Bienvenue au France

The train ride to Paris went by like a cool breeze, probably considering I dozed off immediately and remained sound asleep for the majority of the trip. From the moment I stepped off the train and in Paris for the first time, I felt relieved. No more aching shoulder pains from my backpack or arm strains from my heavy luggage, no more obnoxious beeping noises from airplanes, no more ear popping, and no more security checks. While for the most part I was right about this, I still was a bit of a hassle to actually get to the hotel. After meeting up with the SPI leader and the rest of the girls an hour after our train arrived in Paris, we headed towards the metro to make our way to l’hotel. We dragged our luggage up and down loads of endless stairs and pushed our way through the escalators and bends and corners of the floors all congested with busy people. We cooled down a bit on the metro and then re-entered the city and walked for 15 minutes, finally arriving to our final destination. I threw my bags down as if they were sacks full of meaningless junk and felt proud.  When life gave us lemons, we made the best lemonade we could!

The moment I had been waiting for all year long, to finally explore and roam the streets of Paris; the city of love and light and life! It was everything I had ever dreamed and hoped it would be, maybe even better. Not many things I imagine turn out the same, but Paris is definitely the first place of scenery that has most matched my imagination’s expectations of it. The people are beautiful, dressed in classy chic attire, zooming down the narrow, busy streets on shiny cruiser bikes. The streets give off an alluring aroma of café du lait and the tempting food awaiting my taste tongues in each passing by restaurant. As a group, we took the metro to go view the city on the Seine River. Passing by on the glimmering water, I couldn’t help but laught and smile at the young teens and adults relaxing and having fun on the pavement right by the water. Dancing ridiculously to music, tossing bottles of red wine into the air and kissing, and even mooning us passengers on the boat! They were all so spirited, happy, and comfortable. I could tell that these people were regulars who met up with their friends quite often in these spots and made great memories relaxing in the beautiful atmosphere. I tried my hardest to absorb all of the images of France; the historical bridges built in the French Revolution, the museums, and ofcourse the magnificent Tour d’Eiffel. In the cool, white air the tower looked stunning. Yet when the sun set and the sky turned into a beautiful blue and the tower’s lights turned on, I knew there was no way I could remember it’s beauty through a picture the way I could capture it in that moment. That’s something I always think about. Is it worth it to worry and stress over getting that perfect picture? Or is it more important to just enjoy the sights and beauty of the world through the two lenses of your own? Paris got chilly and we were all drained of any energy we had stored up for the evening activity. On our way to the metro and back to the hotel I practiced speaking French with some of the girls and the SPI leaders. It sounded so beautiful to converse in this language, I never wanted to stop! I wanted to keep going and going until I became fluent. And hopefully that day will come. It is one o’clock in the morning and I am sitting on my twin size hotel room bed, eager for what Paris offers me tomorrow. Unfortunately wifi is only free in the lobby of the hotel so I will most likely be posting all of my blog posts later than I had written them and even some on the same days rather than their original date. As long as I am recording my journey, the technicalities don’t really matter. Bonne nuite!