Monday, December 7, 2009

Procrastinating So I Won't Have To Wrap Gifts

Anything to keep my hands busy and not with Christmas Cards or Gift Wrapping! I loathe both at this point and am feeling somewhat like a Mr. Scrooge or Grinch. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I have 10 more cards to write up (just 10!) and only a handful (maybe 6 or 7) of gifts to wrap and mail. Work has been incredibly hectic lately with early drives in, leaving late and gym visits to keep off all the food I've been inhaling because of the holidays and stress!

Aaaack! I feel like Kathy from the cartoon strip.

Well, to procrastinate and put off my holiday responsibilities, here are some Polyvores I made for our holiday trip to Europe. Yes, the trip!
Hubs, my little guy (6 years old in 2 days!) and I will be off to Germany, Paris, and Belgium, with a special trip to Rome for Christmas. Cross your fingers for me that all my train reservations, eurail passes, etc. will work out and my plans will actually come to fruition! The itinerary looks a bit random, I know. Our plan - when we could finally agree - was to visit Germany, Paris and Belgium. However when looking for rail tickets/passes, we decided to add Italy to the mix and thought of going to Rome for Christmas. It was a late add-in, but it's always fun to add in a little of the unexpected. I don't know when we'll be able to go back to Europe in the next few years, so this will be a very special occasion for us.
We've found a lovely vacation apartment rental in Paris in the 7th with a view of the Eiffel Tower from the living room. It was a deal compared to getting a triple room over the holidays, and now I have a kitchen, washer and dryer as well for almost half of what I was going to pay for a hotel.

We have dinner reservations and lunch reservations made for a few places. Especially with the holidays, I wanted to make sure that we would be able to beat the crowds - That always makes for a pleasant and stress free trip! In particular, lunch at Laduree on the Champs Elysee, dinner at the other Eiffel Tower restaurant, um, not Le Jules Verne. With a 6 year old and the prices over the holidays... not happening. That's pretty much it. I'm hoping to just get lost and have fun.

Our random trek to Rome via overnight train would give us a few days out of our itinerary to see the major sites, as well as hopefully go to the Vatican on Christmas Eve. I'm still in the middle of planning this new part of the trip, so it's not finalized yet.

While in France, we're looking at day trips to Brussels for sure (since we'll have the passes to do that) and we'd also like to see Versailles (must do) and Mont-St-Michel near Normandy. Let's hope we'll be able to fit this into a 15-day itinerary. If not, no biggie. Our want-to's our more than the time we have. So I will assume we'll return and just enjoy the time with my boys!

Weirdly, because we're in Japan, we have to fly to Seoul, Korea first, and then head west to Europe. Not a direction most people take to get there (Jemma, you are definitely an exception I can think of off the top of my head), but great for those who love Korean food (and we do!).

Hopefully all will be finalized for the trip by this week. I have loose ends to tie up which are causing me major neck aches and heartburn but it's all worth it because in a couple weeks I'll be eating Laduree macarons!

Hope you all are having a great week!

10 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you and your trip! It will be amazing! A last minute decision to go to Rome sounds wonderful - I've been there once, and I remember loving it! I love the cashmere dress Polyvore. You'll look super chic and European, meaning you'll fit right in! The vacation apartment sounds like it'll be a great convenience. You'll get to cook and wash clothes too without worrying about finding a laundromat! Now go and finish up those cards and wrapping those gifts so you can just think about the trip!

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  2. I love your Polyvores, you will look uber-chic in Paris. An advice if you take the overnight train between Paris and Italy: never leave your baggage, sleep on it if you can, it is a route scouted by baggage thieves (nothing dangerous but they know that a lot of tourists take the train). Rome is going to be fabulous for Xmas, but I don't think that the trip to Mont St. Michel is worth it (it's very touristy and pretty far). Can't wait to hear about your trip!

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  3. Those outfits are so chic - and so european. Europe would be so beautiful to visit at christmas time, I hope you have a wonderful trip! You are way ahead of me with the cards and wrapping - I have some I should have sent couple weeks ago, but I am not even close! Good luck!

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  4. I'm so jealous, but in a good way, of your fabu trip during the holidays. We went to Paris this past spring, and it totally rocked.

    And again, you are my cyber soulmate - wrapping Christmas gifts and sending Christmas cards are my least fav holiday responsibilities hands down.

    http://jerseygirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com/

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  5. Love seeing that I'm not the only one who is sweating over Christmas being only 2 weeks away (2 weeks!!)!

    Amy, It's all about the washer/dryer! I really do think that's going to be my saving grace, esp with my little guy who is fabulous and getting dirty or messy or whatever. This will help keep me sane and make room for more shoes in mah luggage!

    Ema, Thanks so much for the advice about the train and Mont St. Michel. It's very out of the way, so atleast now I'll know how to prioritize our day trips and sightseeing.

    Stephanie, I'm not that ahead! It seems like my progress is slow and procrastinating doesn't help me much.

    Susan, girl you are totally my uber soulmate - and I am totally jealous you can cook. I can't. Like not at all. Did you ever post pics of your Paris trip?

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  6. The outfits are very cute, very appropriate for Europe! I am happy that you finally found the end of the tunnel for your trip! I am so so excited for you and I can't wait to see pictures. Have fun!

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  7. Marissa, I just posted some Paris pics on the blog. If you want to see more, I can give you my Facebook deets. We have so many posted on there.

    I've been scouring them this past week for some awesome prints for mi casa. So, I cooked in honor of Paris this weekend.

    I can't believe you read my cooking blog and don't cook. OMG. Silly, girl!

    FYI - My J. Crew marled cardi arrived today. Woo-hoo!

    I totally recommend Chez Andre, 12 rue Marbeuf, 8e, for awesome eats in Paris. It's not crazy fancy pants, so your super cute son can totally eat there. The service was amazing! Seriously, we ate there twice. There's great reviews about it online. Fodor's did one.

    Some of the French places are a bit stuck up, if you know what I mean. Ha ha.

    Also, don't wear your most fav shoes when you're walking around. I killed two pairs of heels on those freakin' coblestones, and dogged my Michael Kors loafers. It gave me the sads, but a fantastic excuse to buy more shoes.

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  8. skip brussels and do Bruges instead! Trust me on this one!
    In m very humble opinion, the shopping is way better in Paris compared to Rome, and when you go shopping, do not go to Galeries Lafayette- utter tourist trap. Go to Bon Marche which is in the 6th (near Blvd. St. Germain) and stick in that area. That is my favorite for shopping in that part of town. I used to live up the street from Bon Marche many moons ago! (Sigh...!!) Can I come too??? :-))

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  9. PS- I agree with Ema on Mt. St. Michel. Agree also about the night train, sleep on your purse, try to get a compartment to yourselves if you can.

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  10. That is one incredible Christmas trip. Wow! Happy early bday to the little man! I loooooove that bag btw.

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