One Way Ticket to Paris with Emma Robinson

Submitted: 9th November 2018

Ever fancied buying a one way ticket to Paris? There’s one author who did just that and then wrote it into a novel! We’ve all dreamed of doing something similar haven’t we? There’s probably someone reading this thinking of doing it right now….

Emma Robinson has some very interesting ways of going about it… and some top tips too

Paris (c) The BookTrail

Paris is the perfect place to escape to. I know because I did it!

BookTrail One Way Ticket to Paris here

When I was 29, I left my job and long-term boyfriend and moved to a very very small apartment in Montparnasse, attending a language school on Victor Hugo every morning and wandering around Paris alone in the afternoons. It was one of the scariest, loneliest and most liberating things I have ever done and has given Paris a special place in my heart forever. If I ever want to run away again, that’s where you’ll find me.

In fact, when I got married (different boyfriend) six years later, I returned to Paris for our honeymoon. This time, I got to explore the more romantic side of the city: walks in the parks, a river cruise, long lunches in pavement cafes. I can’t wait to go back again with my children and introduce them to a city I love.

The rooftops of Paris, (c) TheBookTrail

BookTrail One Way Ticket to Paris here

Therefore, when my character Kate feels the need to runaway, Paris is the obvious choice. I already knew the city well, so I had a list of places my characters would visit: the Rodin museum, the Luxembourg gardens, Montmartre. The reactions of these characters to these places was often the same as mine had been: I was just as disappointed as Laura with the size of the Mona Lisa! I also have a writer friend who lives in Paris and she looked at my descriptive sections to check they were accurate ( as well as proof reading my rusty French!)

The rooftops of Paris, (c) TheBookTrail

BookTrail One Way Ticket to Paris here

There are scenes in the book which come directly from my experience. For example, Kate shares a memory of eating a croque monsieur in cafe with her father which is something that I did when my parents came to see me in Paris. As my dad is no longer with us, this is a particularly special memory. The Musee D’Orsay was also one of my favourite places I would sit in the huge entrance hall with a book for hours and just suck up the atmosphere.

If anyone asks me for tips for visiting Paris, I always recommend getting a ticket for one of the tourist buses. It’s a great way of getting your bearings in the city and also a very convenient method of getting to the key tourist sites. But once you have seen everything you want to see, make time to sit outside a cafe, eating a Tarte Tatin and watching the Parisian world go by.

Thanks Emma – what a lovely tour around Paris and its memories!