Bon voyage to me.

I poached this off of Libby’s blog.

1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to skydive!
2. Green trees everywhere reminds me that summer is almost here!
3. I cannot live without my La Perruche brown sugar cubes. Talk about yuppie cheese.
4. Being married to R. until I die and writing a book are two things I'd like to try.
5. When life hands you lemons please don’t juggle them. Juggling is queer.
6. Baking Christmas cookies with my mom when I was very small is one of my favorite childhood memories.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to packing and eating takeout, tomorrow my plans include flying to Paris and Sunday, I want to ride a bateau mouche so R. can get a beautiful introduction to the city! And then have dinner at my favorite brasserie. Not a bad Sunday, really.

So, yep, tomorrow’s the big day and I am feeling completely unorganized. The house is a mess, there’s not much food in the house, I’m not packed, and I’m leaving my 8 month old baby for the first time and it’s for EIGHT DAYS. I’m trying not to think about that last one, but every time I look at his open little face it pops into my mind. However, we’ve gotten web cameras for our computers so that while we are gone we can hopefully chat with Eeyore and his grandmother. I hope that doesn’t freak him out.

Despite the lack of recommendations from you lot, I managed to cobble together what looks like a delightful gastronomical experience in Paris. I’ve got reservations at Brasserie Balzar, which is totally overrated but which is nonetheless one of my old favorites, a couple of “bistrots gastronomiques,” which are the newfangled bistros typically owned by upstart young chefs, and one classic French restaurant, Allard. One night I want to try Café Constant, which is a café/bistro owned by Christian Constant, a well-known chef who has an haute cuisine restaurant, Le Violon D’Ingres.

Besides all the eating, the plan is to have a good, old-fashioned sightseeing trip. Because I lived there for some time and have gone back reasonably frequently, I often spend too much time shopping and not enough time visiting the sights. R. has never been there, though, so I think that seeing some of these places with him will be a lot of fun. And of course, despite the crappy-ass dollar, I still intend to do plenty of shopping. And quaffing of wine.

We’re also going to London next weekend, where we are there for such a short time that I plan pretty much just to stroll and… shop. One very cool thing we will do, however, is to see Paul Weller in concert Friday night. Now, some of you whippersnappers might not be familiar with the “Modfather,” as he is known, but he is one of my all-time favorite musicians. He started out in The Jam, and was later in the Style Council before becoming mostly a solo artist. Wild Wood and Stanley Road are worth your time if you want to hear why he is a living legend (at least in the UK). I never thought I was going to get to see him play live, so this is really quite a treat for me. Not to mention – and this is pretty sad for someone who used to go to shows regularly – this is the first show I will have been to in a year and a half. I hope I remember how to look suitably blasé…

So that’s the plan. I’ll take pictures!