A Cinematic Summer in Paris
Addressing my travel addiction by making myself believe that this time at home is just another trip.
I’ve been back at my apartment in Paris for approximately 5 days and I’m already craving another trip.
At this point, it feels like I may have an addiction.
So, the question is: do I feed the addiction, or do I try to calm the f*** down and regulate my nervous system for a hot second?
Like everything in life, I’m in pursuit of an answer somewhere down the middle.
The good news for my anxious travel-addict brain is that I do have a series of trips planned a few months down the line. But for the rest of July, the entire month of August, and most of September, I’m staying put in Paris (for now).
Admittedly, I’ve been feeling a little melancholy about this. Even though my 4 months on the road revealed that full-time travel might not be the most logical or healthy life path for me, I’m already aching for the thrill of adventure again.
It’s like when you’re having a crazy, fun night out and it’s reached that point when you know you should probably go home and get some sleep, but you simply don’t want to. The body is saying, “You need rest,” but the head is saying, “You can rest when you’re dead — keep going!”
Of course, the body is ever the wiser one. So, I will listen to her. However, I believe I can trick the head into thinking she’s the one calling the shots…
This morning, I was walking to my local market for mundane items I needed around the apartment. Everything was silent on my residential street and nothing was out of the ordinary so my mind was on ‘snooze’ mode. Then suddenly, the melodious song of a piano floated down from a window above, filling the street with a romantic soundtrack.
Instantly, my heart lit up. It felt like I was starring in my own little movie. The block somehow seemed more animated — like at any second all the building doors would open and the neighborhood would break into a choreographed dance number.
It was one of those, “Wow, I’m in Paris” moments.
As I approached the cobblestone street of my local market, I couldn’t help but smile at all the bright faces — most of whom are likely tourists — that are simply happy to be here, living out their own little dreamt-up movies. They probably have plans for the day and week ahead that include reservations at recommended restaurants, tickets booked for museums they’ve heard about, and lots of walking with impromptu stops at cafés to people-watch ‘like the Parisians do.’
What is stopping me from acting like one of them?
After all, my time here is limited too. I can make my mind believe that I need to take full advantage of this summer in Paris because if my future is anything like the first half of this year, it’s only a matter of time before this movie ends and another one begins.
This summer flick in Paris might not be an action-packed thriller or a juicy drama or even a fascinating documentary. But I do intend to make it a feel-good film. My head can be the director, calling the shots on new settings to explore and different plots to execute within the bounds of the Paris stage.
Meanwhile, my body can rest up for the next blockbuster.
It’s also the perfect opportunity to digest everything that has happened over the last few months. Having this platform to reflect on my travels in the moment has been extremely helpful and therapeutic. Over the next few weeks and months — when I’m not reporting on the evolution of my film parisien — I intend to reflect on the deeper learnings from my travels.
After all, a lot happened in Marrakech, Bangkok, Japan, Seoul, St. John, Portugal, the French Riviera, Turkey, Slovenia, the Dolomites, and Wisconsin. Throughout those 4 months I wrote the scripts, but now I need to make some sense of it all.
Stay tuned! It’s coming soon to an inbox near you…
With courage,
Olivia
