Passport to Paris

Bonjour!  I know this blog post is a little delayed seeing that I got back from Paris on Sunday, but I have been so busy with papers, and to be honest, I needed some time to just sit back and think about my time in Paris.  It was definitely not anything I was expecting.  But overall, I LOVED the city and I can one day see myself and my future husband living there.  There is no question that Paris is an amazing place, but I guess parts of my trip hindered the experience I could have had.  I know that it seems like some of the most ridiculous things have happened to me, because, well, they have, but I have more absurd happenings to report back on.  Now, when arranging this Paris trip, I was supposed to be going with my two good friends from Kenyon.  But one had to back out of the trip because her parents were visiting that weekend, leaving it to just me and my one other friend meeting up in Paris, and luckily another one of our good friends is studying abroad in Paris from Kenyon, so we could meet up with her as well.  A few weeks ago, one of my friend's from the Exeter-Kenyon Program decided to tag along as well, because she too had some friends studying abroad.
It turns out that Paris is only a two hour train ride from London!  So it was very fast and easy getting from the UK to France.  Upon arriving, my friend and I had no idea where we were so we decided to take a taxi.  We only got in the taxi after after asking the taxi man if he knew where our hotel was, and even though he said he knew where he was going, it turned out that he was lying and asking us for directions which is ironic because if anyone knows me, you know I don't know where I am half the time, let alone do I know my way around Paris.  Even when I'm in Los Angeles, where I've lived my entire life, I have to use Thomas, my little navigation system.  But anyway, after finally making it to our hotel, the man working behind the desk gave us a key to a room that was undergoing construction, so we had to go back down and get a key to a different room.  After a good night's sleep and a croissant for breakfast, we hit the city.  First we went to the Louvre Museum.  Amazing.  Just the building alone was a work of art.  And of course, after being so excited to see the Mona Lisa, I was a little let down.  She was tiny.  And she was covered in glass.  I guess she followed me around with those eyes whenever I took a step, but she was literally the size of my head.  Not that the painting isn't beautiful, but I was expecting the famous Mona Lisa to be bigger than what it actually is.  Take a look:

(My head = as big as Lisa!)

After the Louvre, we walked to the famous Arc De Triomphe Etoile on Avenue Des Champs Elysees.  It was a longer walk than anticipated, but I was happy because I was hoping that it would burn off the chocolate and banana crepe I had for lunch that day.  And after seeing the incredible and historic Arc, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower!  And not only did we walk over to it, but we walked in it!  Unfortunately, the top floor was closed off to the public, but my friend and I were still able to go to the second floor (which is equivalent to 100 floors) and we were able to get an incredible view of Paris!

The Eiffel Tower was an amazing site, and definitely made up for the size of the Mona Lisa.  Exhausted from walking, we decided to go back to our hotel (too bad I didn't stay in a hostel again with Candy Breeze) before dinner, and change before meeting up with my friend who is studying abroad in Paris.  

However, my idea of changing really quickly for dinner was very different from my roommate's.  We were an HOUR LATE for dinner with my friend, and the worst part is, I could have been there on time.  Doesn't this remind you of the weekend before when I missed my train?...

Anyway, dinner turned out to be great.  I had my first ever escargot and loved it!  It tasted more like calamari to me than snail, which helped me deal with the fact that I was putting a snail in my stomach to digest.  It was so great seeing my friend again and after dinner, we walked over the river and watched the Eiffel Tower light up.  It was pretty magical.  

Exhausted once again, we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.  The next morning I met up with another one of my really close friend's from Kenyon, but of course, I was 20 minutes late, but again, I was ready to go early, but the other person wasn't.  After meeting up with my friend, she toured us around Paris (because she spent the summer there) and we eventually made our way to the French department stores.  And let me tell you this: these were no Bloomingdales.  These Parisian stores were like Saks on steroids.  They were AMAZING.  But of course, everything was very expensive.  After trying on and loving a pair of pants, I decided that since it is my birthday in just over a week, I should get them as a birthday gift to myself and call them 'my birthday paris pants'.  So I did.  They are very interesting, something you would not be able to buy back in the states so it made sense to buy a one of a kind and take them back home with me.  They are black fitted pants with swatches of navy leather on the inner thigh.  Cool, right?  I love them, and if I see you over winter break or anytime in the future, I will most likely be wearing them.  They are my favorite pants ever.  After shopping, we all decided to have a big dinner.  Both of my Kenyon friends who I met in Paris brought friends to the dinner and I was going to join with my friend from Exeter.  However, she was running a little late, and I for once decided that I was not going to be dragged into being late AGAIN, so I left her with the hotel key and told her where to meet us.  However, something went wrong, her phone died, and we waited to order for her.  After about 45 minutes of waiting, we decided to order.  After finishing our dinners, drinks, and desserts, she finally arrived, two hours late.  NO JOKE.  It made me very happy that I left on my own time because I would not have been very happy if I had waited and gotten there TWO HOURS late.  Also, the night was fun because people from another table bought us roses and they sold my licorice on sidewalk stands on every street corner!

   

After dinner I hung out with my Kenyon friends some more and then my Exeter friend and I decided to go back to the hotel because we had to wake up early the next morning for our train.  Arriving at the hotel, my friend couldn't find the key that I had left her with and of course, the woman behind the desk did not speak a word of English and didn't understand what we meant.  Finally, a man understood what we were talking about and came up with us to our room to unlock our door.  But listen to this.  Once we got to our room, the keys were left IN THE DOOR!!! IN THE DOOR.  First of all, I had my passport, my wallet, and all of my clothes in there and anybody could have just gone in and taken all of my stuff.  I couldn't believe that she had left the key in the door, and now I was mad because this wasn't the first "careless mistake".  When I went into the room, all of my stuff was unfolded and it looked as if someone had gone through my suitcase.  My heart sank.  Had someone stolen my passport?, my credit cards?  But I checked and it was all there.  Then why in the world was my stuff thrown around?  I asked my Exeter friend.  Listen to her response" "Oh, sorry, I went through your bag to get your converter."  WHAT IN THE WORLD?  First of all, DO NOT go through my suitcase without asking.  Secondly, if you mess up my stuff and unfold my clothes and throw my things out of my suitcase onto the floor, PUT IT BACK THE WAY YOU FOUND IT.  I didn't even know what to say at that moment.  After that incident, I was ready to get out of Paris and go back to my flat where I have my own personal space and where I get to things on time.  

But other than all of the negatives, I did truly fall in love with Paris.  I want to go back next semester because there is so much more to do there!  And, Paris helped me become better with my sense of direction, which I am very proud of.  But this trip taught me how much I love my personal space and timeliness.  But even after all of this, I don't think that I am a stickler for getting places on time, I think it's just normal, or it least it is with my family and friends.  But anyway, I have to get to bed because I am going on a Cruise around Exmouth tomorrow!  I promise you that I will post again soon, so keep checking.  I already have some ironic stories from these past few days that I want to share so keep checking my blog!

(PS. That is me reading a map!!! - I never used to do that!)