Frolicking through France

Bonjour!

Last week, the boys were on holiday with their dad, so I got to take a week of holiday myself. I decided to go to Paris for a few days then visit my lovely friend Hannah in Le Mans, where she is currently a teacher’s assistant. 

The Louvre.

Paris was my first solo travel trip. I tried to convince myself that I was this super confident, independent traveler that had no need to be nervous traveling by myself, but this did not help my nerves. Hearing one too many horror stories about women traveling alone, I was a bit on edge at first, but as soon as I settled into my hostel, everything was great and confidence was restored. Also, in hostel’s it’s quite easy to meet people, so you don’t’ have to be alone for long. After getting a night’s sleep in the hostel, I began my first day in Paris. Before getting to Paris, I was skeptical about it living up to all its hype and charm, but it truly is a spectacular city. Every side street is lined with cute cafes and adorable boutiques. Then the Eiffel Tower pops into view, and you can’t help but become giddy. Notre Dame is gorgeous, though I didn’t get a glimpse of Quasi Modo. The Louvre is incredibly, mind-blowingly vast, though its most famous work, the Mona Lisa, is surprisingly small. At night, the Eiffel Tower positively sparkles and causes this feeling of romance that Paris is so famous for. Beautiful shops that I could never afford line the Champs Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe standing proudly at the end. 

 

Now Paris is absolutely humongous, which was a bit of an adjustment coming from little Zurich. The metro is easy enough to figure out though and will get you where you want. Also, everything in Zurich is impeccably clean and safe feeling, including the public transport; while I never really felt unsafe on the Paris metro, it definitely was grungier and more crowded. One piece of advice though, try not to lug a large suitcase through the metro. While leaving Paris to go to Le Mans, I promptly got my suitcase stuck in the metro turnstile. This French man had to come to my rescue and then was kind enough to help me through the metro; who ever said French people weren’t nice? 

Hannah and I.

After Paris, I headed to Le Mans, a small city about an hour from Paris. A friend from TCU, Hannah, is currently an English teacher’s assistant there, and it was wonderful to spend a few days with her. Her and her friends showed me around the quaint city, which has an impressive cathedral. It was just so relaxing and nice to be with her. It felt like a little piece of home.