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Post by Happygoin on Aug 16, 2007 12:16:15 GMT -5
I know it's easy for us to say, but it all really does manage to get done somehow. Do your lists, as Becky says. You're right though, the five days will go by quickly and before you know it, you'll be off!
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Post by willow on Aug 16, 2007 12:24:01 GMT -5
Right now I have three active lists.
* My packing list
* My shopping list
* My Pre-trip errands list
I also have some fairly inactive lists:
* Sights that are must see
* Sights that are "If I have time"
* Restaurants to try out, with a sub-list of food I potentially may want to try
* List of people who I need send postcards to
It's all pretty well set up in an excel spreadsheet, which I keep adding to as I remember things.
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Post by Happygoin on Aug 16, 2007 12:29:10 GMT -5
Willow...you are GOOD! Boy...sistereurope and I were afraid we were being ummmm...retentive...with our listmaking. Good for you. You must have excellent organizational skills.
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Post by sistereurope on Aug 16, 2007 12:34:08 GMT -5
Oh I have many lists...I just have to remember to TAKE them with me to Paris!!!
Willow, I commend you for working with spreadsheets. They make my eyes cross!
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Post by willow on Aug 16, 2007 12:36:03 GMT -5
I am an accountant..it's engrained in me. I make several lists a week and I get a kick out of being able to cross things off....  I love excel and I find it very helpful with organizing things, and it helps that my laptop is a little baby one that can be carried everywhere so I add stuff to it all the time. The joke at school was that I am rarily seen without it, in fact, it survived 4 years with me. |
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Post by sistereurope on Aug 16, 2007 12:39:47 GMT -5
I'm afraid that I would never make it as an accountant!
In any event, you must be SO very excited!! You've been planning for this trip for so long and now it's almost here (finally!)
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Post by willow on Aug 16, 2007 12:48:34 GMT -5
I am terribly excited!
I have written my departure into every calender at home and at the homes of my siblings.
On my personal calendars there is a countdown.
My suitcase is just waiting to be packed in my room.
I have been crossing things off my lists left and right, almost as much as I have been adding to them. Everytime I drive by the airport I get excited when I see a plane take off, because I know in a few days time I will be going on a trip that I have wanted to go on for almost a decade!!
So yes...I think I am a bit excited.
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Post by willow on Aug 16, 2007 13:21:00 GMT -5
Yay! Only 5 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 18 seconds until Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 7:30:00 PM (Chicago time)!!
Or 454000 seconds!
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Post by Shoesy on Aug 16, 2007 13:28:14 GMT -5
Willow - Happy counting, packing, and last-minute planning, but most important............have a wonderful trip in Paris.  |
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 16, 2007 15:14:38 GMT -5
Oui, c'est vrai, I have seen it with my very own eyes, moi!  |
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Post by Jody on Aug 16, 2007 15:30:07 GMT -5
What a hoot, gittek!! You forgot though that the end is always bitten off that baguette! |
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Post by Darcy on Aug 16, 2007 16:01:03 GMT -5
Willow, when I saw that you have your lists on excel, I thought, Aha! She's an accountant too! ;D I couldn't plan a trip without excel. I have a Master Paris Spreadsheet that I started about 5 years ago and I keep adding to it. I take it with me on every trip so that I can change plans at a moment's notice in case something is unexpectedly closed or the weather doesn't suit my original plan.
I am counting down the hours with you, you will have such a FANTASTIC time!!
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Post by geordy on Aug 16, 2007 16:09:12 GMT -5
Good lord I HATE Excel! But we all plan our own ways! How will you spend your last evening at home? I usually have a bubble bath with more bubbles! Listen to French music. Pizza or tuna on a bagel for dinner..its a NYC thing.....  |
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Post by Penny on Aug 16, 2007 18:26:12 GMT -5
Willow- when i went for 2nd trip in 2000 I had watched the Paris weather forecast for days. 10-15 degrees colder than Dallas (where I lived then) Packed accordingly 2 days before trip, checked next day and it was 10 higher. Had to totally repack and then when we arrived humidity was so high I thought I would melt.
Darcy, I have planned trips in Excel for years. One sheet for each, restaurants, sights, hotels, websites, etc. even a pack list.
I'm not using an mathematical equations on listing and then sometimes I have to use weird things because formating wants to make it mathematical.
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Post by willow on Aug 17, 2007 11:05:57 GMT -5
Gittek, you will be happy to know that my postcard list in excel has been formatted and printed onto labels and placed into a folder with other printouts. These include copies of itineries, train tickets, copies of my passport, a few pages copied out of guidebooks and a few confirmation emails.
Geordy, my last night will be spent with a long stroll with my buddy Tarzan who in his older years is becoming quite clingy and desperate for attention. I will miss my little beast!
And the description that Gittek cooked up is something I think my family imagines too.
I have a special request from my sister for a French beret for her F-in-L. Any clue where I can get one that doesn't say Made In China?
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Aug 17, 2007 11:23:29 GMT -5
Willow: (1) you are entirely too organized - relax, this is a vacation, not a work project, LOL! and (2) try any of the tourist traps on rue de Rivoli (street next to the Louvre) and just remove any "made in China" tag!
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Post by willow on Aug 17, 2007 11:53:43 GMT -5
I guess work has been so slow to the point where Paris became my project..
But generally I am pretty organized. When I take my nieces and neighbors trick or treating, they are all assigned numbers and we do count offs on occasion. We also plan the route in advance trying to get the highest density of residential homes. It's not as heavy on research as this trip is, but it gives you some insight on how anal I can be.
As for the tip on the beret, I may just do that if I find that I don't want to be running around searching for a beret. I will eventually relax and de-stress, but that won't be till after I get to the apartment and settle in.
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Post by sistereurope on Aug 17, 2007 11:58:29 GMT -5
I admire your organizational skills, Willow! I TRY to be organized - I have my carefully researched lists (I do spend a lot of time planning), and when I leave I have all of my papers in order in a nice new folder.
But by the time I step off the plane, the papers are all out of order and in a general state of disarray...and they usually stay that way, unless I lose them altogether! ;D
In any event, we are all counting down with you!
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Post by Penny on Aug 17, 2007 12:48:22 GMT -5
Oh but the planning is part of the anticipation. ;D thinking oh soon I'll be there. So I don't eat at any of the restaurants, see all the sights, I will have an idea of what there is to do.
the most important part of my planning was what days/ hours that things. (for me especially the Arc.) were open.
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Post by willow on Aug 18, 2007 9:57:04 GMT -5
The planning is very fun, but at this point I just want to be there already!
Just three days left, one wedding, on 22nd Birthday, and one crazy packing day!
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hahahha