The weekend before my last week in the schools, Ashley and I took a QUICK trip to Paris, France. We left late Friday, and after a delayed flight arrived in Paris at 11 pm Friday night. When we got there we had no idea where our hotel was or where anything was for that matter... we headed out on this adventure blind. When we arrived at the airport we asked a lady at the information desk to help direct us to our hotel. Well, she didn't know where it was either. She called the hotel and got directions wrote them down and told us we needed to take the metro to the hotel then walk from there, however, she couldn't give us a map of the city nor could she give us a map of the metro, because she only had 1 of each. So we ventured off without. We got on the bus that would take us to the metro, where a French woman (who spoke English) told us if we don't scan the ticket we just bought it is like we are riding for free and could get in trouble... when arrived at the Metro we were not sure how to buy a ticket, seeing as neither of us speak French so we asked the lady for help. She helped us buy our tickets and got us some maps then sent us on our way. Thankfully she was taking the same train and making the same transfer as us or I don't think we would of ever made it. When we made our first transfer there was an accident or train breakdown or something on our line so we had to wait, again thank God for this woman because the warning was in French so we would of been freaking out. We finally made our transfer and she told us to get off at the Torcy exit so we did... we finally made it to our hotel after slight wandering at nearly 1 am. We got to our hotel, found our room and settled in for the night, it was now 1 am and we had to be up at 5. we took showers and slept in the sketchiest hotel ever, with a bathroom barely big enough to turn around in. When we woke up in the morning we went out to Disney Paris, just to see it, this is where I bought the most expensive cup of coffee EVER. My cup of regular coffee cost 4 Euro, about 6 dollars but I needed it real bad... After that we asked the guy at the metro booth to buy a ticket and he told us that if we were buying 1 to town and 1 back we might as well get a day pass, with the student rate it would be cheaper. So we did and then we headed out to the city.
So we get off the metro and walk upstairs turn a corner and there it is, The Eiffel Tower! So we are taking pictures and walking through a park trying to get closer... Ashley asks me to take a picture of her in front of the Eiffel tower. In an attempt to get more than just Ashley's head in the picture I lean back....A little too far and with one step backwards I fall over a little 1 foot garden fence, OUCH!!!!! I didn't realize until several hours later at lunch that I had MASSIVE bruises on the back of my legs. they were UGLY. After falling we went and took more pictures around the Eiffel tower then went and bought tickets for the Botabus, which was a boat tour that made stops at different "must see" places. We traveled around and saw as much as we could in like 12 hours, ending our day with a trip up the tower, We stood in line for 2 hours to buy our tickets and met an awesome Irish couple standing in front of us. The lady tricked one of the con-guys selling illegal Eiffel tower key chains and told him that his friend said 5 for a Euro so he sold her 6 for a Euro. Right after this happened we saw a guy get busted and taken away. Then several others get chased out of the square. So we made it to the top floor where we met 2 other Americans a doctor from NY and a lady from Texas. We talked to them and because a little "Eiffel Tower Family" we made all the way to the top where Ashley was FREAKING out because of the heights. Then when we got back down the Tower was all lit up for the night. Paris at night is scary, guys selling things and yelling at you everywhere, lucky our new Tower Family "dad" walked us to the Metro. Normally I would be totally sketched out by this, but we got to know him and trusted him more than the men in the streets. He walked us to our train and normally by now I would be getting creeped out but he got us to our train and said I am going to walk back to my hotel, I don't want to make you two uncomfortable by getting on the same train. Some how my day metro pass got demagnetized and stopped working, I was running low on money and not about to buy another pass so I decided to jump the metro. We got back to our hotel, two jumped stalls later (if I got caught there is a HUGE fine and I could of gone to jail in Paris). We took showers, packed our bags and checked out within 15 minutes and made it back to catch the last metro of the night back to the airport (I flight left at 6 the next morning) keep in mind my pass still doesn't work so I slide under a turnstile, then when we get off at the bus stop they have the things that open and close rather than a turnstile, so I tell ashley I am going to go right behind her, the thing shuts on my arms, I pull my arms and backpack through and finally no more metros, we are in the home stretch. Well we walk up to bus stop to find out the bus stops running at midnight, not 1 like the website said...she after a small freak out we get a cab and take it to the airport. 35 Euro, or 50 American dollars later we arrive at the LOCKED airport, its closed, 2am and FREEZING! we are standing outside for about a half hour before anyone lets us in. We try to sleep until it is time to go through security. Once we get on the plane I pass out and wake up an hour later to ask Ashley what is taking so long why haven't we taxied off yet...she says Lauren, you passed out right away we've been in the air for an hour.
CRAZIEST 24 hours of my life. This trip was truly protected by our father, he was looking out for us at every turn. This trip was obviously by his grace and seeing as I fell over a fence not by my own!
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