Well, we did it!  Our layover adventure in Paris was a complete success.  After nearly 12 hours on what I have to say was a delightful flight on Air France, we landed in Paris at 10:30am.  Quick recap, if there is one area that gives me anxiety, it is traveling.  The idea of popping into Paris for a few hours on our 12-hour layover brought up a plethora of emotions for me.  What if we can’t get back to the airport in time?  We might miss our flight and be stranded in Paris forever!  But I wanted to test myself.   I wanted to overcome my fear, and to put it simply, live a life of passion.

David and I decided that when we landed at Charles DE Gaulle airport, we would first head over to the Air France lounge, binge eat croissants, change clothes and then head into the city.  Our plan was to take the metro to Paris, and stop at the historic Notre Dame cathedral.  To be kind to myself on this adventure, I had a few ideas to ease my stress.  Wherever we decided to go, I asked that we not to have to change trains.  We expected to be jetlagged, and it seemed easier to hop on one train rather than several.  We would take in one site, and then find a café to people watch and have a little lunch.  Perched at a table in the lounge, we went through our itinerary, brushed croissant flakes off our clothes and set forth on our adventure.

We were given simple directions to exit the airport (or so we thought).   Left, left, another left and then a right.  We swerved through the crowds with ease, and after 10 minutes, somehow managed to end up exactly where we started.  Turn after turn we looked for a sign that said exit, or baggage claim.  You may have heard me say before, that the Universe likes to test us.  It took us nearly two hours to get out of the airport!  This may sound crazy, but apparently not many people try to go into Paris on a layover.  Due to this, there are no exit signs at the terminal (or sortie as they say in French).  We were in a maze of duty free shops, gate attendants and well-dressed French women.  We finally asked security “How on earth do you get out of this airport?!” and he kindly led us in the proper direction.

The entire time I admittedly started to become a bit snippy with David.  Perhaps that third espresso wasn’t a good idea after all.

“Where are we going?”
“Are you sure it’s this way?”
“This feels crazy.”
“Will it take us this long to get back?”

My mind was conjuring up great excuses to stay put in the airport.

Who cares if I go into Paris or not?
This outfit was a terrible choice, I’ll be sweaty all day!
I could be getting a free spa treatment at the lounge right now.

Graciously, David took the lead and walked us over to a cash machine to get some local currency.  Clicking away at the ATM, I suddenly hear David burst out laughing.  He turns around and is holding $160 in twenty dollar bills.  I immediately start laughing at the realization that we just withdrew American money instead of Euros. Something about that moment shifted my anxiety and nerves. In the midst of our laughter I apologize for being snappy. We regroup; we BOTH slowly tackle the ATM again and successfully get the money that we need.  With Euro in hand we hit our stride.

The Universe may have been sending festive curve balls my way to see how I handled the stress, but once we were on the train headed for our destination everything seemed to fall into place.  We found the Notre Dame stop and admired the gorgeous structure.  We strolled through side streets and came upon a perfect sidewalk cafe for a relaxed lunch.  My favorite part of traveling abroad is watching how other people live, and listening to their conversations (even though I don’t speak French).  After lunch we walked around, purchased a few token souvenirs, took a few touristy photos and headed back to the airport.

Seated back in the Air France lounge I felt proud of myself.  It could have been so easy to stay in my comfort zone but I would have missed out on a lovely afternoon with David.  We toasted with glasses of champagne and waited for our next flight to Tel Aviv.

What are the chances that fear or anxiety could be holding you back from your own adventure?  Make a commitment to step out of your comfort zone and try something new!  The key is to be aware of your anxiety and manage it, but not let it hold you back from an experience.