WEEK 4- A~TYPICAL FRIDAY
From nearly missing the train to our class trip to Versailles... to hiding behind a tree at Buttes Chaumont Park, my Fridays in Paris have been anything but typical! My roommate and I woke up to an responsibly set alarm at around 7am. But the blackout curtains in our room often present the first problem of the day. These curtains are perhaps too good at doing their job because we could wake up at roughly 8:00am and the room wouldn't look any different than it does at 8:00pm. The point is, when we woke up, we had fallen back asleep shortly after due to this vulnerable situation. Thankfully, my neurotic sense of being late to things woke us up with enough time to quickly put ourselves together for the day. Though, it wasn't enough as we found ourselves at a ridiculously busy time at the metro. Thus, it's no surprise that we were met with absolutely no sign of our large, American group at the rendezvous point. Luckily, they were literally right below us- waiting for the train to Versailles to arrive. A wave of gratefulness washed over me upon entering the gates of the Palace of Versailles... grateful I didn't miss out on experiencing this once again. And grateful that I didn't miss out on this mandatory class excursion worth points. Hah. Visiting Versailles and the gardens that scream "EXTRA-VAGANT" was such a dream. The place is so expansive, it's wild to imagine people once living there. As I walked throughout the gardens that stretched out as far as I could see, I can't imagine the people who lived there ever really needing to leave when they have the world in their backyard! Thinking about Versailles, I realized just how much history is so easily accessible and plentiful in this single city of Paris, Versailles being one of the many. It is quite amazing and there were so many instances where I thought to myself "You wouldn't see that back at home!" The day at Versailles left me winded and hungry so my roomie & I decided to try out the local Mexican food joint down the street from our apartment. It was late afternoon and luckily, there wasn't a crowd gathered there. We were skeptical about it at first because Mexican restaurants aren't a thing, in general, out here. But we were pleasantly proven wrong upon taking the first bite of easily one of the best carne asada burritos I've ever had. Once we had our fill, we headed back to our apartment for a post-meal nap. 45 minutes had gone by before my alarm woke me up for the second time that day. Our favorite travel bloggers/Youtubers were having a picnic at a nearby park and invited their subscribers to bring something to share and hang out. I was hoping we would have some time to grab something at a Franprix nearby but we didn't want to be those people who showed up late. So we arrived at the Buttes Chaumont Park and had some trouble navigating where the picnic was exactly. Amidst the confusion was sheer awe at the beauty and expanse of the park. Another "You wouldn't see this back at home!" rang loud and clear in my thoughts. After 10-15 minutes of walking, I spotted a modest looking group of about 15 people sitting in a circle with food and deduced that we reached our destination. Though the sudden embarrassment of not bringing food AND showing up late (to my dismay) wracked me in that moment. My roomie felt it too so we walked a bit past the innocently jarring group and decided to figure out our next course of action as we sat a bench near a tree, hidden from the group. We were frazzled trying to figure out what to do while also fangirling at a distance. It must have been 40 minutes, approximately 10 frantic attempts at contacting our friends who were also showing up late to the picnic, and 20 more people added to the much larger circle until we decided to bite the bullet and, as nonchalantly as possible, join the picnic...empty-handed & late. Damon (one half of the travel YouTube duo) greeted us after a few moments of us awkwardly joining the group. It was nerve wracking at first but it ended up being a really great conversation. He was so kind to us and for a moment, I forgot about the whole hiding behind a tree debacle. As the sunset, we were all asked to leave the park as we did not have a permit to gather in throngs. I found myself in a thick crowd of fellow followers of Damon & Jo, walking through the streets of Paris as the travel junkies guided us to our new hangout spot by the canal. Once we got there, the sun was having its last hurrah and painted half the sky this brilliant orange. A truly profound sight. It was amazing to see so many people from so many different places (and locals too, of course) coming together, talking, getting to know each other, sharing a fondness for Damon & Jo, and just bonding. It was an unforgettable Friday for me, I can't wait for the next one!
**MUSIC IN VIDEO: Kumisolo - Kabuki femme fatale (Opera Remix)
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