Paris

Last, but certainly not the least, from my sorta-ish European voyage is my short trip to Paris.

*photo heavy post

When you randomly pick a tourist stranger to take a photo of a tourist in front of a popular tower, this is the result.

Being the indecisive procrastinator that I am, my decision to take a day trip to Paris was pretty last minute. Because of the shortage of time, it was more affordable for me to fly from London to the City of Light then taking the train, which every person who's been to Paris from London recommended since it spits you right in downtown's epicenter. Lesson learned the hardest of ways because most of that morning was spent being lost in that damn Charles de Gaulle airport trying to find the tour bus that'll take me to the Eiffel Tower. Ugh.

Seriously, I landed in Paris after 9am and didn't leave the airport until around 12pm. Torture. As soon as I sat down in the bus, I dozed off. Woke up about 30 minutes from our destination. 

It was pretty cool to see the Eiffel Tower and its surroundings. I took way too many photos. It was a task dragging along my carryon luggage plus DSLR and a heavy shoulder bag while walking all over, though.

Later on, after a  much needed rest in the hotel, I got the chance to meet up with Paty of Patylicious Diary who was kind enough to show me around and later on have dinner and drinks. Her cousin was in town from Belgium, as well, so Paty was basically our tour guide for the evening. Fun Fact: Paty conquered the English language by watching a lot of American TV shows and lots of closed captioning. Music helped, too.

Me with Paty.

Monument at the Place de la République
Paty informed me that the square was the meeting ground for mourners and protesters
after the terrorist attacks in '15. 

Dinner was at La Bombe.

From what I saw of Paris during my 24hr trip, I get the hype. The city is quite beautiful and very diverse, which I appreciated. Next time, because there will be a next time, I plan to spend at least 3-4 days. Didn't even get to see The Louvre, of all things! An overnight stay is just not enough. Plus, it'll give me a chance to brush up on some elementary French. The language barrier was a bit of a snag but the folks I interacted with were patient with me and my broken French.