget about layovers or switching trains. In fact, don't talk to me until we're safely aboard the plane/train/hovercraft/etc. I'm basically not listening to a word that you say anyway.
Though this is not the first trip that Frosty and I are taking together, I think it's the longest distance that we will have traveled together that isn't a trip to his grandparents. Whatever that means, I guess. I'm excited though. I don't want to do a lot of touristy shit, but there's just that shit you gotta knock off the list when you go somewhere like Paris. Like dressing up like mimes and eating croissants while making out at the top of the Eiffel Tower. (Insert stereotypical French laughter here).
Anyway, before all that can happen, I have to go to the immigration office tomorrow. I need to get all my papes in order before I go out of the country.
Updates and pics to come.
1 comment