Remember Paris? | September 2021 #Shorts

A look back at our September 2021 Paris honeymoon, with the moments, lessons, and travel tips that still stick with us years later.

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Every so often a memory pops up on our phones and stops us mid-scroll. This time it was Paris, September 2021. We shared a quick throwback Short, and it got us talking about that trip all over again. So here is the longer version, the one that didn't fit in a few seconds of vertical video.

Watch the Short on YouTube

Why Paris, and why then?

We were newlyweds, and the world was only just starting to open back up. Travel in September 2021 meant paperwork, tests, and a lot of "are we sure we can actually go?" We were two people from Mississauga, one Vietnamese and one Punjabi, standing in a city that has been romanticized for centuries. We wanted to see if it lived up to the hype.

It did, though not always in the ways we expected.

The little things we remember most

Ask us about Paris and we won't start with the Eiffel Tower. We'll talk about:

The morning bakery run. Warm bread, a flaky pastry, and a coffee on a street corner. Nothing fancy, and it was perfect.
Walking everywhere. We covered so much ground on foot that our feet were begging for mercy by evening. But you see the real city that way: the side streets, the tiny shops, the balconies with flower boxes.
Golden-hour light. Paris in September has a softness to it. The days are still warm, the crowds have thinned a little, and the light on the stone buildings makes everything look like a painting.
Sitting without rushing. The café culture taught us to slow down. Nobody hurries you out. You order, you linger, you people-watch.

What we wish we'd known

Honestly, we made our share of mistakes. We were first-timers, and Paris has a way of humbling you quickly. We put together a full list in our top 10 mistakes in Paris, but here are a few that stand out:

Overpacking the itinerary. We tried to do too much each day. The best moments came when we left gaps and just wandered.
Not planning for transit and walking distances. Paris looks compact on a map. It isn't always. Comfortable shoes are not optional.
Skipping basic French. A simple "Bonjour" and "Merci" changed how people responded to us every single time. A little effort goes a long way.

We also wrote about the things that caught us off guard in what surprised us about Paris, from the pace of daily life to how differently things work compared with home.

The travel-during-COVID reality

Travel in 2021 wasn't carefree. Testing requirements shaped our whole schedule, and we'll admit the stress was real. Our return-trip testing turned into its own mini-drama, which we shared in what happened with our PCR test. Looking back, we can laugh about it now. At the time, not so much.

If there's a lesson there for any trip, it's this: build in buffer time and keep your documents organized and easy to reach. Things will go sideways at some point, and a calm plan makes it a story instead of a disaster.

Traveling as a couple from two cultures

One thing we love about traveling together is how our different backgrounds shape what we notice. Samantha gravitates to the food stalls and markets, the textures and flavors that remind her of home in a different way. Amir is drawn to the architecture and the history. We argue about where to eat, we compromise, and we usually end up somewhere better than either of us would have picked alone.

We've written more about this in traveling as an interracial couple, including the good, the awkward, and the funny parts of moving through the world side by side.

Tips if you're heading to Paris

If our Short has you dreaming about a trip, here is what we'd pass along:

Go in September if you can. Warm days, fewer crowds than peak summer, and lovely evenings.
Book major sights ahead of time. Lines can eat half a day.
Walk more than you plan to. Some of our favorite finds were accidents.
Eat where locals eat. If a menu is in five languages with photos, keep walking.
Leave room for nothing. An unscheduled afternoon in Paris is never wasted.

Why we keep looking back

Our life looks different now. We're juggling family, work, and a schedule that rarely lets us run off to Europe on a whim. That's part of why a throwback like this hits so hard. Paris was a snapshot of a particular chapter: newly married, curious, a little nervous, and completely in love with the adventure of it.

We don't look back wishing we could go back. We look back feeling grateful that we went, that we have the footage, and that we can share it with you.

So tell us: do you remember your first big trip? Where was it, and what do you still think about? Drop a comment on the video, we read every one.

Watch the Short on YouTube