Author: Chasin Prather

A global truth is that you don’t get to choose who your parents are. Why is one child born into famine in the Sudan and another into pomp and circumstance on 5th Avenue in NYC? I plan to ask our creator that question when I get there, but before I do, there’s so much more to see and do down here on this orbiting sphere we call home. There is no greater equalizer then being abroad, experiencing new cultures, confronting adversities, and basking in the moonlight of a star filled skies that you’ve never laid eyes on before.

My parents, who deserve all the praise one can justly give, instille in my siblings and I the blessing and curse that is Wanderlust. My first trip abroad was at the ripe age of 2 years old when we, my older brother and parents, flew across the Atlantic in the 1980s for a Paris & Rome vacation. The year was 1987 and my parents were still in their 20s. They were adventurous (young and dumb) enough to fly transatlantic with two toddlers and no iPads, iPods, or even a Discman as in-flight entertainment. The trust etch-a-sketch would have to suffice. Maybe their brazen travel hubris is genetic, it would explain a lot. Our favorite memory from this trip was when, after a long travel day, my father asked room service at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris to bring us two banana split chocolate sundaes. In the birthplace of pastry, we order bananas, epically American. To our delight, after some instruction and persuasion, they delivered our treats. Family legend alleges that you can still order a banana split chocolate sundae there to this day. If you have ever had a banana split chocolate sundae in Paris, you are very welcome. I wouldn’t fact check that unless you want them to know who sent you.

In this pre-internet age, the photos atop the Eiffel Tower would serve as a reminder growing up that there is a great big world out there. It became a calling, an obligation, a proverbial summit to ascend.

City By City Itinerary
Future Itineraries will be much more detailed but I was two on this trip!
Rome – 5 Days
Paris – 7 days
Hotel Intercontinental

This blog is intended to document, commemorate, and hopefully to inspire. Throughout this blog, it’s my aim to revisit past travel itineraries, story tell, and share any relevant tips and tricks of the travel trade. Some of these stories are recollections but all of these are first hand accounts.