2/8/12






If you had told me a year ago that I had the chance to go to Paris, but I had to get there by myself, and navigate my way to a hostel to meet up with my friends, I would have been terrified. Probably to the point where I wouldn't have gone.
However, as I was preparing to leave for Paris on Monday, I was surprised to realize that I wasn't scared at all. I knew how to get to the train station in Angers, and how to figure out which train to take, I had my little pocket map of Paris in my purse (thanks Dad, for packing at the last minute. It was a life saver) and I knew that I had plenty of time from when I arrived in Paris, to when I was supposed to meet my friends (who had left early that morning to go to Euro Disney). In fact, the only thing that I felt, was excited!
This whole month in Angers has been such a growing experience for me. I feel like I've gained so much more confidence, and proven to myself that I'm much more capable than I give myself credit for. At first, travelling from Portland to Amsterdam to Paris to Angers seemed so scary, and I was so nervous about it. But I did it. Then, figuring out the bus system, and how to find important things in Angers seemed like a big ordeal, but now it's almost as easy as finding my way around Eugene or Corvallis. So by the time I left Monday morning, Paris seemed like a piece of cake. I acknowledged that I would most likely get lost, but reminded myself that there are much worse things than being lost in such a beautiful city! And so, as I stepped off of the train, I took out my little map, found the general direction of the Eiffel Tower, and took off. 
I did get lost a few times, but because of it, I found a fantastic boulangerie where I bought the most delicious pain au chocolat, so I didn't complain. After walking for a while, I suddenly looked up, and saw the Eiffel Tower right in front of me! 

  I couldn't get there soon enough. I was so excited to really feel like I was in Paris. Finally, after sprinting for the last mile or so, I was standing right in front of it. I found a place in the grass, got out the rest of my pastry and my book and just relaxed and read, with a perfect view. 

 In the evening, I met my friends and we went out for a little picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower while it was lit up in the dark. Starting at ten, on the hour, for five minutes, the Eiffel Tower lights up with sparkly lights. It's so pretty to see. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

The next day, Tenzin and I went shopping in the part of Paris called Montmartre which is where the Moulin Rouge is. We had heard about a little store called Sympa, which had really good sales. However, after wandering around for several hours, we were thoroughly disappointed to find that it  didn't live up to its reputation. It was still fun exploring a new part of town. 
That night was our friend Nambi's last night in Paris, so we all went out to dinner at a very popular cafe. It was loud and super busy, but had the best rosé that I've ever had. We almost died laughing when we saw one of the waiters open and duck into what we thought was just a cabinet, but turned out to be the door to the downstairs storage room. We tried to get a picture, but he was too quick.  It was so fun to get to hangout with our group one more time :)

Les filles waiting for our table

 On our last day in Paris, Tenzin, Christine and I went shopping on the Champs-Elysée, which was lovely. It was beautiful weather, and we knew we couldn't afford to buy anything, but it was so fun to just be there and explore. 

Christine and me in front of the Arc de Triomphe

I was too intimidated to go in :) 

Drinking wine out of a water bottle on the roof of the hostel :)

After a long afternoon of shopping, we went back to our hostel, and broke out some wine. It was a great trip, and we are so excited that in about a week we get to have another adventure in LONDON!