Le Jour Dix (Day 10)

Today was the first day we were able to semi sleep in. We didn’t have to be dressed, fed, and ready to go downstairs until 9:30 this morning! It was nice to sleep in, and Kelly needed it I know. This morning they didn’t have crepes out for breakfast, so I had that yummy chocolate cereal, yogurt, and fruit again; still so good! Today we had all of our Paris company visits, and the first stop was to Hard Rock Café, Paris, and today was the first day we got to dress in business casual instead of business formal, which is SO NICE because it is very hot here in Paris, and for some reason, the French don’t really believe in cool air conditioning, so pretty much everywhere is a little warm, including our hotel :/

 

The presentation at Hard Rock was so interesting, and the atmosphere is so cool, edgy and different, and one can see that the same atmosphere is displayed in every restaurant world wide! I learned that every single piece of clothing, every guitar, and every signed picture is the REAL THING, which means the decorations are different in every Hard Rock Café. These people really know how to appreciate music, rock, and they love being unpredictable and edgy. After the presentation, we all received free cheeseburgers and ate a big lunch together; it was so fun and SO good. I can’t remember the last time I even had a REALLY good cheeseburger like that; it was definitely a treat. We had about two hours until we had to be at the Galleries Lafayette for their presentation, which was right down the road, so we killed time by browsing stores. I went back into H&M and found the CUTEST navy, cropped capris like they sell at J Crew, except these were much cheaper and just as cute. I’ve been looking for some for so long and meant to order some specifically for this trip, but I never got around to it. Guess they were just waiting for me here in Paris J and then I bought me another fadora because I just couldn’t help it. I’m only in Paris once. (We’ve actually all been saying the phrase YOIEO, which means you’re only in Europe once, or more recently YOIPO, which means you’re only in Paris once…we got this from the “college” phrase YOLO, which means you only live once!) so… YOIPO!

So then we had our visit with Galleries Lafayette. It was way more casual, less structured, and way less impressive than Harrods in London by a long shot. We just didn’t get that wow-factor like we previously had at Harrods. However, they DID give us a runway show, where about 5 women models and 1 male were practicing for the real deal we think, and that was super fun! Paris is known for fashion, and the Galleries definitely cater to this. The male model was probably one of the most beautiful boys I’ve ever seen in my ENTIRE life. all the girls were fanning themselves (half from the heat and half from looking at him), and a couple of boys behind me said, “Wow, he’s making ME blush!” At one point down the runway, he stopped, looked directly at me and smiled (I was on the front row), and turned and walked back, and everyone around me patted me on the back and embarrassed me.

We took a group picture on the rooftop overlooking Paris and then came back to the hotel to rest for an hour or so. After about an hour and a half, we put our dresses on and met a large group of about 15 to go grab wine wine and fruit across the street, and then we immediately headed to that same crepe place we went to last night; we were craving one. Once there, we ran into 5 French college guys, two of which were from Chicago but are receiving their masters in Paris. They were SO cool and stuck around to chat with us for about an hour. This is where we did our Paris interview (we have to interview one local from each city and write a page report on them, so it was convenient that this happened). They were so much fun! It was interesting to hear their answers to some of our questions, and some of the answers were similar to British answers. For example, we asked their opinion on America, and they said that they thought Americans knew a lot about their own country and nothing about any other country. I took it as we come off a little arrogant and ignorant in general about the world around us and don’t take the time to appreciate other cultures. So interesting… In the meantime, Kelly and I ordered a dinner crepe (I got egg ham and cheese), and then we split a dessert crepe (nutella, banana, almonds, coconut). We were STARVING, and they were the most delicious crepes in the world. The same little men who owned the place were still there, and they were so excited to see us.

 

It was about ten, and we realized we needed to get going to the Eiffel Tower, although our cool new French friends wanted us to stick around and hang with them. However, it was our last night in Paris, and we all wanted to sit on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower and watch its light show for the last time! So that’s exactly what we did. Great company, great food, lots of pictures, and lots of bonding. I absolutely love the group I am with, and I am so blessed to have the community I do on this trip. It’s especially encouraging to have the friendship of the guy friends we have made; they take such great care of us girls, are fun and spontaneous and classy, and have become like brothers to us. It was a perfect last night in the city of Paris, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. You all may be wondering if I’m smitten with this city since you know I know the language, appreciate the culture, and have been dying for the past two years to visit. The answer is not really. I thought parts of it were beautiful, and I was CAPTIVATED by so many things here; however, it simply was just not what I pictured. I didn’t like the dirtiness, all the smoking (it’s everywhere!!!), the feeling of loneliness and isolation, a strong sense of reservation, sketchy people lurking around pretty much everywhere, and nothing TOO exciting going on here. I could never see myself actually living here; maybe just another visit. Overall, Paris was awesome for t his short time being, and I LOVED getting to practice my French language, but it will be a little easier to part with than with London. London blew me away, and I would for sure live there in a heartbeat! Puis, bon soir, and HELLO Avignon bright and early tomorrow morning for a 10 hour trip!