Hello, my name is Emily and I'm a tourist. Paris Day 1

If I had to describe Paris using only one word it would be ..... adventure.
Adventures come with everything...the ups and the downs. And this was Paris.
It was either really mind-blowingly amazing or sooo frustrating and crappy.

The adventure began at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning, after only about 3 hours of sleep. Our flight left Valencia airport at 7:00. A large number of students had made travel plans for Paris, but my specific traveling group consisted of ~6 people. Paris had already shown her ugly side and made things difficult for some of us. Me and my fellow hostel dwellers had to deal with our hostel reservation being rejected two days before our flight. Several other students made it all the way to the airport only to find their flight was either canceled or the airport just didn't have their reservation. But our little group made it just fine... and with time to spare.

Waiting in airport
Kelly, Freddie, Matt, Lillie, Megan, and Chris

Ok now one with me

Jealous

Me pretending and wishing I was able to sleep on planes.

Pretty sky out my window


Ideally, you show up in a foreign country slightly prepared for what's about to hit you. Had I been alone on this trip, I would still be sitting in a ball on the French airport floor. Once we landed we had to buy a train ticket. Once we got a train ticket, we had to figure out what stop to get off on. Lucky for me, my travel mate Lillie had written down the hostel address and my other travel mate Chris knew his way around public transportation. If it hadn't been for Chris, BOTH Lillie and I would be in a ball on a train in Paris. But thanks to Chris, we navigated the train system and made it to our stop.

Thank you Chris!


"Friends Hostel" is right off the metro...but do not be fooled by this name completely. Our initial experience with Friends was fine. We checked in and got to our 4 person room.

Picture from the door of our room

Ariel view

Changing area...uhhh who's bag is that in the corner


Yeah, somebody just left their bag for the day. We never met them though

Picture looking into our room from outside the window.

Communal potties and shower

Hallway


Ok so after getting checked in, we were ready for our first day in Paris. First order of business..FOOD. We were so hungry and had to get back on the train to meet our friends. Nothing around us was looking quick enough except....

"QUICK"... yep. My first meal in Paris was a McDonald's wanna be, fast food restaurant.
I got the Giant Max, double patty burger with cheese. Go ahead. Judge me. I judge myself now. But you just don't understand what happens to me when I get hungry!

We trained it over to meet our friends. They were taking a lot longer. So we had time to kill.
We redeemed the Giant Max lunch with a crepe and coffee.

Lillie looks so Parisian in her beret!

Does it count if the crepe is made with Nutella? No joke, tons of places made them with Nutella!


We cruised through some tourist shops.




Then on to the real deals

In the center courtyard area at the Louvre



Area in front of the Louvre. I had a cow when I first walked out into this place.


Photos along the Seine



Apparently people will put these locks on the bridge, symbolizing their love for their significant other, and throw away the key in the river. How romantic.



I convinced myself that this was the bridge in the final episode of Sex in the City...I don't think it was though.


Notre Dame

Did I mention that Paris was freezing? At this point, my little legs were popsicles.






Dinner at some restaurant. I ordered an Italian pasta dish.
Again, I was starving and it was cheap.



The other people's hostel... so much nicer than ours. It was after this that I took
my solo train ride back to the ghetto in which our hostel was located. The owner of the nicer hostel freaked out when our friends told her where we were staying. She said she wouldn't even walk around in the day time by herself there. She said the black french dudes on the street selling cigarettes were bad Muslim dudes... the kind that want to kill you I guess.. I have no idea. I was just all of a sudden freaked out. And I had to go back by myself at midnight because Chris and Lillie went to a concert while I went site seeing with those other guys. Anyways, I made it back safely. But it was my proudest moment that I made that train ride alone. After that, I felt like I could take on anything...so bring it on Paris. More on Day 2 later.