“Paris is always a good idea.”- Audrey Hepburn

I would have to agree with Audrey^. I spent this weekend in Paris to celebrate my 21st birthday and what a weekend it was. Of course, 21 is not a big deal in Europe, but naturally I wanted to celebrate this monumental age U.S. style. This being my first time in Europe, I am inclined to travel all over. Although my wallet and my inclination may not agree on this premise, I still aim to adventure to as many places as I possibly can in these next 4 months.

With that, Paris is a place that I had wanted to travel to for a long time and I justified this overly expensive weekend trip with the old “it’s my birthday” tagline. What a bummer that I have to wait another 363 days to use it again. Perhaps I should extend my birthday for the rest of the month? Or year? Depressed wallet aside, it was a great weekend.

Throughout this whole journey, I have and will continue to both blog and keep a hand-written journal. I don’t plan on sharing everything I feel/observe/enjoy via blog because I don’t think it’s necessary. I realize that I am incredibly blessed and lucky to have this opportunity, and I have absolutely no intention of constantly portraying a “jet-setter” or braggadocios persona throughout my travels. Yes, I do want to share because I am passionate about story-telling, about writing, and about experiencing life, BUT I by no means want to depict a “look where I’ve been, my life is so cool” mentality. Because 1) not everyone gets such a unique opportunity 2) most people probably don’t care and 3)  This is all still life. Although it’s an incredible journey, every second of traveling isn’t going to be magical. I have days where I really miss home and my family. And that’s ok to admit. After all, social media is rarely authentic, and I aim to be my authentic self on here as much as I possibly can.

All that aside, I think rather than posting about about every little place I’ve gone, I find it more amusing and special to share some of the smaller, more comical occurrences/people/culture shocks/mistakes/uncertainties/ that I encounter along the way. So here goes Paris.

• It took us 1 (almost canceled) plane ride, 1 bus, 3 metro lines and 5 hours to finally arrive at our airbnb. I have since learned to expect that things will go wrong when you travel, because they often do, and that way you’re not disappointed when, say, the airline tells you they don’t have a seat for you.

• I’m sorry to insult the French, but I do not like your food. Italy does it way better… Well, maybe it’s just Parisian food that I don’t like. I will be visiting the French Riviera this weekend, maybe their food will prove to be better.
• If you pronounce croissant “cru-saunt,” nobody will have a clue what you are saying; they will also laugh at you. It’s really pronounced “crwoi-saun.”
• I redact my former cuisine complaint because I do in fact like croissants- very very much.

• Also, French wine is very good too. Even the cheap stuff.
• I offered a woman my seat on the metro system and she was very offended. Perhaps that is offensive in French culture?
• Chocolate is not sweet in Paris. I had to put sugar in my hot chocolate.
• Selfie sticks have completely saturated the street vending market. Every place we walked I would hear “selfie?” “selfie?” “Do you want a selfie stick?”
• ALWAYS negotiate with street vendors. You can cut the price in half. I was embarrassingly tempted to negotiate for a selfie stick. (Mostly because I hear horror stories of pick pocketers running away with people’s phones.)
• Monoprix is the coolest grocery store I’ve ever seen. Nicole and I are obsessed. Dear Italy, please open one.

• Parisians have a device made specifically for opening hard-boiled eggs (see picture below)

• I know most people don’t think the Mona Lisa is all that cool, but having some knowledge on art history, I’m so glad that I paid to get into the Louvre- Also, thank you to Ashlyn for purchasing the audio tour because it was actually so fascinating.

• Port-a-potties consist of metal cylinders with automatic doors. After one of our friends set the alarm off and caused the toilet to withdraw into the wall, I decided to avoid these at all costs.
• These were most of the observations that I found fascinating. Of course, Paris was beautiful and spectacular, but you can see that in the pictures if you want to. 🙂
• P.S. To the friends that joined me to celebrate this weekend, I am SO grateful for you. I am blessed and lucky to have such wonderful people enrich my life with positivity and happiness.