today was perhaps my favorite day so far upon arriving in Europe.
today I laughed out loud, more than once.
this morning i got up and moved from my lil extended stay apartment hotel,
to a hostel in the Montmartre (a glorious district in north Paris).
i was a little lady with 7 bags (oof- embarrassing is an understatement).
i carried/dragged them all by myself & wished i could fling them to the streets,
retaining only my small purse and all weather boots.
regardless, i climbed into the taxi with the little grumpy frumpy man,
and held on for dear life.
the meter was already at 11,40 Euros
and he plugged in an address that was not the one i gave him.
we almost got in 3 accidents and nearly ran over a small boy who ran out into the street.
it was scary, i closed my eyes a lot.
i'm pretty sure i got royally ripped off,
but when i don't speak french, and he didn't speak english-
i just paid.
i decided somewhere along the interstate that life is a lot like a taxi ride in a foreign country.
mostly confusing,
blind trust,
scary at times,
but if you open up your eyes & just 'be'- you'll see some glorious things along the way.
then, all of a sudden, we turned a corner, went up a street, and arrived at my exact destination.
nothing made sense. but i had arrived, exactly where i needed to be.
i have to believe life is like this.
more trust, less understanding, arriving.
i spent the afternoon in an outdoor cafe reading 'Bossy Pants'.
oh man- it's good. (go buy it).
I just pretended Tina Fey was sitting across from me,
telling me these stories like a friend.
speaking English to me.
little dirty pigeons drank water on the cobblestone street next to me,
lovers walked and kissed and walked,
tourists abounded & got turned around, and around again.
little old men drug their street carts behind them, pulling groceries home.
a little boy in FULL spiderman costume walked hand in hand with his Mom & Dad.
(this is when i laughed out loud)- I felt such deep joy.
i mean, he had a full face mask.
it was truly the best.
ice cream cones and baguettes were in every hand.
i was so happy.
i went back to check into my room.
it's teeeeny tinee and perfect.
it's SO european.
i think that my bangs were meant to be european.
(this sounds absurd, i know.)
when i went to europe with my 3 best friends,
almost 10 years ago now,
i have often looked back on the fotos and thought,
"what were those bangs, & how can i get them again?"
since being here, i've realized, it's just europe.
i'm not sure what it is about the air & the water,
or maybe it's the lack of conditioner,
but my bangs curl up, and lay just right along my brow line,
flipping just a little at the frame of my face.
no hairspray or styling in the states could achieve this.
i love it.
i digress.
at my hostel i met two Australians, Adam & Grant.
(27 & 24)- I later found out that they thought I was 21, really? do i look this young?
they invited me to lunch & to grab a drink.
i was so ecstatic to be speaking English, i'm worried i talked a mile a minute.
they just smiled a lot & asked me a lot of questions.
i felt like i had just broken a vow of silence.
they invited me to hang for the evening,
but we parted ways as they were headed out to party
with several more guys & go to the cabaret-
who's 21 now?
but regardless, it was a really nice afternoon.
i can't explain exactly why today has been my favorite day so far.
i've seen far more beautiful things,
and had much better company.
but perhaps it was the first day that i felt 'home',
like i can really do this someday,
and be alright.
onward.
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