I found my way to the girls in Paris without a phone, money or any knowledge of where our hostel was located or even the name of it. I arrived in Paris close to midnight. I was pretty relaxed on the train and it gave me some quiet time to write a blog about my adventures in England. Also, I met a newly engaged woman who was quite interested in hearing about my blog, which was really nice. But once I got to the station, I was a little alarmed that the girls were nowhere to be seen. My hope was that they would have checked their facebook messages and would be there waiting for me at the train station. But, they weren’t able to get my messages in time and had already left. I went to a few different people at restaurants across the street to ask for wifi with no luck. I also can’t speak French, so it was very hard to communicate my situation to anyone. So, it’s late, I am all alone, everything is closing and I’m on the verge of tears when I saw a young girl around my age drinking and smoking outside a café. I thought to myself, she may speak English and she has a lap top with her, which means wifi. I walked up and asked if she spoke English and thankfully she did. I explained my situation to her so she allowed me to use her computer. I still didn’t have any facebook messages from the girls, but I did have some emergency phone numbers that Rachael had given me over e-mail a few days earlier. So I called one of the girls (one that I hadn’t met yet) and lucky for me, she picked up. Thank you Lisa! Once I figured out the address and name, I was able to calm down. Now, I just had to hop in a cab with my luggage and go. Funny enough, the young girl that helped me out, was working on an English writing assignment for a contest. So in return for her kindness, I edited her assignment, the grammar/punctuation, all of it. We both were smiling by the end. I finally made it to the hostel, now happy as can be and having great conversation with the taxi driver. I found all the girls drinking wine out front of the hostel. It wasn’t long until I joined them…PHEW. One valuable lesson here, always know where you’re going, even if you are meeting people that already do because you never know what could go wrong.

 

We stayed in Paris for 3 days. Paris is an absolutely stunning city. People say it’s the city of love and I can understand why. For example, on our walking tour we came across a bridge that is for those hopeless romantic couples who believe they will be together forever. So, if you choose, you can write each other’s initials on a lock, then lock it to the bridge and afterwards throw the key into the water. This is believed to bring eternal love and happiness to your relationship. I’m not one for a lot of cheesy gestures but that is pretty sweet es. Also, on our walking tour, we saw the wall of love, which has “I love you” written in 300 different languages. Love is one feeling that can be understood and agreed upon worldwide. Those are just two examples, but Paris definitely had a romantic vibe to it. There’s coble stone roads, candle lights restaurants, beautiful buildings, quiet streets at night and gorgeous scenery all around.

 

To be in Paris with 7 other girls was interesting. None of us were really looking romance there, but appreciated it nonetheless. At first, it was a bit tough coordinating everyone, but we soon got the hang of it and we figured out our flow. We had one really nice day all together that stands out to me. We went on a walking tour of the city, which was beautiful, and after that, we got some lunch and later headed to the Eiffel tower to drink wine all night. By the end of the night, 7 bottles were gone and we were all smiles and laughter. Later on, Lisa and I decided to walk home. I felt as if I was in that famous Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. I highly recommend walking in Paris at night if you ever have the chance. After Paris, we made our way to Antwerp in Belgium for the infamous music festival called TOMORROWLAND, which deserves an entire blog of its own. We are currently in Amsterdam and heading to Berlin tomorrow. Stay tuned for more stories of my adventures.