Cheap Thrill: Paris Postcards To Your Future Self

As you may already know, I'm kind of a postcard fanatic. The only kinda-problem is that most of the postcards I send out I secretly wish I were receiving, because they're simply so beautiful. So here's a fun idea for a cheap souvenir: send your future self Paris postcards.


On the first day of your trip, stop by a post office and buy a bunch of stamps (tell the cashier "pour le monde," which will carry it beyond France). Then, each day, buy the most beautiful postcard you find in your wanderings and write yourself a note about what you experienced that day- the people you met, the best food you ate or the happiest moment of the day. Pop on a stamp and stick it in one of the many yellow letter boxes around town (be sure to put it in the right side slot, for international mail). When you come home, and for days afterward, you'll be greeted with postcards from your Paris self, reliving the adventure all over again. Best of all, you'll have those pretty little things all to yourself. Put them in a collage frame, or better yet, string them up with teeny clothespins for a more casual feel, for an artistic display of your memories.

If you're traveling with your beloved or bestie, you could do the same but write postcards to each other every day - leaving the element of surprise awaiting your arrival home! The only thing that makes coming home from Paris bearable is being able to relive the memory over and over again.