A few years ago, when I was living in Baltimore, sitting at my desk at my day job, I got an idea in my head. I should go to Paris. Now. I looked up airfares and, voila, got an excellent deal, and two weeks later, I was off to celebrate Nuit Blanche with the Parisians. It was liberating, it was spontaneous, and it really wasn’t that hard to do.

So for a girl now living it Paris, you’d thing I’d never want to leave or go the other direction. But I had the idea to return for my favorite day of the year in Baltimore awhile ago, but lately I’ve had a couple extra signs that I should just get up and do it. So I did. On Sunday (yes, just a few days ago), I bought a last minute ticket back to the states (kayak.com – more affordable than expected, and my plane was half empty). The only people I told were my parents and the rest was a big surprise.

The theme of surprise started on Wednesday when I had a 4 hour layover in Philly. A couple kind Americans lent me their cell phones (funny, I’m that disconnected from my homeland that I can’t even make a phone call myself), and I pulled my good friend Lauren out of work long enough to grab a quick coffee before heading back to the airport and home to DC. Surprise!

Today marked the biggest of them all as I surprised my best friend in the world – and lots of other great ones too – for one of my favorite days in the world which happens tomorrow. All I can say was a great moment with lots of surprise and shock. Hooray!
So if anyone is looking for anything fun to do tomorrow – check out the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore. After my posts the past two years about it, hopefully a trip back from Paris on a whim proves to you that it’s worth every second!

Click HERE to download the official Spectator’s Guide!

P.S. Ha! That’s me in the pink dress and blue hair in the poster! (via AVAM)