I had every intention of posting this earlier in the week, but it turns out that my second trip abroad is the hardest one for me to describe. My trip to Paris, during my second year of college, proved to be one of the biggest life changing experiences of my life. Everything that has happened since has been directly influenced by the hours I spent wandering Montmartre, and getting lost down by the Seine. I spent those days alone, with just my thoughts and a beat up journal to keep me company.
It happened like this...After taking just one semester of French I convinced my roommate at the time that we had to make the trip to Paris for spring break. I was convinced that my life would be incomplete if I waited to go another second. With what little money we both had we bought plane tickets and booked a shared room in a hostel for 9 days. We landed with almost empty pockets, and hearts overflowing for a city we'd never seen up close. It was cold, rainy, and there were riots in the streets. It was everything I'd hoped for.
What wasn't perfect however was our itinerary. In our excitement to see this grand city neither of us had thought to ask the other what they were interested in doing once we got there. She wanted to visit Versailles and the shopping districts. I wanted to get lost in cemeteries, churches, and visit art museums. After a day of misery together we decided to split up and sought to see the city on our own terms, meeting every night for dinner as we went. A little serendipitous really.
What happened when I was left to my own devices is what's so difficult to describe. I spent time reading up on post-impressionist artists living la vie boheme, sought after Jim Morrison's grave, ate quiche and drank cafe two meals a day, cut my hair, and tried twice to see the work of Jacques-Louis David to no avail. I remember walking up the steps of Sacre Coeur and looking out over the city with tears in my eyes. It was like I had been walking down a corridor of locked doors my entire life, but Paris had suddenly given me the keys to unlock them all at once.
I made so many missteps you'd think the trip was a failure, but it was exactly what I wanted and needed at that time. I loved how scared it made me when I'd get lost in the labyrinth. I loved having to buy shoes from a street vendor after mine got soaked through in the rain. I loved sitting in museums for hours looking at master works, from renowned artists. I saw the world through my own eyes for the very first time, no one was filtering what I saw or how I saw it.
I soaked in a way of life so unlike my own, that when I got back to college I broke up with my boyfriend of 3 years, changed my class schedule, and made plans not to go back to school in the coming year. I was put on a new path and new way of thinking about life. Paris taught me how to feel. big kiss, bekuh
Read the History of a Traveler: Part 1 for the full experience.
Read the History of a Traveler: Part 1 for the full experience.
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