A Plane, a train, and a bus ride to Paris

I woke up SUPER NERVOUS the day I flew out of Rome.  We had to get up early because we were driving back to Rome from Milan.  A five hour drive is NOT the ideal situation to catch a flight.  Of course anything can happen, and I thought of every scenario.  Luckily my bff knew I would be a mess, so we quickly checked out of our apartment and hit the road.

Our drive there was fine until we got closer to the airport.  That’s when it started to rain HARD.  I tried to remain calm but my friend kept talking to me to get my mind off of the weather.  Once I arrived at the airport, she helped me with my luggage and even waited in line with me for a bit at the ticket counter.  We hugged goodbye and then I was on my own.

I killed some time with a glass of wine at a restaurant and bought a souvenir for my mom.  I felt a sudden urge of guilt since I forgot to get something for her in Milan.  Hopefully she’ll understand…

I boarded my flight and off I went.  Luckily the rain wasn’t severe and I landed two hours later in Paris.  By now it was after 6:30pm and I wanted to reach out to my Parisan friends to see if they would put me up for the night.  Unfortunately, they were not available.  I found a spot at a café and tried booking a hotel at the airport.  After a frustrating 40 minutes I settled on a good price for a hotel but wasn’t quite sure where it was.  I knew I made a costly mistake.  My hotel was an hour and a half away from the airport!  I had to catch my train.

I rode the train for a while.  It was now dark and I had no idea where I was going.  Once I got off a stop I had to catch a bus.  I have never done this before in Paris.  According to google maps I had to ride through 17 stops before I get off!  Oh my goodness.  Traveling with a suitcase didn’t help either.  I felt so exposed.  I couldn’t hide the fact that I was a tourist.

To make matters worse, my stop was at the end of the line for this bus route.  I finally got off on a nearly empty bus and saw a Holiday Inn.  I did not know where my hotel was, but I knew I was near.  I went inside and asked the concierge if they had an idea.  Luckily my hotel was right behind the Holiday Inn.  I felt relieved.

I checked in and got to my room.  It was now 10pm.  I still had no idea what part of Paris I was at.  I asked the front desk man if I was still in Paris and he looked at me strangely.  “You are in the Business district of Paris”, he replied.  My hotel was a French version of an extended stay.  It had a small fridge and stovetop.  I actually was impressed because it was very roomy and wide.  I decided to venture out in the morning and call it a night.  I was exhausted. 

Mommy Dearest...

The craziest thing I did for 2016 was the way I ended it.  Looking back on it now, it was pretty irresponsible of me.  I am definitely paying the price for it, lol, but luckily I'll be back on track with my budgeting for this new year.  I had no plans for New Year's Eve and didn't feel the need to celebrate it either.  The aftermath of the holidays was almost over and I was slowly feeling back to my normal self.  I spent the whole day with my mom and was looking forward to watching a special on tv about Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.  Both of them passed within a day of each other and it was all over the news.  What a tragic turn of events that shook the world.  I felt a sense of closeness with my mom after spending the day with her, but knew moments like this were bitter sweet for us.  There was a time when me and my mom did not speak.  It took a long time for us to get to where we are at.
I hurried home and was starting to watch the special that Friday night when my friend started to text me out the blue.  She wanted to know if I had to work that Monday January 2nd.  Since New Year's Day landed on Sunday this year, the holiday was being observed that following Monday.  I was indeed off and replied yes while I was washing up to get ready for bed.  The texts didn't stop.  "If I buy your plane ticket and cover hotel, wanna go someplace warm with me leaving tomorrow and returning the 2nd?".
"What the??"  This girl is really something.  She had just gotten back from Florida two weeks ago for her birthday.  I knew she was spontaneous but this is too much.  We went back and forth but I was dead set against it.  I confessed that I wish I was in a better place financially and that I could not have her pay for my plane ticket.  I wasn't putting much thought into until she told me how cheap the flights were.  Don't get me wrong.  Flying to Miami was low considering what time we had to head out in morning.  Since I'm not a travel junkie and have still yet to learn the process of finding good flights, my friend had been frantically looking for deals all day.  She travels all the time.  I was skeptical but it was starting to make me think.  What if we could pull this off?  She had a friend in Miami who lived 20 minutes away from South Beach and was insisting that we stay with him.  Things were starting to look more promising for me money wise.  I did not want my friend to pay my way down there but now I could manage the rest.  I was still hesitant until I realized I had just dropped off my mom 40 minutes ago!  If we booked this flight we had to head out in a couple of hours.  I called her up immediately. 
My other aunt was hosting a small party at her house for New Year's Eve and I had a feeling my mom was under the impression I was going.  Over the years I would have had other plans, but because this year I didn't follow through with anything, I told her I might stop by after all.  I was nervous she might think I was holding something back from her but I had to set the record straight.  I told her how my friend found a good deal on a flight flying into Miami but we had to leave in a few hours.  I also told her I was hesitant about it because I knew I hadn't budgeted for such a trip so soon.  I was rambling on and on until I realized how nervous I was getting.  My anxiety was starting to act up.
"Well, why don't you tell her next time?  That you cannot go right now and that next time you can travel with her?".  I stood silent.  I didn't realize my mom was under the impression that I was asking her advice, but in actuality I was just letting her know what was going through my mind.  I stood my ground and said, "Well actually mom, I WAS thinking about going."  Now she stood quiet, but I continued on that if I had the chance to go to Miami for New Year's Eve, I would take it.  It was just a matter of seeing if this would pan out.  "If we do book this, I would only be gone for 2 days and I don't see what the damage would be.  We would be staying with a friend and we should be ok.  But if you ask me where would I rather spend New Year's Eve at, of course I would answer anywhere but here!"  She seemed shocked and answered, "Oh ok."  I reassured her what I was planning but was doubtful since anything can happen once you try to purchase tickets.  You never know about last-minute-flights.  I told her I would let her know what we decided and we said goodnight to one another.  It was now 10pm...