The very last day that we
were in Europe, we got an entire day to ourselves to relax and bumble around in
France. By this point in time, we were quite familiarized with the subway
system, the overall layout of Paris, and in general, how to stay alive in
Europe. One thing that had me irritated, though, is the reason why we had that
free day. Initially, we are supposed to be going to London via a high-speed
train, but because it was like 200 extra dollars per day or something, they cut
it from the tour. I thought of it this way; if we were already paying five and
a half grand to go on this trip… would an extra 200 really hurt that much? So
regardless, instead of taking a high-speed train to London, we spent the day
walking the streets of Paris enjoying ourselves.
To start off the day, we got breakfast at the continental breakfast at our hotel. This was our last day in Europe, and throughout the entire tour we have been told to discard old clothes that we didn't intend to take home so that we can make room for souvenirs and to overall lighten up the suitcase. So, every piece of clothing we didn't feel like taking home, my roommate and I threw into the shelving units. We also left behind some extra snacks and beverages we were enjoying on the 6 hour bus ride from Germany.
After running those light errands, we made a plan to go see as much as we could. It was my roommate Nick, and three other kids that came from my high school, that ended up being my travel group for the day. There were a total of 7 of us that came from West York, but this group of four of us was really tight. We were going to rent some bikes and bike around Paris, but as mentioned in an earlier post, France didn't seem to like MasterCard from America. Defeated, we resorted to the Metro System, where you can get a ticket from one side of the town to the other for usually right around two Euros. We had grown quite fond of it, as we had been using the Metro System the entire time in Paris, as we only had our bus driver for a week before he had to return home to the Czech Republic.
To start off the day, we got breakfast at the continental breakfast at our hotel. This was our last day in Europe, and throughout the entire tour we have been told to discard old clothes that we didn't intend to take home so that we can make room for souvenirs and to overall lighten up the suitcase. So, every piece of clothing we didn't feel like taking home, my roommate and I threw into the shelving units. We also left behind some extra snacks and beverages we were enjoying on the 6 hour bus ride from Germany.
After running those light errands, we made a plan to go see as much as we could. It was my roommate Nick, and three other kids that came from my high school, that ended up being my travel group for the day. There were a total of 7 of us that came from West York, but this group of four of us was really tight. We were going to rent some bikes and bike around Paris, but as mentioned in an earlier post, France didn't seem to like MasterCard from America. Defeated, we resorted to the Metro System, where you can get a ticket from one side of the town to the other for usually right around two Euros. We had grown quite fond of it, as we had been using the Metro System the entire time in Paris, as we only had our bus driver for a week before he had to return home to the Czech Republic.
 |
| A view from the bridge. |
We first decided to check out some of the Art
District buildings. We saw a little bit of them but didn't actually get a
chance to go into any of them. One of them was having a huge Flea Market at the
time, and there were plenty of things to see inside the building. We easily
walked 5 miles that day, popping from one side of town to the other, taking as
many pictures as possible.
And then, I was inspired. My roommate and I started whistling and singing in acapella version of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day”. I was inspired, because I was still single, still not talking to any girls, and wandering lost in the streets of Europe trying to find myself. And while singing that song, we definitely did find ourselves. We had some deep conversations about girls that we liked, issues we were facing coming ahead, and many other things. What a cathartic way to spend your time wandering the streets of Europe. Needless to say, the girl that my roommate liked back then, he's now been dating for over 5 years.
Much as we did in Italy and Switzerland before us, we went to restaurant in night that had live entertainment from the vocals in the style of their traditional folk music. Just when I thought accordions and Italian lyrics were cute, and I thought that the Swiss Alp horns were incredible, then we got to hear a French couple sing and play accordion. It was very schmaltzy and beautiful. After wandering through nearly every part of Paris and getting close up pictures of the Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower, we called it a day.
And then, I was inspired. My roommate and I started whistling and singing in acapella version of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day”. I was inspired, because I was still single, still not talking to any girls, and wandering lost in the streets of Europe trying to find myself. And while singing that song, we definitely did find ourselves. We had some deep conversations about girls that we liked, issues we were facing coming ahead, and many other things. What a cathartic way to spend your time wandering the streets of Europe. Needless to say, the girl that my roommate liked back then, he's now been dating for over 5 years.
Much as we did in Italy and Switzerland before us, we went to restaurant in night that had live entertainment from the vocals in the style of their traditional folk music. Just when I thought accordions and Italian lyrics were cute, and I thought that the Swiss Alp horns were incredible, then we got to hear a French couple sing and play accordion. It was very schmaltzy and beautiful. After wandering through nearly every part of Paris and getting close up pictures of the Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower, we called it a day.
 |
| A perfect ending to a perfect day: a pontoon ride. |
Although I really wish to have gone to London
for a day, it was still quite incredible to be able to experience everything
that I did in the past 10 days of my life. And, to be continued…
No comments:
Post a Comment