Anyway, this time, I was not lucky enough to find a ride share for the way to Paris. I had to suck it up and pay the exorbitant cost for the train. However, that worked out for the best because Laura, another au pair working near Stuttgart, and I ended up chatting the entire time and I'm pretty sure we would have annoyed other people in a car with our incessant talk of boys (apparently, there is absolutely no difference in bonding with a fifteen or twenty-four-year-old girl...).
It was also good for me that I ended up traveling with her, as I STILL don't know my way around the Stuttgart train station. Laura has been in Stuttgart since last November, so she has a pretty good grasp of German and also how public transportation works in Europe. Our tickets for the train actually weren't next to each other (not even in the same car, or wagon as the Germans say), but I just illegally sat next to her and never was kicked out. I know, I'm a daredevil (there are some benefits to being an American...my out was just going to be that I read the ticket wrong if it came to that).
We arrived in Paris without incident, though we did have some issues finding the hostel as our cabbie had no idea where the place we were staying was, and just dropped us off in the middle of the street that it was on. So, from about 10:30-11pm, we wandered about the streets of Paris trying to find someone who spoke enough English (and was sober enough) to direct us toward while we were staying. It was actually kind of terrifying; Paris is a different city at night, and not necessarily in a good way. There was an unsettling contrast between the people enjoying a nice meal outside while 50 yards away there were a group of drunk men lying in puddles of their own urine and vomit. Welcome to Paris, the most refined of all cities and fashion capital of the world.
Anyway, we did eventually find the hostel and once there, had another unexpected surprise. Since we had booked so late, we had to get a private room (which actually was fine because then there's no worry about theft or who else is going to be in the room with you). We THOUGHT it would have two twin beds, but we walked in and just started laughing because it was actually just one queen. If the train ride didn't already make us pals, then two nights in the same bed would do it. Also worth noting: the shower was SOOOO tiny. Swear on my life, it was roughly coffin-sized. But, and least you wouldn't have to wear flip-flops in it, or wait in line behind five hundred other girls trying to make themselves beautiful in the morning.
Once settled in, we decided to just go to bed straight away and then get an early start in the morning. So, we were out the door at 8 am after taking advantage of the free breakfast in the hostel (the food was edible...the coffee was disgusting). And then, by 11 AM we had already seen half of the tourist attractions that you are supposed to see the first time you go to Paris. All thanks to Laura...she was the one figuring out the metro and reading the maps and taking charge. I was just along for the ride and waiting to have some real coffee.
After seeing Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, and the Louvre (just the outside), we did the only thing I really felt that I had to do in Paris, which was stopping by one of the five hundred million cafes that are every ten feet on the streets (you'd think we would have found one sooner, but when you have that many options to choose from it becomes difficult to just pick one). We ordered "Madame croque's," which are basically a kind of grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and a fried egg on top, and then I had my long-awaited double-shot of espresso and Laura had tea. I don't know how I keep hanging out with non-coffee drinkers; guess I should have appreciated having constant coffee buddies in Julia and Mike more. But it was so delicious, and I truly can call myself a coffee connoisseur now.
Following our leisurely lunch, we set off to see a few more sights. Along the way, we went into this AMAZING french tea shop (called Kusmi, I believe) where I was suckered into buying a box of expensive, but absurdly delicious grapefruit-something-green tea (hey now...tea and coffee are more acceptable addictions than drugs and alcohol, at least, though not much cheaper with how particular I have become). We also made our way to the Eiffel tower. It cool to see (I know, such a boring way to describe it, "cool"), and the park around it was lovely, if quite crowded and featuring too many couples groping each other in a public space.
By this point in the afternoon, we were pretty wiped, so we decided to stop by the hostel and drop off our tea before heading out for round two in the evening. En route, we stopped and bought some macaroons. They were okay (nothing compared to German chocolate), I wished I had just gotten another coffee (so I did).
Almost as soon as we were back in our room, I received a text from Reillie, saying that her and her friend Matthieu were in the city as well, so we then headed back out and met up with them. And the Nuit Blanche part of the night was underway.
Nuit Blanche is essentially and all-night art exhibition held across the city. Museums are free all night, in addition to the street performers, galleries, and exhibits that are set up at various spots around Paris. It's quite a unique event, and Paris (which never seems to sleep) is the perfect host.
The first exhibit we went to was "fog art." Calling it art is a generous term, because all it seemed to be was fake fog all around a square in the downtown area. It was kind of a cool novelty at first, but we kept losing each other and it was uncomfortable to inhale so we did last there too long. So then we found the cheapest cafe we could (which was reflected in the quality of the food; though at least you can't really ruin an omelette), and then started walking around looking at other exhibits.
Unfortunately, by this time, it was becoming quite apparent that Laura and I had not really ideally planned our day, at least for this particular weekend in Paris. While we saw SO much of the city during the day, our energy was waning and feet were killing us from spending 15+ hours walking all around the city. Reillie and Matthieu, on the other hand, were fresh and ready to go. So we ended up parting ways at around 11pm, and Laura and I headed back to the hostel. I fell asleep almost immediately.
The next morning, we moved a bit slower (also decided that showering wasn't worth it), but were still out and about by around 9:30 am (if at a much slower pace). The only really big touristy attraction that we saw was the Arc de Triomphe (Laura is an architecture major so I think it was more fascinating to her than me, though still quite impressive). We then searched for a crepe place; a harder job than you would expect since it was Sunday and a lot of places were closed (although a lot more places are open in Paris on Sundays than in Germany). But we were eventually successful, found a place near Versailles where the coffee was even nicer than the day before. I had crepes; she had quiche, we basically were French for the hour we were there.
And then it was time to head back to Stuttgart. We were able to get a ride share on the way back with some dude named Fabian (he wasn't nearly as fun as Lourdes and Chris). We saved a lot of money, but it took us six hours compared to the four on the train. Still was worth it though, especially considering that I was hemorrhaging money the entire weekend.
So, that was Paris! I'm glad that I was able to go and see it, but it wouldn't break my heart if I was never able to go back again. It's beautiful, and there's a lot to see and do, but historical buildings are not as impressive to me as mountains. The Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle are gorgeous, but it wasn't the heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away awe and beauty that traveling around New Zealand left me with. Also, Paris really does smell. Especially at night. However, one myth I would dispel is that the people are unfriendly, and don't speak much English. In our experience, you were fine with just English, and while people won't usually go out of their way to be extremely helpful (we did have one waiter who took a fancy to us and was a bit TOO friendly), they weren't rude by any means either.
So, until next time, au revoir! I think I did a better job taking photos this time and will try to keep it that way.
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