After a short power nap, wrapped entirely in my blanket to protect myself from the hotel’s bedding, we were all eager to head into the centre of Paris to make the journey and hotel seem worthwhile. The Metro station really wasn’t far away which was extremely handy as the blisteringly cold wind was almost unbearable. Having stood at a tram stop for almost ten minutes, quietly comforted that we were definitely in the right place as there was a group of FMB students also waiting there, we clearly looked like a group of English tourists as a metro worker came over to ask us if we needed assistance. And thank goodness he had, otherwise we would have found ourselves in the Parisian suburbs! He also rather worryingly informed us that the area we were located in was dangerous and therefore we should not travel around, even in a group, after dark! Well considering it was 3pm and we were forty minutes outside of the city centre and it started getting dark at 5pm, we contemplated heading back to the hotel! The hotel?? No that really wasn’t an option!
After some disjoined French, or franglais as I liked to refer to it, we managed to work out which Metro Station we were aiming for… “Je voudrais trouver le tour Eiffel?”… “Je voudrais acheter une carnet des billet, s’il vous plait?” Only Sarah-Fabulous Bonner could come out with “Babe, do you do student discount?”
The Metro stations in Paris reminded me a lot of the Subway stations in New York…it was something about the carriage-styles, the stations and the people. It was a little unnerving being a group of girls on the Metro as we clearly stood out like a sore thumb. I’m not sure whether it was because we were white, English-speaking or just fashionably dressed. It was rather shocking the fashion faux pas we witnessed. Fashion did not seem to be a concept that many people were familiar with which was incredibly shocking considering Paris’ reputation within the industry. It is not like the odd-bods you find in London who are clearly seeking to be individual. It made me feel like the Metro was a time-warp for fashion from the 1990s; ill-fitting clothing, dark base colours and a distinct lack of femininity.
Chatelet was our final destination for the day and we initially spent an hour or so wandering around the streets aimlessly, absorbing the sights and smells of the city. In true Parisian fashion we wiled away the rest of the daylight sat in an authentic traditional Parisian café, slowly warming ourselves up with a chocolat chaud. One of the things I had been most excited about with Paris was going to be with my girlfriends and doing what 20-something women do…have the biggest girlie chat ever talking about the course, our ambitions, where we see ourselves going after university! This ended up being one of my favourite memories of the whole holiday.
Having been successfully defrosted we headed back into the cold to see the beautiful shimmery lights of the streets of Paris and meandered down little side streets until we came to a beautiful little square with numerous restaurants. We settled on a small bistro where we all indulged in a gorgeous meal to complete our first day in Paris!
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