The day started out pretty much like any other. We took our fitness walk at 9:00 instead of 11:00 because the Consumer Health class was going to a museum that didn’t open until 10:00. For our walk we went along the canal in Little Venice. It was misting the entire time but it wasn’t cold out so the walk wasn’t bad. To end our walk we went through a new area of Regent’s Park we had yet to explore before hopping on the tube to get back home.
Jeana and I stopped in the library to print our Eurostar tickets and then headed home to get all our last minute things done. We packed up and ate our lunch. Then we worked on our task from Janet and before we knew it it was time to head out. Since we were taking the Eurostar we left from one of the tube stations which was quite convenient. We got there in plenty of time. There was some minor security and customs but it took no time at all to get through. After waiting in the lobby for a little while our train was called to board. We had seats in coach one, the family area so we had a little table and both had window seats. The train departed right on time. On the journey there I didn’t really expect to fall asleep but I did for a little while. I just remember it being light outside and then when I woke up it was dark out. The train only takes a little over two hours but we lost an hour since Paris is ahead of London. We departed at 3:04 and arrived in Paris at 6:22. I was a little worried because I had told the hostel we would arrive around 5:00 after reading our arrival time wrong. That’s not the only thing I would soon find out I read wrong.
When we got to Paris we had no problem finding our hostel. It was only about a 20 minute walk from the station where we arrived so we were happy about that. The excitement quickly faded though. When we checked in the girl told me our name wasn’t in the computer. We weren’t worried because we had printed off our confirmation. She took it (it was her first night) to her boss for some help. After a while they came back only to bring the bad news that we did in fact have a reservation…for the previous weekend! I couldn’t believe it and panic began to take over. I felt absolutely terrible because although Jeana and I had worked together ot find the hostel, I was the one who made the reservation and put in the wrong dates. Jeana on the other hand didn’t care at all and was excited we now had one unique trip ahead of ourselves.
A little bit of relief settled in when the owner told us two people had canceled so we at least had a place to stay for the night. She told us she would check in the morning for other cancelations as well. The other good news was she changed us the normal rate. I was afraid it was going to be super expensive since we really had nowhere else to go and they knew that. For the first night everything was under control.
We decided we didn’t need to dwell on the situation since we had a place to stay for the night. Even though we decided this I was freaking out a little on the inside. I knew I couldn’t let it ruin our time in Paris but I just felt really bad since it was my mistake. Overall I stayed pretty calm but there were a few times Jeana had to reassure me.
We simply put our bags in our room and headed out. Being the first night what else was there to do but go to the Eiffel Tower. We jumped on the metro, which at first was really confusing. We figured it out though and on our journey got our very first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Once we got off we didn’t even need a map to find out way because we just walked towards it. Then one of my favorite things happened. We ran into Tyra, her mom and her mom’s friend! What are the odds of this happening again! Just seeing Trya and knowing she was in this foreign city as well provided me with so much relief. I now knew we had someone to turn to in need. We knew she was in Paris but didn’t know if she had her phone or anything. It was not only a big relief but a great surprise. We all three got our picture together in front of the Eiffel Tower. The three of them were headed home for the evening and Jeana and I were in search for some food. Tyra recommended the Tracadero area so that’s the way we headed. On our way there was a great viewing area of the Eiffel Tower so we stopped to admire it and take our pictures. It really is an incredible sight!
When we were done taking pictures we went in search of a good restaurant. We passed a bunch that looked alright but overpriced. We then decided to veer off the main road to try to locate a less expensive location. That worked really well for us. We had to walk quite a ways before finding one but we eventually found a cute restaurant that was semi crowded so we knew it had to be good. None of the other ones we passed had really been crowded. Our senses were right because dinner was one of the best we have had yet. Originally they only gave us menus in French but we could pretty much decipher the stuff so we were going to order. When our waiter realized we were American he brought us two new menus in English which was really nice. I’m grateful that he did because I was going to get four cheese pasta and instead got to be a little more adventurous with my Tagolini with artichoke and pigolini nuts. Jeana ordered the same thing. We both had loved it in Italy so we wanted to try it again.
As we waited for our food they brought us the most delicious olive bread and a bowl of lives. It was so good and even better was the fact that it came with the meal…in Italy we always had to pay about two euros per person every time we got bread with our meal! We were both starving so it only made it better that they brought us more bread when the first basket was gone! After we ordered our food we waited less than five minutes before they brought it out to us! Obviously they used some fresh pasta. The meal was wonderful. About halfway through I had a mini panic attack (not a real one though it probably almost was) and my stomach then did not feel well. I’m not really sure what happened but I think the reality of our situation just hit me. I just drank some water and Jeana reassured me that it was going to be fine. It helped but I couldn’t eat much more. I was full already anyway so it wasn’t a big deal. Though I think the waiter thought I didn’t like my meal since my plate wasn’t scraped clean but I told him I thought it was very good.
When we were done we decided to head home. It was late so there wasn’t much else we could do plus we were pretty tired. We made a game plan for the next day to ensure that we would get everything sorted out and still have a fun filled day ahead of us. We had planned to go right to bed when we got back. Instead, we ended up chatting with our roommates for a few hours. There were fourteen of us in the room but we met three girls from Britain, one boy from China and another from Seattle. For all our hostel experiences, that was my favorite because it was neat getting to meet everyone. As it got later they continued to talk but I curled up in bed and went to asleep as I was thoroughly exhausted. There talking didn’t even bother me and I fell asleep quickly and slept soundly.
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