I originally wrote this post last Monday. At 4:00 in the morning. While trying not to fall asleep in a hotel lobby. Even though it's coming a week late I'm going to pretend the story is real time for dramatic effect. Enjoy.
It all started a few weeks ago when I found out you could get bus tickets to Paris for 5€. So for 10€ I could make a day trip up to Paris. The bus left at midnight to get in at 5, then came back that night at 9 to get in at 5 the next morning. (I don't know why it takes three extra hours on the way home, but for some reason it does.) It was perfect, though, because the bus schedule worked out to allow for a full day in Paris without making me pay for a hostel.
I woke up bright and early Saturday morning because I needed to do laundry before I left for Paris. Normally this wouldn't be a problem; laundry only takes a couple of hours and I wasn't leaving until midnight. Unfortunately, as you may remember, France doesn't believe in dryers. And like any intelligent person I not only washed every single article of clothing I own, but I threw my towels in, too. Two hours later -- after taking a shower -- I used wet towels to dry myself off before putting on wet clothes.
Later that night I met up with my friend for dinner before we left for Paris (by this time my clothes were mostly dry.) Dinner was great, until the waiter spilled orange drink on my friend's dress. Unfortunately, it was time to leave for the train station and she had no time to go home and get changed. Luckily it was only a few drops and it wasn't obvious, though I'm sure it was sticky.
At 11:30 we got on our bus to Paris. We spent the first two hours of the trip talking and laughing and being excited before we decided we should get some sleep. The bus we were on has outlets so you can charge your electronics, which is awesome. Especially considering my phone can't hold a charge for longer than three hours. Seriously. Unfortunately, I realized on the bus that I had forgotten my converter. Luckily my friend offered to share hers with me.
We arrived in Paris at 5:15 in the morning. It was dark and cold and we were pretty tired from our night of sleeping on a bus. Luckily, the train station we pulled into had a waiting area that we planned to sleep in for the next couple of hours before exploring Paris. We walked up, tried to open the doors, and realized they were locked. On Sundays the station doesn't open until 6:45 -- an hour and a half away.
We had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Like anyone else in our position, we bought tickets to the metro and got on the first train we saw. We rode it to the end of its line, hopped off, and got on a new line. At one point we discovered a line that traveled outside. It was pretty exciting to actually see Paris after having spent an hour underground looking at abandoned train cars and discussing plans in the event of a zombie attack.
As the sun started to come up, our train came outside again and we passed over the Seine with a perfectly unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower. My jaw literally dropped and I gasped. It was stunning.
Eventually, though, we had to get off of the warm metro and actually see Paris. I had read that brunch was a popular activity for a Sunday in Paris, and I've always wanted to eat brunch so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Sadly, brunch in Paris is coffee and a croissant and costs 10€. Instead we got chocolat chaud and bread from the bakery down the street and saved 7€.
We then went to the Pompidou Center where things became truly unfortunate.
Continue reading the epic adventure here.
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