Oh Paris holds the key to your heart...

Okay not sure how much time I have left on this thing so I'm going to have to be quick I think.

So Paris... if you are ever, EVER to go to Paris, you have to promise me you will go on Bastille Day. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!! We made friends with the American guy who was staying in our hostel, so with him in tow we headed for some awesome brekkie at this cool little cafe near these amazing food markets.

After some hot chocolate we thought it would be a good idea to have a little picnic where the Bastille celebrations were taking place. So, up these cute little Parisian streets we headed and bought some ripe, juicy FRENCH raspberries and strawberries, goats cheese, brie, a baguette, a bottle of white wine and Justin (the hostel guy) had bought some red wine the day before.

Loaded with goodies we headed to the Eiffel Tower, found a spot directly in front of it (but quite a few metres back, but still a fabulous view), and ate and drank the day away, occasionally needing to trek out for the bathroom - almost always coming back with another bottle of wine. We drank 6 in total between us and we were, to be honest, quite sozzled by the end of it.

So, after playing some stupid trivia game Justin thought up, the concert started with some of France's finest artists... who these people were, we had no idea but, everyone else seemed to be getting into it and so did we to the likes of 'Unchained Melody' and 'Born to be Wild'. Lol. The grass in front of the Eiffel Towers was PACKED, I've never seen so many people in my life!!

The sun was setting, I got some awesome pictures of the tower at dusk. Stunning. Then the fireworks started. Okay, let me just tell you, Sydney FAILS in comparison to Paris fireworks. These were AMAZING! I caught most of it on my camera so once I can upload the videos I will. Just breathtaking. It was such an awesome day, good food, great people, AWESOME backdrop.

THEN we had to get back to the hostel. 1 million people trying to get into the one metro station. Not fun. Lauren and Justin got separated from Kristi and I and so Kristi and I were rendered mapless. We walked around the overly crowded streets of Paris, where people were letting bungers off left, right and centre, clutching onto each other for dear life, aimlessly looking for a metro to go into. It was pretty scary. Finally, we stumbled, just by luck, an open and empty entrance to a metro station that was on the same line as our hostel and bolted for it.

This then led to the next step of waiting for the metro. There was so much police and security keeping the crowd in check, people were banging on the walls and closed gates of the metro we were in, demanding to be let in. The train rolls in, it's already packed to the brim but we squeeze ourselves on, never letting go of each other's hands. I've never gripped onto someone so tightly in my life.

At each station people tried to squeeze on, but luckily we had this burly Frenchman to tell everyone to back the fuck off. We were so squished this poor little boy next to me was squeezed against the wall. My maternal instinct must have kicked in because I put my arm around him to stop him from getting squished even further.

Finally, it was our stop and I've never leaped off a train so quickly in my life. We pretty much sprinted our way back to the hostel, up the stairs and into the safety and spacious comfort of our room. Ahhhhh, relief. That was intense. Fun day, intense time getting home. For a while there I thought we were lost. However, kudos to us, we kept our cool and made it out of the situation. Good coping skills I think. Well done.

Other than that we saw the usual in Paris, Louvre, Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame, Arch de Triomphe, had nutella crepes, dinner at St Michel. Our hostel owners were neither friendly nor helpful.

Okay I may leave this for now as time is running out and I need to see if this post makes sense..

Until next time...

Nicole