I have been dying to go on a writer’s retreat for so long. I’ve dreamed of the day when I could get away from it all in a place where I could be free to write what I want to write without the obligations of clients or girlfriends or toothbrushing.
I’ve finally made it happen and as of last Saturday, I’ve been luxuriating in Paris — where everyone knows any writer is most likely to be inspired by brilliant ideas and find the passion for creating their next resplendent work. Right?
So, what have I been doing?
Well, not writing, I can tell you that.
The thing is, now that I’m in Paris, I want to take advantage of being in Paris. Even though I’ve been here several times before, I am unable to stay inside and commit myself to writing. I’m here with a couple of friends and they’ve encouraged me and pushed me and offered to leave me by myself so I can get my work done.
I even stayed alone in our gorgeous Airbnb rental apartment while the girls headed out for a day near the Eiffel Tower and I made it for a whole 20 minutes before I was up, showering and heading out to shop in the Marais for the afternoon.
I mean, I took a notebook with me and when I sat down to lunch, I even wrote in it … for about five minutes. But then I was finished eating, so I paid. And instead of finding a lovely cafe to have a post-lunch cappuccino and do some writing in, I strolled towards La Seine and wandered around the city until it was time to meet back up with everyone for our nightly dinner and wine-a-thon.
It’s now Thursday and I leave tomorrow. Which means that today is the day. I’m on a mission to cram as much writing time into the next several hours as possible, starting with this post. Though let’s be honest … it’s my last day in Paris so, my guess is that I’ll be cramming a lot more cheese into my mouth than writing into my notebook.
Alors. C’est la vie.
