I was lucky enough to have one of the best trips of my entire life happen this April. It was something I long manifested as I wasn’t sure if it would be possible - but I held the intention that of course it’d work out, of course I’d get to go - and the Universe came through & I did :)
If you have been following me for a while, you’ll remember that last year, I went to Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim and it was so much fun, so amazing. We met so many of our favorite actors, creators, saw exclusive trailers, got into panels, got photo ops, and got to dress up. It was a dream come true.
At the end of last year’s convention, Star Wars announced the next Celebration would be 2024 in London! A lot of people groaned because yes that’s a far way away from California … but we’re in New York, which is pretty much in the middle of the two (so if we went to Cali we can surely go to London, right?) … and in my mind, with my astrological chart having a stacked 9th house (the house of travel) I thought “what a great excuse to go to London!”
I wasn’t sure if financially it’d be possible or if we’d be able to take that long off, but I let go of the how, I stopped worrying, and I just trusted “it’s possible.” “It can happen.”
& sure enough, everything aligned to make it so.
So we arrived to London 2 nights before the convention, which gave us one day in London to explore and have fun. Justin and I had each already been to London before we knew each other, so we didn’t have all the pressure to do all the things, but we picked a chose a few.
My main thing I really, really wanted to do was have Afternoon Tea at Peggy Porschen’s! I had been a fan of their vibe on instagram for years and was so excited now was my chance to go… so we went and it lived up to the hype. It was so cute, the perfect aesthetic, the tea was so good, the pastries were delicious - I was so happy, definitely may favorite part!
We walked around a lot of London, by Tower Bridge, the Tower of London - we really wanted to go eat at Nando’s but we were so stuffed from the tea… so next time! Nando’s REALLY needs to come to NY!
Overall, it was a really pleasant day - but we went back early to have a full night’s sleep before the convention the next day!
The next four days were spent at the eXcel center in London going to Star Wars Celebration. We had more subtle costumes this time since we had to cross the ocean - I mainly wore dresses from Her Universe! but it was amazing to see everyone else’s armor and attire - my favorite was an entire group were dressed up as the Bad Batch and they were so spot on!
We spent most of the weekend seeing panels at the Galaxy Stage - which was hosted by DJ Aussie Dave who we loved - he was hilarious and just had the best energy. Apparently he was in Anaheim too but we stayed the main stage that time - so if you go to a future celebration, definitely hit up the Galaxy Stage for DJ Aussie Dave!
We got looks at lots of exclusive clips and trailers for Ahsoka, the Acolyte (which looks amazing and hearing the creator speak about how passionate she’s always been about Star Wars makes me know it’s in good hands!), Skeleton Crew, Bad Batch season 3, and even Andor (they were half-way through filming at the time and the clips they showed us were unreal, so much action, I can’t wait). But I personally am most excited for Ahsoka which is basically just a continuation of one of my personal favorite shows, Rebels. And I cannot wait for Live Action Hera and Chopper! (my other two favs!)
The highlight for me of any Celebration though is always the meet and greets! We got photos with the legendary Hayden Christensen, Andy Serkis (I told him how AMAZING he was in Andor & he was so genuinely grateful!), and Rosario Dawson (who is the literally definition of cool, seriously she seems like the coolest, chillest person on the planet just awesome energy). We also met James Arnold Taylor who voices Kenobi and he said “Hello There!” to us and also said “May the Force be with you” in his Lt. Beck voice from Rise of the Resistance - so so awesome!
We got an autograph to talk to Ashley Eckstein again this year, I admire her so much. She’s so inspiring and I love all she does to lift others up and encourage them. Last year I gave her a copy of my published journal and told her she always inspies me … and this year she remembered me! Her husband David is so nice too and he remembered Justin because Justin talked to him about the Mets! Honestly, meeting and talking to Ashley and David and having them remember us was probably the main highlight, just genuinely amazing souls.
Overall, Celebration was once again such a great time. It’s hard to describe the feeling of being in a place with thousands of other people who are all so equally passionate about something you love. It’s just so much fun and if you recommend Star Wars I highly recommend!
After Celebration, we were often to my absolute favorite city in the world: Paris. Again, Justin and I have each been here separately but never together, so it was extra special. The second we landed in Paris and drove into the city, my heart just felt so full. I know I’ve had many past lives in Paris, but there’s just something about it I love so very much. The aesthetic, the vibe, the culture - it’s amazing. Having grown up with New York City as my home city, I see so many similarities in Paris, but to me, Paris is just like a dreamy, prettier, classier version of NYC. So it feels like home, but like upscale home!
Our first morning in Paris, we had a photoshoot scheduled with the amazing Mary from Flytographer. We did the photoshoot because Justin really wanted to recreate our Valentine’s Card. On our first Valentine’s together, Justin gifted me a card of a couple holding a red umbrella standing in front of the Eifle Tower. The following year, he gifted me the same card with the message “pretty sure I got you this card last year…” and the year after that it was “hey, l look at this brand new card you’ve never seen before!” so ever since then it’s become a tradition for him to get me our card. & since we were going to Paris, Justin bought a red umbrella and really wanted us to recreate the picture in front of the card.
So we did, we took the pictures at the beautiful Trocadero. It had been raining earlier and was still early in the morning so next to no one was there. After a few pictures together, the photographer suggested I take some pictures by myself with the red umbrella. I told her I didn’t need that LOL, but she and Justin both insisted it’d be cute and I should. So I went with it, and when it was time to take down my umbrella, I turned around and there Justin was on one knee, holding a ring box, proposing to me in Paris.
It was truly magical and such a dream come true. It worked out so perfectly. It felt like no one was there, but after Justin put the ring on my finger a group of people cheered from behind our photographer. She then proceeded to take us all around the rest of the Eifle Tower and take beautiful, amazing pictures of us - really going above and beyond.
So, there we were engaged in Paris We celebrated by going out to lunch to have tea at Laduree on the Champs-Elysees (it’s currently under construction so we sat in their outside area, it was nice - but our waiter literally just dipped out in the middle of serving us before even getting us our food or telling anyone about it so we sat there for an hour without our complete order and without any staff member coming anywhere near us to be able to ask for help…. but when we finally got up and got someone, they were nice and got our stuff right away. It was crazy but we laughed about it.
! Later that night, we saw the BIGGEST rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life just dashed across the Parisian sky - definitely a sign I felt that our loved ones on the other side were all happy for us.
After that, we went on a beautiful river cruise around the Seine. & we spent the rest of the week doing other fun Parisian things - like Sacre-Coeur (Which I had never been to!), got to go to the Artist’s district and I saw La Maison Rose, we went to Versailles (although it was a very rainy, cold day so we didn’t get to explore the gardens but it was still nice inside!).
And then of course, we spent our final weekend abroad in Disneyland Paris! Disneyland Paris is truly just the prettiest park, it’s so beautiful - I’m obsessed with the castle; it’s my favorite. The drone show was unreal, it’s so cool to see because there’s nothing like in in DisneyWorld or Disneyland California! The only thing I’ll say with Paris is that it was hard to get to go food, everything is like a big sit down meal (Which is very European) but we’re used to Florida where you can grab and go everything and get quick service. But it was alright, other than that I just love Disneyland Paris with all my heart, it’s extra magical (especially with everything in French, which I think is just the most beautiful language).
So overall, everything aligned for it to be a magical, amazing trip. London, Star Wars Celebration, Paris, Getting engaged in Paris, and Disneyland Paris - truly a dream come true that I’m very, very grateful for!
Sometimes, you don’t need to know how things will align, just trust they will! <3
