The Study Abroad Journals: Always a Good Idea

"Paris is always a good idea" -Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina

Paris is always a good idea right? How could someone not agree? Well this past week my friend Anna and I travelled to the city and to be honest at first it didn't seem to be the greatest idea ever. The trip was a little spontaneous and we both knew it was going to be an adventure. But we didn't realize how much of an adventure it would actually be. Our plane arrived at around 12:30, and we decided it would be best to take a taxi to our hotel. Well that is until the driver warned us it would cost 200 euros!! He advised us to take the bus instead. After the hour long ride, we again decided to find a taxi to take us straight to our hotel. But this driver also said it would be best to take a bus, and that once we got off the hotel would be in walking distance. However, it wasnt. We walked around for a little (in the rain) and asked which way the hotel was, but nobody seemed to really know. Instead they all just pointed in the same general direction. Eventually though we ran into two young girls, who could not have been older than twelve, that were nice enough to try and show us where the hotel was.

So Anna and I put all our hope and trust into these two girls and followed them on to yet another bus. We took it for a little ways before switching lines. On the second bus the girls asked another guy if he knew where the road was, and he directed us to of course get on a different bus! The four of us waited for the next bus and got on only to find that we were headed in the wrong direction. So if you haven't figured out what happens next by now, we again change buses! Only this time we asked the driver just to make sure we would be going to the right place, and he replied with the best news I had heard all day. After the driver confirmed we would be end up where we need to be, Anna and I said goodbye to the two girls. They were so sweet, but I can only imagine the story they went home and told their familes that night.

Finally, we were through bus hopping and had found our hotel. However, the day wasn't over yet. Neither of our credit cards worked at the hotel so we had to use all our cash to pay for the room. Also, the guy at the desk didn't speak any English and I only speak a little French so there was some miscommunication as well. Thankfully though, we met another girl who had been staying there named Ingrid who spoke enough English that she could translate what I couldn't. She was also nice enough to show us to a bank and the metro system which she told us is the best way to get into the center of the city.

Afterward, we thanked Ingrid for all her help and determined it was time to relax in our room. Only there was one last problem that stood in the way. Our room key didn't work. It was only a minor problem and an easy fix, but it seemed that everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Surprisingly though, neither of us seemed to be frustrated by all the problems we had been having. Instead as soon as we got our door open we set our stuff down and just laughed. It had been six hours since our flight landed, and we both should have been in horrible moods. However, it all just seemed hysterical. We asked for an adventure and that is exactly what we got.

The next couple of days were adventurous but not in the same way as the first. (Thankfully.) We walked all around the city, making sure to visit the major tourist sites and of course ate lots of delicious French pastries! In the end Paris did turn out to be a good idea! And come on how many people can say they have spontaneously flown to Paris for a few days!