We've never been so lucky!! Molly and I began the trip nice and early, waiting for the bus that would take us to the airport. So we were at the station early but were worried for the three other girls on our trip to Paris & Belgium. Ana, Abby & Maeve were surely on their way, but cutting it WAYYYYYYY close. With about 5 minutes before the bus took off, the girls all showed up and we got onto the bus so happy, lucky and sweaty.
We arrived at the airport to find a 5,000 mile long line at the counter where we needed to get our tickets stamped before continuing to security. (RyanAir is a very, VERY cheap and affordable airline company. Since it is so economical, the luxuries are left out of course.) We got in line with about an hour and half to get our stamp, pass through security and make it to the gate. The 5 of us waited patiently in the back of the line for about 15-20 minutes with ZERO movement. Finally Ana went up to the front and found out that the flight to Paris right before us had been canceled, leaving ALL the passengers at the counter arguing to change their ticket. This is absurd because all we needed was a stamp to be on our way. We all moved to the front because there were two lines: one for the passengers changing tickets and one for passengers who needed a stamp for their current flight!
As we ran to the front, of course, about 25 French people, Spanish people and even English people started to yell at us!! One French guy came up to me and yelled "the F word" in French at me and pointing at me to get to the back of the line. We could have calmly explained our situation, but he didn't speak English or Spanish. There was an English speaking lady who then told us to get to the back of the line. I asked if ALL they needed a stamp and they shouted "YES!" at me. Fortunately, a French lady next to us explained to them that we did not need to change our ticket, just to get the stamp and they all backed off. After almost getting mobbed, we got our stamps and RAN to security. How lucky.
Just as we reached security, I noticed the conveyer belts for the screening were not moving. It was just our luck and I swear, the Paris Gods did NOT want us to arrive ever. Finally, the belts started moving and the security had just been going through someone's bag. (RyanAir only allows your carryon bag to be a certain size: IMPOSSIBLY SMAL!!!. So the trick is to wear all your heavy clothes and shoes onto the plane, leaving you more room. So in Malaga, Spain it was about 75-80 degrees that day as all five of us were wearing jeans, boots, coats and sweaters. THE SWEAT WAS UNREAL)
I was the last girl in our group through security and when I looked up, Maeve was waiting for me with less than five minutes until our gate CLOSED. This was actually happening. We were going to miss our flight.
I didnt even bother to tie my boots up or anything, I grabbed everything and sprinted across the airport. (RyanAir is so cheap, they are awarded the gates on the FARTHEST END OF THE AIRPORT. How lucky are we....) Im not sure I've sprinted farther/faster in my life. There was no way I was missing my flight for Paris after seeing that nightmare of a line earlier. Carrying my 20lbs weekend backpack, untied boots and coat in hand, I passed so many people laughing at us as well as others running for the flight.
WE ALL MADE IT IN THE KNICK OF TIME!!! HOW LUCKY!!! At this point, we could do nothing but laugh and sweat profusely. It was hilarious and disgusting all at the same time. About 2 hours later, we experienced the absolutely most terrifying landing in Paris. Im not exaggerating, I grabbed the seat in front of me, said "DEAR GOD" out loud and I may have even peed a little. We then took a bus to the city, found our hostel and went out for some well deserved hot food. Yikes.
No captions necessary!! This was really mystical to see in real life. Its a feeling I cant describe!
It looks gross now, but it was heaven that night!! Ted's Carbonara kicks this right in the pants
Day 2: We walked our hineys off!
We rolled out of bed and headed down to breakfast at the hostel. OKAY- people in other countries DO NOT go to breakfast in their jammies. Lucky for them I had a bra on, but my american flag patterned pj shorts got a LOT OF GLARES. The thing is they didn't just stare, they gaped. All the people in the breakfast room were appalled that we were looking like scrubs at 8am. whoops....seriously my bad.
Starbucks for the first time in 5 weeks!!!! In Spain, it is STILL 75 degrees everyday, so Abby and I went a little nuts for the fall-feeling atmosphere. We LOVE pumpkin ANYTHING. This was our heaven.
We walked over 7 miles just to see all the sights we could in Paris. Even though the weather wasn't in our favor, we endured the crappiness and kept our American heads held high.
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| The famous Laduree for the macaroons! I got the black currant flavor |
St. Michael the ArchAngle means a lot to my family and I; it was amazing to see this sculpture!
Lover's Lock Bridge!! 
So as we were standing around, I was next to an older couple also looking at the locks. I overheard him say "and after 30 years, it's still here" and I just shouted "OHHHH MYYYY!!!". The husband started laughing. I started tearing up because Im a sucker for a good love story, and he just giggled out "Oh sorry, no, we're totally kidding. This is a cool place though! We HAVE been together for 30 years though" So....I couldn't be mad at his joke, but it did suck admitting I almost immediately cried when I heard them say it!
I locked my love for my family onto it forever, threw the key into infinity (aka the river below)
After walking around in the cold, rain and wind, we all found this AMAZING chinese diner and gorged ourselves until we couldn't move. Too good!!!
The Louvre!!!!
Notre Dame!!
These guys "performed a dance" (around a pole) on the same subway car as us.
Everything in Paris is about the art. Even the desserts!!!!!
Pigeons everywhere...my gosh
At the Louvre together!
That night we went our to explore the Paris night life. It was a really fun time with all the girls but the coolest part was getting into this Australian bar. There was rugby decor everywhere!!!
That night we went our to explore the Paris night life. It was a really fun time with all the girls but the coolest part was getting into this Australian bar. There was rugby decor everywhere!!!
Day 3: All things amazing: Sleep, Eiffel Tower, Crepes & Chipotle
Sleeping in after a long night out in Paris was much needed; although I wasn't going to miss free breakfast at 9:30!
After all of us woke up and got ourselves together, we headed out in search for one of the ONLY Chipotles in Europe!!! We all got burrito bowls, nachos and enough guacamole to drown in. I got a steak burrito bowl because I have been missing red meat. It is a race occurrence in Spain...
NEXT STOP: EIFFLE TOWER!!!!!!
No captions necessary!! This was really mystical to see in real life. Its a feeling I cant describe!
My roommate Molly & I
All of us at the Eiffel Tower!
The rest of the day we relaxed at a cafe, got loads of chocolate and went back to have dinner around 8:30-9:30pm. I had a Nutella and almond crepe for dinner and some red wine, I could get used to this life.
We all stuffed ourselves again and headed back to the hostel to catch up on sleep and pack since we were leaving at 5:30am the next morning!
We were off to Brussels, Belgium...to be continued in the following post! Here is a little sneak peak:
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