Thursday morning we got up really early to catch the bus from Brussels to Paris. We were misinformed that the ride would only be two hours; the tickets said 4.5 hours. I was actually grateful it was longer than expected because I could catch up on sleep. Once at the bus stop in Paris, our bus had a random drug search. They had two canines sniff out our bus. The first was in training and kept stopping at people’s snacks…it stole one girl’s chocolate granola bar. When we got off the bus we had to go through a pat down and some officers were more invasive of privacy than others. Mine was reasonable, probably because I told her what was in all of my pockets before she had to ask.
We took the metro to our hotel in the business district across town. We got off at the wrong stop and took the opportunity to see the Grand Arch, which is a gigantic metal structure that is in line with the actual Arch de Triumph, the miniature version, and the Louvre. I apologize for spelling errors; it is easier for me to type what I hear than to try to mimic the French spelling. Please leave a comment below of the correct way to spell something and I will fix it.
In the hotel, our group of 19 (the other half of our group went to Barcelona) had 4 rooms. Since one room of girls insisted on having their own beds for the most part, they had 5 and we had 7 in our room, which made it cheaper for us. Three slept in a full size bed. The couch had a trundle bed that rose up to the same height as the bed under the cushions. We pushed them together, rearranged the sheets, and four of our shorter girls slept with our heads on one bed and feet on the other. With each passing night we got more comfortable with the set-up, except for maybe one girl who suffers from scoliosis.
Once settled, we spent the rest of the afternoon along the boulevard that leads to the Arch de Triumph. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. Although I ordered salad and I found it rather disgusting because I discovered that I don’t like the taste of arugula, the strawberry ice cream was the best I’ve ever had. The street was lined with expensive stores like Louis Vitton, Zara, and even department store-style car dealerships for Mercedez-Benz, etc. The Abercrombie & Fitch store was definitely a sight to see. The most luxurious entrance had black and gold fancy wrought-iron gates with two male models standing at the sides greeting you. A gravel path lined with tall shrubs and probably some cologne pumps ended at a courtyard with two more models as security. Just inside the enormous black and gold doors was a shirtless male model available for pictures. The smell was too strong for me to go in, but a couple of other girls walked through. We took some pictures in front of the Arch but mostly browsed in stores I couldn’t even afford to walk in to.
We took the metro to our hotel in the business district across town. We got off at the wrong stop and took the opportunity to see the Grand Arch, which is a gigantic metal structure that is in line with the actual Arch de Triumph, the miniature version, and the Louvre. I apologize for spelling errors; it is easier for me to type what I hear than to try to mimic the French spelling. Please leave a comment below of the correct way to spell something and I will fix it.
In the hotel, our group of 19 (the other half of our group went to Barcelona) had 4 rooms. Since one room of girls insisted on having their own beds for the most part, they had 5 and we had 7 in our room, which made it cheaper for us. Three slept in a full size bed. The couch had a trundle bed that rose up to the same height as the bed under the cushions. We pushed them together, rearranged the sheets, and four of our shorter girls slept with our heads on one bed and feet on the other. With each passing night we got more comfortable with the set-up, except for maybe one girl who suffers from scoliosis.
Once settled, we spent the rest of the afternoon along the boulevard that leads to the Arch de Triumph. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. Although I ordered salad and I found it rather disgusting because I discovered that I don’t like the taste of arugula, the strawberry ice cream was the best I’ve ever had. The street was lined with expensive stores like Louis Vitton, Zara, and even department store-style car dealerships for Mercedez-Benz, etc. The Abercrombie & Fitch store was definitely a sight to see. The most luxurious entrance had black and gold fancy wrought-iron gates with two male models standing at the sides greeting you. A gravel path lined with tall shrubs and probably some cologne pumps ended at a courtyard with two more models as security. Just inside the enormous black and gold doors was a shirtless male model available for pictures. The smell was too strong for me to go in, but a couple of other girls walked through. We took some pictures in front of the Arch but mostly browsed in stores I couldn’t even afford to walk in to.
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