My next step forward: a truly solo world trip. Mon Dieu!

Greetings from Paris, France! Next stop: Morocco!

So…

I’m kind of freaking out over here. There’s excitement. Nerves. Butterflies.

 

No, I haven’t met the online man of my dreams. Nope, haven’t won a lottery, scored tickets to a bucket list concert, landed my dream job, celebrated my birthday or found $50 blowing down a sidewalk.

But I am taking the next step forward in my new chapter. I left for a trip yesterday — solo! — and I'm posting this from my hotel room in Paris, France.

This past weekend involved making a list and checking it twice — channeling my inner St Nick. It was also the start of packing. Why the start? Because packing for me involves unpacking and repacking. What can I not live without? What can I wear repeatedly? What will I have to wear in the event the King of England invites me for supper (even though I’m not going to England)?

I digress.

This was supposed to be part of my fall adventure. But the illness and recovery hit pause and now that finger has lifted to hit play. My fall trip had me flying solo to Portugal but living with a heart sister and brother in law. My adventure was filled with love and all good things but it wasn’t solo. It was never meant to be solo.

This step was.

I have a day and a half in Paris before flying to Casablanca to start a 15-day tour of Morocco, on a guided adventure but knowing not a soul. I’ve booked my own room so I have time at the end of my days to decompress and absorb the sights and sounds of what I experienced. There will be hikes and stays in riads as well as walking tours, history lessons and shopping.

And I get to ride a camel in the Sahara Desert!

My adventure will end back in Paris for three days. My Favourite Husband and I were in Paris more than 20 years ago and saw many of the sights. Time has blurred but not erased those memories, which means I can walk and remember, relive and create anew. Paris will be bittersweet but I have plans for a few activities that we didn’t do together: a cruise on the Seine, hopefully an opera performance, a visit to Sacre Couer. Strolling the Parisian streets, I know his spirit will be walking with me, smiling with me, sharing the love of the adventure with me as I experience my first.

I am ready to spread my wings and fly.

Au revoir, for now.