Here are some pictures that I took when I went to Notre Dame Cathedral. A wonderful thing happened to me when I was buying my ticket to climb to the top of the tower. There are 2 different fees, one for people ages 26 and above (8 euros) and another for those 18-25 (5 euro). You are supposed to show your ID to the person at the window so she can check your age and charge you accordingly. Well, I walked right up to the window and was immediately charged 5 euro. LOL. No one in this city believes that I’m 34, hahaha. I guess I can pass for the 18-25 age range. I’m blessed.

June 17, 2009 – 9:53pm (Wednesday)

While I was in Paris I was asked by a new friend if I was inspired by being there, in Paris. I explained to her that what inspires me the most is the journey, the experience of traveling from place to place. Sometimes you get time alone and sometimes you end up in a train cabin with people on a similar mission, to reach that ultimate destination. I think that traveling the way that I am, alone on the train, affords me a luxury that is priceless. I get to see the beautiful landscape of the Earth and meet new people along the way. Once again, I have no regrets. I have met some great people on this journey and I have learned a lot about myself. Just 2 weeks in and I’ve already started to rethink my life. During this journey I have crossed paths with artists, writers, artists, directors, business people, families, and single youths. While I was at the Notre Dame cathedral I met a Scottish gentleman who was there celebrating his 16th anniversary (I think?) with his wife. He said to me that he thought that more Americans need to travel and that he didn’t think enough of us did. I agreed with him. We just feel that we have this great big country and that we don’t need to experience different cultures. I think that we definitely need to expand our horizons. We need to travel somewhere beyond the immediate USA. I know that a lot of us go to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Alaska, and places like that but I think we need to break through those boundaries. Let’s expand our comfort bubbles. I know we can do it!!!

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18Jun

…

I cried. Why, I don’t know. I guess traveling on the train really brings out my passion. I read somewhere that the way to really identify your true passion is to start thinking of things that you might want to do and the first thing that brings tears to your eyes is your passion. I guess that my passion is travel. I feel that I have so much pent up inside of me. So much anger. So much sadness. So much frustration. I think that we go day to day masking these emotions and never really get a chance to unleash them. So many people wonder why I chose to do this trip alone. I have no regrets at all. I’m glad that I did it alone. I think everyone should do it at least once in their lives. Just you. No one else. When it comes down to it I think we all need to spend more time with the person that truly knows us…ourselves. It’s that person that we let no one see, not even our families or best friends. We all have that person inside of us that we guard so well. Honestly, if I had someone with me on this trip I wouldn’t have been able to reflect on all these things. Company can be very awkward. Especially when traveling. You start talking about anything just to alleviate the boredom or to fill empty gaps or uncomfortable silences. You never really get a chance be alone in your own thoughts. Now I see why monks choose a life of seclusion. Not to say that I would ever go that route! I enjoy people; I enjoy conversation, and socializing. But this trip is about me. I need to find myself and reclaim my identity and this trip is just what I needed. I’m halfway to nirvana. 3 more weeks to go! I know I can do it!

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18Jun

Paris to Rome…

June 17, 2009 – 7:14pm (Wednesday)


I am now on the train traveling from Paris to Rome. My 3 days in Paris were very inspiring, thought provoking, and interesting. Paris, to me, is just an older version of New York. Stepping off of the train and getting on the metro you are drowned in a sea of great diversity. There are so many different ethnicities there. White, Black, Asian, Spanish, Indian, you name it. After a day being there I had mastered the whole metro system. If you are a native of any big city that has a train system like New York, DC, San Francisco, etc. you should not have a problem getting around. There were so many times that I had to remind myself that I was in Paris. I literally felt right at home being from the East Coast. Walking around, once again, I got the feeling that no one could tell that I was a tourist. I had people coming up to me at times asking me for directions. LOL. And I’m pretty good at picking up negative/positive energy and the whole time I was there I didn’t feel like anyone even thought about robbing me. As I was explaining to someone that I met at my hostel, I guess when you grow up in an urban environment you kind of develop a certain type of instinct. I think you could take any kid from any ghetto or hood in the world and transplant him/her anywhere in the world and they would make it easily. It’s like that saying about New York. “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.”

The people of Paris are BEAUTIFUL. Out of all the European cities that I have travelled to thus far Paris has the highest concentration of beautiful women in my opinion. All different skin colors from dark chocolate to caramel to vanilla. As I was leaving to get my train to Italy I saw this gorgeous Black woman. She was tall, slender, long hair, with a svelte figure. She was walking through the metro as if it was the catwalk. If I had to put money on it I’d bet she was a model. I could do nothing but stare. LOL. Also, Paris, has definitely brought back my appreciation for fashion. People here know how to dress. Not just some of them, EVERYONE. After being in Seattle for 7 years where fashion is an afterthought it was definitely a breath of fresh air. I know that the stereotype of Parisians is that they are snobby and arrogant but I don’t see it that way. To me they are just very genuine. People don’t walk around with fake smiles on their faces so when someone does smile at you it’s truly from the heart. Once again, that is one thing that I miss about the East Coast. I would have to say that Paris has earned a place on my list of one of the cities that I’d love to live in. I think its right up there with New York. It’s not as big as NY but the energy is there. The vibe is there. The swagger is there. Overall, I really enjoyed my time and I know it will definitely be a spot I will visit many times in the future.

For my last day in Paris I spent it with a friend that I haven’t seen in 8 years. I met her in Miami when she was on vacation there with her sister. Now, 8 years later, she’s married with 3 kids and I’m still single with no kids. Hanging out with her and her kids made me wonder if that is a life that I will have someday. Sometimes I feel that is what I want and sometimes I feel like it isn’t. Oh well, I guess time will tell. One thing that I did learn though is that when a woman in France has a child she can choose to take either 1 year or 3 years off from her job to take care of the kids. And check this out, THEY STILL PAY YOU FOR IT. Not only that but you get to choose, either the man or woman can do it. I guess Michael Moore wasn’t exaggerating in his Sicko film. And from what I hear the health care there is top notch and FREE to everyone. How about that?

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