Alright. I know, I've been pretty vague on everything I've been up to. Because honestly? I've been up to so much, it's almost a blur.
We last left off with Hannah flying off to Paris. Hannah only speaks English, and some Spanish. She does not know French. Due to the factors, this meant landing in the middle of the night in Paris was a bit terrifying. When our plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airport was empty. There were police types in military outfits patrolling. What was this? I went to the metro area to buy my ticket, but as soon as I got to the machine a metro worker ran towards us shouting in a mix of French and English. All I needed to know was that the last train was leaving the station and we ALL had to get on it if we wanted out of there. We all dashed onto the train, not even paying for a ticket.
When we got to the station that my directions told me to leave at, I jumped off. I knew that I needed to get on the metro 2. But... there was no metro 2. Meaning I wandered for awhile, lost and confused. After seeing a French girl asking the Police there for directions, I did the same. They told me to go to Avron... or at least that's what I thought he said.
When I climbed out of the metro station, I knew something was wrong. My hostel was supposed to be near the Moulin Rouge. I know what the Moulin Rouge looks like, and it's not hard to spot. So I stood on the corner, delirious and freaked the fuck out. That was when I was greeted by... Richard? I still can't quite remember. Yet Richard was my saviour in this time of terror. He could tell that I had no idea what I was doing, and he greeted me.
"I'm half American, half French! Let me help you!"
He explained that the station that I needed was Anvers, not Avron. Opposite side. Whoops. But I had to go fast, the metros were going fast! My ticket wasn't going through (I bought one at the station), so he slid his card through for me. So thank you sir. Thank you for saving me.
Finally, I arrived in front of Moulin Rouge. Now, I know you shouldn't hire taxis since they're so expensive but I knew I was close. So, I got a taxi. However, something seemed off when I started heading farther and farther away from the Moulin Rouge.
I was losing hope, thinking I was going to hate this stupid city. Until... I saw the lights. Of the Eiffel Tower and of everything surrounding the city. It was just lovely.
That feeling soon faded as the road the hostel was supposed to be on showed no life. Bring on the freaking out. Did I book a fake hostel?
After a couple of minutes of freaking out, we saw some police officers and the taxi driver asked about the hostel location. Apparently the name of the road was wrong on my directions by one letter. Hey, don't blame me, blame the hostel's website! The driver agreed to charge me less, and finally I got to my hostel. It was right next to the Moulin Rouge, like explained before online. As soon as I got in, I went into my room and passed out. Hopefully the next day would be less stressful.
And it was! Which I will explain in my next post. I'm going to write up what happened now, but I'll post about it in a separate post tomorrow. I don't know what time that will be in the U.S. Eh.
Tomorrow: I explore all that Paris has to offer... or as much as I can in three days. Huzzah!
When was the most lost you've ever been?
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