Mulling it over, it became clear last month that I need to do something other than the typical bacholerette party. I’ve never been interested in seeing a stripper (male or female) and I’ve never been out at the bars in Miami to say that I know where we’ll head. Add to this the fact that it’s only one night that usually ends sloppy (from what movies and Bridezilla show me) and there is no doubt about it. I would prefer to take a trip instead… to Paris.

The original destination for this trip was Los Angeles, California. That was mostly due to how I was celebrity-crazy after meeting BJ Novak from The Office. What can I say? I was happy he won the Dundee Award for sexiest employee. Two of my bridesmaids and I concocted this plan to hit up Hollywood and take pictures with as many celebs as we could. If celebrity gossip blogs are any indication, we could get pictures with just about anyone and everyone so long as we hang around. That plan fizzled out after we thoroughly thought it out and noticed that it’s pretty expensive to spend a few days in LA. We may as well spend the money on a trip to Europe. Great idea!

So we opened up Google maps, closed our eyes and pointed to a random destination. The rest is history. (Or at least that’s the more dramatic, adventurous, if-money-was-no-object-I-would-do-it way.)

Actually, what we really did involve Google maps, but then we also opened up about 25 browser windows connected to numerous travel sites that offered deals and discounts. We compared costs of spending a few days in Spain versus those same days in Italy versus those same days in France. If there’s anything that our senior design course has taught it’s that you can just b.s. your way through anything cost comparison is key. After hours of weighing pros and cons of each destination, we went with Paris, France. Maybe it’s because none of us have been there before or because we really like French wines, but this does seem to be the perfect place to visit before we graduate. And that’s the other part to this trip.

Turns out one of my bridesmaids will not be attending my wedding since her family has travel plans during the month of July. Normally, it could be worked out, but they plan to travel through North Korea and those kinds of visits are really difficult to plan out. Add to that the cost of a round-trip plane ticket from Seoul, South Korea to Miami, Florida and it’s looking like we better do something together now before we part ways. So this trip is more than a bachelorette  party. It’s also our celebration that, despite all odds, we made it to graduation. We kicked some butt and took some names. We rolled with the punches and made it out alive from the underbelly of Olin Hall.

If anyone has any advice as to where to go in Paris, stuff we shouldn’t leave without checking out, food we should try (or avoid), or anything else, please let me know. Like I said above, none of us have been to Paris. It’s going to be quite the experience and we’re up for doing as much as we can in the span of 3 days.