So Paris was too incredible to fit into one blog post; therefore, I'm doing it in smaller, more manageable installments!
Day 1:
Left bright and early to fly out of Nice. Got to fly Air
France which was nice and very exciting so I can check that off the bucket list
now. We got to our hotel in the early afternoon and took a bus tour around the
city that lasted about 2 hours. What was funny for me was driving by certain
buildings and learning the significance/history to them and realizing I’d
definitely been there before but NEVER knew those things. For example, the
Place de la Concorde I drove through multiple times in my last trip without realizing/knowing
that that’s where they would guillotine people including Marie Antoinette!!
What?! And also Les Invalides which I didn’t get to go visit this time but
would love to another time. Napoleon’s tomb is there! Crazy!
We had some free time after the tour but I napped until
dinner. We got metro passes and took the metro to go have dinner in a bateau-mouche
(a boat) that goes along the Seine while you eat. It was pretty much
perfection. It was sunset and we got to see the Eiffel Tower light up from the
Seine and… oh yeah they played “La Vie en Rose” by Édith Piaf while we were
floating there. I actually started to tear up a bit because of how utterly
incredible it was.
After that a lot of our AIFS group ended up going to the
Eiffel Tower. We watched it light up and then actually took the stairs to the
second level which was semi-frightening since I’m not the biggest fan of
heights but it was cheaper and less of a line and we’re all broke college kids
(ok, maybe not everyone here, but the majority). We did end up taking the
elevator to the top, which I know will make my mom a bit sad since I was too
scared to go with her two years ago. But it was very cool and I got to have a
really incredible talk with my roommate Grace just looking out at Paris at
night.
 |
| Eiffel Tower lit up! With a bit of editing done on the photo. |
I just couldn’t even begin to fathom just how long that
tower’s been there. It’s older than the country that I come from. And beyond
that, that place holds so much significance to so many millions of people
besides myself. There are people who see it every day and people that will only
ever get to see it in pictures. People who’ve visited there with so many
different stories and experiences and situations going on in their lives. There
are people who’ve stood there and looked out with family, friends, or a lover
(oh la la!). And at the same time there are people who’ve come with grief,
heartache.
For me, I’m lucky enough to have been twice now. And both
experiences have been completely different. When I was in France two years ago
I had just graduated high school. I had platinum blonde hair, I had not started
going to Chapman, I was dating a guy who a few months later was going to
drastically change my life (through a weird experience—but definitely for the
better—I’m sure a lot of you know the story). I didn’t have a belly button
piercing. I didn’t have any idea what fun I had ahead in college. I didn’t have
the faith that I have now. I didn’t know I’d be back only 2 years later.
But this time, instead of being with my mom (who, of course,
I love dearly and we will always have that experience)—I got myself there
pretty much on my own. I’d been living in France for over a month and was
surrounded by all these people who I really just met but honestly who I feel I’ve
known so much longer. This time around I had a bit more life experience, a lot
more knowledge of French, red hair, a belly button piercing (not sure why that’s
significant but it’s a funny detail I guess right?), and, although this may
seem like an exaggeration, I now have an entirely new outlook on my life. And I
couldn’t be more thankful for that. However, one thing that I’ve found to be
the same between the two experiences was that 2 years ago I had NO idea what
life was going to throw at me in the years to come or how much things would
change. And now, especially with all the new experiences I’ve had recently, I
find myself in a very similar boat. I have ZERO idea where my life is going to
take me from here. But I do know that God has blessed me enough to bring me to
this point and I trust him wholeheartedly moving forward. I just continue to be
amazed and nothing but thankful each and every day.
“I could provide a long list of all… the hurts and missteps
and conflicts… But then come the golden moments, and these are the time when
everyone must stop and smile and clear the air… It is here, in the uncluttered
heart, that the Author and Finisher of our faith writes new songs, new stories,
new promises.”
–Robin Jones Gunn
No comments:
Post a Comment