November surprise

My wife and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary, so in November I am surprising her with our %26quot;first trip%26quot; to Paris. Because she majored in French in college, she has always wanted to make this journey. I can%26#39;t wait to surprise her. So far, I%26#39;ve kept it from everyone except the family members who are going to stay with our children. Nevertheless, I had to tell someone... so I%26#39;m telling this forum!

Because it is a surprise, I%26#39;m doing all the trip planning by myself (i.e. airline and hotel). I%26#39;ve skimmed the standard travel guides -- Steves, Frommer, etc. This website and forum has been invaluable. But I would welcome any thoughts or pointers for a somewhat clueless husband. 8D

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My advice is try not to be overwhelmed. If you try to find the %26quot;best%26quot; hotel in the %26quot;best%26quot; location you can drive yourself nuts. Most central locations are very good, so whether you choose the left bank, the Marais, Rue Cler, you really can%26#39;t go wrong, so don%26#39;t be overwhelmed by the choices.

I like to plan a lot, read maps, guidebooks, etc. You have the advantage of your wife%26#39;s familiarity with the French language, even if it is rusty it will be a huge advantage.

We were in Paris over Thanksgiving last year. It was pretty cold, so we found our location very near (1/2 block) from a metro station reqally helped. When you are freezing from being outside all day it is nice to get off the metro and into your cozy hotel room. We found we relied on the metro more than we probably would have if the weather was warmer.

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If you%26#39;ve never traveled overseas before, your surprise will be mitigated by the task of getting a passport... hopefully, you already have those :)

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Oooh I think many people would enjoy helping to plan a surprise Paris trip!

But do help us out with a bit more specific info about what you want so that people can make suggestions. Are you after flight and accomm info at present? If so, how long are you staying and what general budget are you thinking of? Would you be looking for %26#39;that special hotel that suits an anniversary trip%26#39; or will you be after something practical and good value?

When we get to the activities, give us an idea whether your wife is likely to enjoy art and history or whether shopping and restauarant appreciation would be more of a focus, etc.

PS - Spot on przyk!! Why do we always ask for %26#39;THE best%26#39; this, that and the other??? As if there%26#39;s only ONE best restaurant, hotel, arrondisement, etc in Paris??? If there were the likes of us wouldn%26#39;t get into it anyway, hey?

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We will be there for Thanksgiving week. If you aregoing then we should exchange numbers. Maybe we can get together for lunch or something.

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Three years ago my partner surprised me with a Europe trip for my 40th birthday, but thankfully he let me in on it 4 months prior with a presentation of photos of our hotels in Paris and Venice. That was the most glorious 4-month wait. I was in an alternate universe preparing for the trip and I also lost 15 pounds in the process. Happy anniversary!

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NICE SUPRISE !

As CKandK mentioned, the length of time and interests

will be important for us to be most helpful. Ditto on

not being overwhelmed.

A nice feature of the Forum is the search box at the

top of the page. Put in your topic, hit the go button

and you will find the posts that have been placed

on the forum on that topic.

ps. A favorite aunt used to live in Winter Park.

The museum there, with all the Tiffany glass,

was wonderful !

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I agree with the previous post, that a large part of enjoying a trip is looking forward to it, and planning. Your wife will Love it that you had the idea and are getting things rolling.

She might want to listen to French radio on-line, take a class or read French, if she doesn%26#39;t use it much. And she might need some time to think about packing and getting things the kids may need, while you%26#39;re away.

Probably she would also love reading the ideas on this forum, at least a month ahead of time. You could still plan plenty of surprise activities and a special dinner, etc.

(These are just my opinions, and you%26#39;ll see many more from others, during the next couple of months!)

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Suzanne from the O.C.

We are going to be there for Thanksgiving also. We live in Temecula, CA.

I am travelling with my 14 year old daughter, a client of mine and her 20 year old daughter.

It is all of our first times in Paris and we are beyond excited.

We fly out of LAX direct on Air France November 18th.

We are staying in a lovely apartment there with a 180 degree view of the Eiffel Tower and its about a 1 1/2 block walk to there.

My landlords have sent me a 23 page booklet with sooo much information on shopping, dining, museums, site seeing, medical emergency info, etc. They are amazing...lots of info with their personal opinions which I find to be so helpful.

Would love to correspond with you.

kimberly @kba-designs.com

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Trischulte,

I loved your comment about losing 15 pounds waiting to go to Paris. There%26#39;s nothing quite like the motivation of looking good in those tight little French pants, is there?!

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I%26#39;m on a mission also with being at my trimmest for Paris in November. I just finished French Women Don%26#39;t Get Fat...fascinating to me.

I%26#39;m starting the miracle Leek Soup today.