Day 0.6 Paris (Deija)

When we finally woke up from our slumber on our first day in Paris at twelve in the afternoon I was surprised, we hadn't received that much undisturbed sleep in a long while. We had been kidding ourselves that we had actually accustomed to the time difference, and sleeping for twelve hours really had us feeling refreshed and alive as we got ready for our Paris adventures. The first realization that French was prevalent in Europe was when we were in England, half the people there were speaking French, and when we went to the touristy hang-outs French was spoken everywhere. All this did was excite me for our soon to come activities. Between brushing our teeth and completing other morning routines, a knock came to our door... Because neither Mr. March or Auna speak any French, I was shoved to the front of the line. I opened the door and was greeted by a man, a housekeeper of sorts, that started talking to me, insinuating that he wanted to clean the room. I began to tell him no, and he kept insisting that he come in, so all I could think to say was, "No, merci."

He then grumbled and walked away. I was surprised at how different it was to speak French in a classroom than it was in an actual French setting. My mind had gone blank, and it was slightly frightening. We proceeded to get ready, then went on our way. I had been begging for a French breakfast and finally got my wish. A French coffee and a croissant were on their way to us in no time. On the walk to the cafe I had told myself that I would try to order in French, I know how from French class, but like I said before, it was frightening, and I was unable to do it. It was delicious, I loved the coffee! It was thick, creamy, and amazing, and for the record, French croissants are way better than Costco's. I now know from experience.
(It's so cool being able to say that!)
 
After brunch we walked towards Musee du Louvre, which was great. The Mona Lisa was there, and the architecture of the place was amazing. The arches, sculptures, paintings, people, and the aura of the whole museum was spectacular on it's own. Tourists bustling, children on field trips, backpackers like us walking. People in awe with such beauty, all together, each experiencing it differently, but similar. I loved it. 

Our stroll was cut short when Auna and I began to feel thirsty, all around the place, people were selling water for a euro, but Auna and I had ignored them, until they weren't where we were anymore. We left the museum itself, and went to the grounds, the courtyard, and the area surrounding it were beautiful. We and sat down at the edge of the fountain near the gardens. Children were pushing miniature sailboats around, people were eating ice-cream, and the sun was shining bright overhead, and right next to it, in the distance you could see the Eiffel Tower. With all this to think about, Auna and I had forgotten to grab water... So we told Mr. March that we would be back in a few minutes and proceeded to find a vendor. By the time we came back Mr. March had made friends with a couple pretty ladies that were sitting next to our spots. They were recent graduates of Brampton in New York, and were traveling throughout Europe for the summer. They were also on their way towards Spain, and Mr. march had struck up a conversation. Auna and I became bored, and went to the grass to sit. A man there was playing his guitar and singing softly. Auna and I listened for a while and when the man finished and began to pack up, we clapped and told him, in French, that he was very good. 

After this, we walked along the river to the Eiffel Tower and were accosted by people selling miniature Eiffel Towers, we were wondering where they all were coming from because it was as if they had made a line and trapped people. Auna even made a joke that they had all just gotten off a bus. It was about seven when we had arrived and I immediately saw the stand making and selling crepes, I was so excited to have a French crepe that I made Auna get one as well. We bought two with chocolate and strawberries. They were so delicious! I got melted chocolate and strawberry juice all over my hands, and Auna had half of her crepe on the ground. 

At about 9:45 it finally started to get dark, and the orangey glow of the lights behind the tower made it look so wonderful, against the darkish blue and white skyline. After a whole hour and fifteen minutes of more waiting, the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle! It lit up bright white lights all over the tower at different times! 

*BAM, BAM, BAM!*

It was such an amazing experience and I plan to go back again. We met these guys there when we were waiting and they tried to teach us some often used French. Nothing bad of course. They were very kind and Auna and I couldn't pronounce their names, they were from Eastern France. After they had went on their way, a man that was sitting by himself started talking to Mr. March about his travels. The man was named Nicolas, and he was from Quebec, Canada. He had been all around Europe, backpacking, going from country to country for two months, and his last stop was Paris. We saw him on his last day, he was leaving early the next morning. We spoke with him for a few hours, and he helped us navigate our way to the Metro. I really enjoyed the feeling of meeting new people, and especially those whose native tongue is not English. Using hand motions, eye contact, it all helps when you are completely confused, and I now know that very well.

Overall, it was a great day... We had fun.

Deija