#boymeetsparis

7.26.14

Paris, Part Deux! 

After being at the top of Paris, I went to the Trocadèro Gardens, walked to the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Élysées, where got THE most delicious beignet I had ever had. Powdered sugar with a chocolate filling. Oh and a pain du chocolat. What a busy street, full of tourists and cars and bikers! 

Walked down even further and saw them setting up the seats for the last stretch of the Tour de France, which ended on Sunday. Then walked to Place de la Concorde where I got some delicious gelato, perfect for a sunny day. It was a huge big square that had extravagant buildings and the epicentre of important architecture. I don’t know what buildings they were, but they sure looked epic. Walked down to the Tuileries Gardens where there was a big octagonal basin of water, almost like a pond where people sat around on chairs to relax. But on I went! To the big grand open space that was the Lourve square/entrance! Three big class pyramids surrounded by huge buildings that was home to many masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa. Unfortunately, the Lourve was about to close when I got there, so I didn’t go in. Oh well, looks like ima have to go back to Paris! But further down I went! Walked down the River Seine, bobbing and weaving through pedestrian traffic to make my way to the great Notre Dame! Home of Quasimodo! I didn’t see him though. Soooo many people in that courtyard. But it was nice because I got there when the bells were tolling. Had one more stop before heading back to the station. The Love Lock bridge. Lovers from all over the world come and seal their love in the form of a lock onto this section of a bridge. Thousands of loves were covering this bridge. Pretty neat. I had a chance to catch my breath and breathe in Paris. 

I took in that moment and locked it away. And booked it to the Metro back to Gard du Nord train station! My travel card wasn’t going through but good thing I was right next to a ticket station and the lady just gave me a new one! What what! And I headed back to the station. Did my thing at the UK customs, got my new Paris visa stamp, and headed down the lounge to wait for the Eurostar. I ran into the Filipino family again as I waited and we exchanged stories and by coincidence, we ended up all sitting next to each other on the train. Enjoyed their company nice again and shared a meal. It’s nice to spend time with yourself but it’s also needed to be around good company so I thank you for giving me that today. Arrived back in LondonTown around 10ish and said my farewell to the family and headed back to South Ken.

I wasn’t even planning on coming to Paris but I am so glad I took the chance. The people, the atmosphere, all the music playing around me. It was a good place to just breathe. You get presented with so many doors in your life, and more often than not, I’ve passed up so many doors in my past. But the thing about the past is that you learn from it. You then decide to make your life have meaning and do everything in your power to give it your all and take risks. You never know how it will reward you down the line. Throughout my college career, I’ve been opening every door that came my way, not worrying about the negatives or positives, but for the experience. I have the urge to keep moving forward. It’s unstoppable. I need to keep moving forward and push myself to the best of my abilities. To keep learning and keep experiencing life. Meet new people. Putting yourself I uncomfortable situations. Adapting to those situations. Learning from them. And paying that experience forward to help someone else. Breathe in your experiences. 

Paris in a day. Check! 

À demain!