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A few seasons ago, I was fortunate enough to have my then 12 year old niece accompany me on one of my yearly excursions to the City of Lights. I thought it would be a cool idea to give her the opportunity to write a “guest
blog” about her memories of travelling to Paris with her slightly wacky pink-sneaker attired "Auntie Nora". Below is an excerpt
from her travel journal:
As
anyone who has read this blog will already know, my Auntie Nora has somewhat of
an addiction to shopping, wine and small leather goods. As a kid, this makes
any travelling excursion with her quite the experience, not only because of the
crazy circumstances we often find ourselves under, but also because of the many
similarities we share that make our adventures so memorable. For instance, we
are both slightly fascinated by anything Parisian - which would account for my
auntie's many trips to Paris - and oftentimes find ourselves in whimsical little
boutiques and shops on narrow and hidden streets in the most peculiar
districts. We are also both captivated - I perhaps more so than her - by
stories of the long-dead royals and members of the aristocracy and delight in
ambling around the ancient rooms and corridors of their residences, a favourite
being Versailles (where I almost got lost forever). And, as anyone who has read
this blog surely already knows as well, my auntie has a slight obsession with
shopping for handbags, meaning that I, as her travel buddy, have had the chance
to step foot in some pretty posh designer stores (Louis Vuitton! Coach!) and have also come accustomed to
spotting great deals and good prices.
My
auntie and I have had some pretty crazy experiences travelling together. When I was twelve, we went to Paris. We spent
the first couple days of our trip looking for hot rollers since my auntie's
curlers blew up and we were out of contact with our families due to the lack of
a phone card (note to self: plan these things in advance!). We travelled around
the city via the bateau bus (my auntie is not a fan of the metro) and ate pizza a
few too many times at our favourite Italian restaurant. I became accustomed to
drinking tap water since the price of soft drinks in Europe is extremely
expensive and taking pictures in front of designer stores since we couldn't
afford anything inside! Throughout the trip, I kept a journal of what we had
done each day - visit the Eiffel Tower, see the Mona Lisa, walk along the
Champs-Elysees. I also have some pretty crazy memories like calling home from a
payphone in the Louvre, actually purchasing a small little something at the
Louis Vuitton store and getting lost in Versailles, but those are all stories
for another day...
I was reading through my journal
that I wrote in every day in Paris and found some really funny things...Here is
one thing I wrote:
"It took us multiple failed attempts, but we finally reached my
house's message line. I told my mom that
we have phone problems, Auntie Nora's curlers blew up, our borrowed cellphone
won't work and Auntie Nora's laptop can't be used because a) Auntie Nora
doesn't know how to use it, b) we were thinking it will blow up like the
curlers and c) we don't know how to get internet".
Having to be responsible for my
12 year old niece on her first European trip was quite an eye-opening
introductory lesson on “How to Act like a Mom in 12 Easy Steps”. Almost losing The
Kid amongst the crowds in Versailles, desperately coaxing her to drink yummy
tap water in restaurants because the price of Coca-Cola was an exorbitant 6 Euros
a pop and searching for a pay phone in the Louvre, are some of the stories that
I will be blogging about in the coming weeks.
Come
follow Auntie Nora and The Kid on our escapades in Paris and come travel with us....
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