One of my favorite songs has always been Diana Ross' Theme from Mahogany, which starts with the lyric "Do you know where you're going to, do you like the things that life is showing you?" I suppose that pretty much sums up my journey to date. Though I haven't always known where I'm headed, I have always loved what life has put in my path.

And, in case you haven't already guessed, one of those things has been Paris.

The city of light was my second stop on a work trip back in the days when those kind of business excursions had unlimited expense accounts and even more unlimited time to spend on your own. It was the first city in Europe that I took my mother and it was where, quite unexpectedly- I spent my honeymoon and rang in the new year. There are a lot of reasons for my love of Paris and to sum up the gravitational pull that the city has on me would be an injustice to words, but  as John and I sat on the couch on a gloomy mid March day, we knew instinctively what we were going to do during his summer break.

After looking at some apartments to rent, we decided to return to the same hotel in our favorite arrondissement, just a block away from our favorite patisserie (where we briefly became TODAY celebrities). Apartments in Paris are notoriously void of air conditioning and our hotel has a great cooling system that will help us immensely. This time around, one of my best friends from my days at NBC will be joining us. When I ask people to meet us in Paris, I never expect them to say yes, but when one of my best friends agreed, I couldn't have been more surprised and pleased.

I met Holli almost 15 years ago when the two of us worked in what was then, the most exciting time to be part of the broadcast industry. It's hard to believe how much time has passed and how much stronger our friendship has become. Watching her family grow and being an honored guest and witness at my wedding has been one of the greatest joys of my life. To show her around Paris is going to be surreal, and my one piece of a must do was simply to be sure that we put our phones away, look at the scene in front of us and take it all in. One of my best memories from our honeymoon is when John and I were at the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and I stood behind to just look at what was in front of us. No phone to capture a picture - just our eyes and breathing in the moment. It is one of my best memories of the trip.

There are so many places we have yet to discover in Paris, and this time, we're prepared for the sun. We've got cooling neck fans, sun hats and we'll be sure to carry our water bottles to enjoy the delicious water from fountains that are available everywhere. Do we know where we're going to this time? Probably. Maybe. We always start the day with a destination in mind, but how we get there is the real joy of Paris. One thing I will say is that, without a doubt, I will like the things that life is showing me.