Day 10- Fear is a state of mind.

May 8th, 2012 ---

Last night was my first night in a hostel. Backpackers in Lucerne is a cute little place with kitchen, common area, rooms very much resembling dorms lining one side of a hallway. The opposite side with bathrooms and showers and an open area of sinks and make up tables. Quite comfortable and a great place to stay, especially for having never stayed at a hostel before.

I set my alarm this morning for 9:45 so that I could quickly get ready and get on with the big day I had planned. Mind you, it's not as big as my Montmartre/ Louvre/ Black Seeds day in Paris, but it was definitely an extraordinary day none the less.

I started by walking the 10 minutes back in the direction of the train station along the lake. It was a nice morning, nothing special really, 68 degrees, a bit of overcast but with the blue sky peeking through here and there. I stopped at the train station momentarily because the smell of a hot dog/ sausage stand was enough to get me in there! Haha As I ordered my sausage with mustard, I couldn't help but laugh as I watched this man beside me whip out a Swiss army knife and cut up his sausage. He did it like it ain't no thang! Am I the only one that thinks that's really funny?? Swiss army knife... Switzerland...for a sausage...? I mean I know we have Swiss army knives in North America but I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone use one especially as casual as he did! No? Not that funny? Hmm.. Okay well i thought it was hilarious! -- Tough crowd.. Haha ...Moving on..

So after enjoying some lunch I went down to the ticket booth and bought my ticket to Mt.Pilatus! I was told to take the #1 bus, which I confused with platform #1 which is how I ended up on the wrong bus.

I knew something wasn't right as soon as I got on it. Just as the doors were closing I ran up to the bus driver, ticket in hand, "I don't think I'm on the right bus!" He looks at me and chuckles, looks at my ticket and tells me I most definitely am not and that I have to go to the platform across the street! Phew! That was a close one... Who knows where I would've ended up!

As I'm walking over to the platform, I notice the bus has already arrived and about to leave. So I make a run for it and jump on!

I arrive at my stop approximately 10 minutes later. Confused on where to go, at first, I look around for signs to the mountain. I notice a woman with a large hiking backpack, heading in the general direction that seemed to be the way to go, it also seemed like following her would be my best bet.

Minutes later I find myself behind a church, in a cemetery. Son of a -- ! Hmm.. Okay.. But then! As I take a peak around - a gate! Ah ha! As I watch her go through the gate, I tip toe behind and keep following at a distance. Such a creeper... Haha But! The gate led to the road to Mt.Pilatus! Wahoo! After walking up a small hill I see the gondola station for the mountain.

I go up to the ticket booth and exchange the ticket I purchased at the train station for a mountain ticket and jump in a gondola, solo.

The ride takes about 15minutes and it's absolutely breathtaking. How could one city be so beautiful?! From the gondola you could see a large portion of the Swiss Alps, a panorama view of the entire city and of course the glistening lake. Incredible.

Now, I've always believed that fear is just a state of mind and it can be overcome. (Except for spiders - pshhhh! I will always battle some sort of anxiety attack and find the most creative ways of killing them while screaming or whimpering in the process. #ThanksMom -- And Kirby/ Noora, if you are reading this... You both know exactly what I'm talking about. #BathroomMirrors #AboveDoorways Haha)
Back to the topic, if I had any fear of heights before... I'm pretty sure I conquered every single one of them today.

When I arrived at the hostel last night, I decided to scope it all out. I had grabbed my keys and my phone and went off to find the lounge, ya know, see what that's all about and who might be there. I was lucky enough to meet a few people from Michigan and one from New York, Buffalo - to be precise. Of course he knew exactly where Kitchener was (my hometown in Ontario for those that don't know) and proceeded to ask me if I owned a pair of Birkenstocks. My response: "Hahaha whaaaa?!"
I had seen my younger couzin wearing Birkenstocks but I did know it was the latest "thing" back home and our city apparently had a reputation of always wearing them... I must add, my couzin is the only person I've seen where them... Shrug. Whatever.
I explained I owned no such thing and continued to chat with them a bit. They were talking about Mt.Pilatus. I overheard them talk about some ropes course but didn't really know what they were talking about. When I asked, they told that Mt.Pilatus had a huge ropes course on top of he mountain! Coooooooool!

Back when I was 13, all the eighth graders go on a leadership/ religious retreat (to my friends reading: ya, I said it! I did a religious retreat! Betcha never coulda guessed that one!) Part of the retreat was to Mt.Mary (not exactly a mountain, more like large hill) and the other half was to a lake around Camp Wabanaki (I believe? Could be wrong about that one..) But at the lake, there was canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing... And a ropes course! At 13, the thought of being suspended high in the air, suspended by a rope and walking across a wobbling log - well it wasn't exactly my idea of fun. So I ended up skipping that part. To this day, I still regretted not trying.

So as soon as I heard about the ropes course on Mt.Pilatus, my ears perked up.
What's that you say?...Ropes course..??! Hmm.... !

When I arrived at the top of the gondola, the landing before taking the second to the very tip top, I saw the ropes course to my left.
Hmmmmmmm.....!!!!
... Well maybe I'll just see how much it is.....

I get to the booth and a very nice guy named Kevin comes out and I ask him how much it is to do it.
27 Swiss Francs.
Reasonable... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...!

Screw it. I'm doing it.

I look at Kevin, "Okay. I wanna do it."
He looks at me, "Wait, just you?You do alone?!"
"Ya! No wait, hell yeah!!"
"Wow! Okay!"

I pay, he gives me a harness, helmet and pair of gloves then goes through all the safety procedures and instructions of what I have to do. Red tape = safety wire to clip onto; Blue tape = Zip line. Sweet.

(Insert nerves and deep breathes here.)

I'm okay, I'll be fine.

You can do this, Jessica. You got this. Ain't no thang!

(deep breath)

I walk up the first little log ladder.

Holy crap!!! Ahhhh!
(I'm only like 4 or 5ft off the ground- haha)

An older gentleman comes over to me, he tells me his name is Freddy and let's me know he'll be here to help if I need him! Nice, nice guy! Funny too! He offers to grab my camera and take photos for me, cracking jokes along the way.

I can't remember which obstacle was first but I believe it was just flat wooden planks suspended by ropes, of course.

Eek! Here it goes!

Step. Step. Step. Step. And I'm on the next platform.

Okay, okay, this isn't so bad...

Wait. You want me to walked across a tight rope now?! You have got to be kidding me. Ahh!

After conquering the tight rope like a boss, I get to the platform with nothing but a wire to the next.
Blue tape.
Crap.
"FREDDY!!!"
Freddy, standing just below me, starts to laugh.
I ask him to make sure I'm clipped on right - I'm not prepared to break any bones by zip line today. He assures me I'm good and tells me to take a seat on the platform and the inch my way off while he takes a video. Haha Good man.

By this point, there's a woman sitting with her kids watching and cheering me on. And by the way, I'm quite a bit higher at this point.

I take a deep breath and launch! I fly down the line, slowing myself down with my gloves hand on the above wire. Landing on the next platform, the mother & Freddy below - both with big smiles, are clapping and happy for me!
I'm stoked!

I'm come down the steps, "alright Freddy, where to?!"

He shows me the next ladder up to a platform of higher difficulty. Small logs hung by ropes that begin to sway as soon as you step on them. Awesome.

About 20minutes later, I had accomplished about 3/4 of the entire course! It was a breeze! No problem! Tires on ropes, rolling logs, hanging poles with little pegs to jump from one to the next, high tight ropes.. Felt like an acrobat! ...Please excuse my informal attire, Freddy, my circus costume is at the dry cleaners!

As I was approaching one of the last platforms in the course. Freddy came over to the vicinity. (German accent..) "You ah very guud!"
"thanks Freddy!"
"Now you have option to take exzeet or keep going"
"keep going where?"
"Up derh!" He points up. "18 meters!"
Uhh....
"You take ladders to first platform. Den second ladders to top!"
Hmm... That's really freakin high...
I analyse it for a moment...

If I don't go up, I'm gunna feel like a wimp. I will also probably regret it just like I did the first time back when I was 13.

"Freddy, I'm going for it!"
"Wowwww! Guud for you!"
"yeah!"
"I warn you, when you get to top, you have to jump."
"what?"
"Jump."
"What do you mean jump?"
"No line, no zipping. Jump!"
"Jump?"
"Yes, jump." By this point, he's laughing.
"But..."
"Jump."
"Hoowwwww..???!!"
"You see rope hanging?"
"Yes." Looking up at the little log jutting out from the tree with a blue pulley-rope hanging off it, with a clip to hook into.
"You attach harness to zat and you jump! It bringz you down slow"
"oh.. Okay....."
"Sure you want to do?"

Hmm....jump, huh?...

"Yup."

After nervously climbing to the first platform, then to the very top - with Freddy calling up to me, telling me to take my time. When I get to the top, the view is freakin awesome! So worth that climb to the top. I snap a few pictures and sit on the platform enjoying the view for a few minutes -- also avoiding the fact that I have to jump off this damn tree very shortly.

Finally, I clip myself onto this blue cord. Freddy yells up again, "Sit on the ledge! Take your time!"

Ahhhhh!!!! This is crazy!!! I'm 18 meters off the ground having to jump off the ledge.

Remember that song Third Eye Blind, "Jumper"?
"I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend..." --- theme song for the next few moments.

Heart racing. Starting to sweat. Hands getting shakey.

"It's okay! You can do it!! Just jump! We are cheering for you!" .. Oh Freddy - you cray.

Okay, here it goes. AH----- Nope! I grab the ledge so fast, I don't move more than a few inches. No way, no how. Where's the emergency exit?!

Deep breath. Just breathe, Jessica.

I tug on the rope to see if it slows down when I pull. It doesn't.

"Freddy! I thought you said this thing slows you down??!"
"It does! It does! After you jump! After one zecond!"

Of course, it's after I jump. Ugh...

Attempt #2 through 4 are pretty much the same, except add Kevin, crowd of teenagers on field trip and a couple others watching.

"Just look straight ahead! Don't look down! 1, 2, 3, Go!" --- Freddy, you're not as funny as you were before.

I take another deep breath.
I gotta do this. I CAN do this.

Deep breath. GO.

I hurl myself off the platform, almost pee my pants. The rope make a jerk stop and slowly brings me down to the ground where I just sit, heart racing and taking deep breathes. Phew!

"See! You do it! And you will always remember!"

Okay, Freddy, you're right. Touché my friend. Touché.

After catching my breath, I decide to do one more course then head out. As I'm handing my stuff back to Kevin, he chats me up asking me where I'm from etc. I tell him I live in California. He's stoked! Apparently he's some sort of competitive/ pro skateboarder and has a competition coming up somewhere in California!
Cool! He asks to exchange information that way when he comes to Cali if I want to, I can bring some friends out to his competition and come watch. I say sure, thinking that's be super cool and then head on my way up to the next gondola.

This one was rather large, myself and about 5 or 6 others were inside all standing. The gondola starts to head up the mountain and we are approaching a cliff that you can't see over. The view already spectacular.

We get over the cliff and all of a sudden we all feel a bit of a falling feeling as we tip just slightly forward (of course I was standing at the front window, preparing to have my life flashed before me.) Everyone in the gondola lets out a little sound of anxiety. The gondola operator doesn't seem phased at all - clearly a normal reaction on our part, I suppose. We level out and I'm just blown away by the view. All of Lucerne and all of the Swiss Alps in sight!

As if it couldn't have gotten any better, we get off the gondola and I head up the stairs to the main area atop Mt.Pilatus. I can now see all the Alps which were on the other side, to the south.

I may have thought I was on top of the world when I reached the top of the dome at the Sacre Coeur, looking over all of Paris... But this... This was something completely different. Mind blowing, to say the least.

I climbed up a small hill with rocky stairs and was at the very peak of the mountain. Absolutely outstanding. There are literally no words to describe how incredible the view was. It's amazing an area so beautiful exists in this world. It's something everyone should experience in their life at some point.

I stood up there snapping a thousand pictures, enjoying the views and picking out lines that would be really cool to snowboard. Also wondering if anyone has snowboarder down here just to give it a whirl.

After a little while, it was approaching 5pm, the last gondola down at 5:30. I decided to head back down.

I hopped on the same bus I took there and made my way back to the main train station where I decided to wander around town and find somewhere to get supper.

I ended up finding a little place called Grendel 19 across the bridge. By far the BEST white wine ravioli of my life. Take note Italy, because I sure hope you can beat that!

As I was leaving, it had begun to rain and I had forgotten my cute little raincoat. So I grabbed what turned out to be an expensive can ride for such a short distance and then headed back to the hostel for a shower and bed.

Zzzz....

Going up Mt. Pilatus in the Gondola

Ropes Course!

THAT is what is I have to use to jump down?

Swiss Alps! Bird: Straight Chillin. haha!

Day 9: Lucerne, I love you.

Day 9:

May 7th, 2012 ---

Having set my alarm before falling asleep last night, I made sure I up and at'em by 9:45. I showered, did hair & makeup, dressed then quickly finished the last of my packing. While I was getting my stuff together, Janis was kind enough to make me breakfast one last time - some wicked scrambled eggs, complete with peppers, veggies, spices and sausage I think. Personal chef Spogis in tha house! Haha thumbs up all around.

We left the house shortly after 11 and hopped in a cab over the train station, making a quick stop at Starbucks when arriving.

After writing all about the "love locks" on the bridge last night, I decided that before I left Cologne, unsure if I would ever make it back - I wanted to put a lock on that bridge. I may date people, I may have casual or serious relationships, who knows - maybe I'll marry one day... But what I do know is that no matter where I end up, I'll always be where I am with myself and after 23 years of working on me, and of course many more to go... Right this minute: I like who I am. Heck, I love who I am.

We all have flaws, we make mistakes or have disappointments along the way, but the one thing I've learned - in an artsy sense, you are your own masterpiece and you decide who you are. If there is something about yourself or your situation, only you have the power to change it or overcome. There are always supporters or people in the world/ your life that will be willing to help, but you are solely based on your own decisions.

So when it came to reaching the bridge, I just happened to have a small lock in one of my bags, I grabbed a sharpie and on the front o the lock I wrote "Me" framed inside of a heart. Hey, you gotta be able to love yourself before you can love anybody else and no matter where or who I end up with, I'll always have a some love for me. And not in a selfish, self-absorbed kind of way.

On the back of the lock I wrote "JPond" and the date, put a few x's and o's on the sides and then fastened the lock to the bridge. With two sets of keys in hand, I walked over to the side of the bridge and chucked them into the rushing Rhine below! The keys plunked in the water and I walked away, happy as a clam!

Janis and I walked back to the train station, making a quick stop for a postcard and a cute pair of earrings to replace a pair I had already lost somewhere between the train from Paris and the Black Seeds concert on Thursday.

Janis led me over to the platform, my train already awaiting. We said our goodbyes, thanking him a million times for such a fun weekend and hopped onto the train to head to my next destination: Lucerne, Switzerland! :)

The first train I took was a four hour journey from Cologne to Basel, Switzerland. We would go through tunnels, which from sitting in the opposite direction from the way the train was going, when we came our the other side I realised we were going through hills and sides of smaller mountains. It was really neat!

Arriving in Basel, I had 15 minutes to grab my bag, jump off and figure out where to catch my next train! I saw a train next to us with a sign saying Lucerne but there was no train number... I walked up stairs, luggage in tow, and did a quick once around looking for any sign with information.
Nothing.
Hmmm...

I decided to make the executive decision to go back downstairs and just hop on the one that said Lucerne and see what would happen.

Made it to Lucerne about an hour or so later. Coming into the city, I became a bit nervous. It looked sort of dull and uninteresting. I'll be here for two and a half days, what would I do?!

And then I stepped off the train.

Right off in the distance, I could see snow covered mountains. I melted. To me, there is nothing more beautiful then snow covered mountains on the horizon. I was arriving early evening so the sky was saturated with pale pinks and oranges.

I started walking over to the hostel I had booked, just a short five minute jaunt away. I walked along a paved pathway along the edge of the lake, going through a large park. Within a few minutes I could see more mountains on the horizon. I've travelled and seen many places, driven through and snowboarded in mountains... But never have I breathed such clean, crisp air. It was refreshing to just take a deep breath and enjoy it.

Once I arrived at the Backpackers Hostel, I checked in and went to my room. A small dorm with two twin beds, one for me and one for another girl who I have yet to meet. I threw down my stuff, locked up my suitcase, grabbed my headphones and camera and went out to walk along the path some more.

With the sun setting, the colorful hues reflecting on the lake, mountains in the background and flowered trees lining the entire sidewalk - I don't think life could've gotten any better. I could smell the flowers and nature all around me. It was incredible.

I walked along the path for about an hour, with it still be light out. So far I've found that people are incredibly friendly here. One gentleman saw me trying to take a picture of myself with everything in the background and offered to take it for me. He chatted with me for a few minutes... though it seems people also overstay here welcome a bit because it he just kept trying to make conversation until finally I said thank you, nice to meet you and walked away.

As I kept along the path, people were jogging by, others sitting on benches or riding bikes. Along the shore of the lake, swans lie and walk along the waters edge. I noticed a young guy walking in my direction. With my headphones still on I stopped with my back turned to him to take a picture, hoping he wasn't about to try and talk to me.

I heard someone say something behind me, I knew it was him. I took my headphones off and he asked me something in German. Thinking he was a tourist like myself asking for directions or something, I apologised and told him I spoke English. And that's when he asked where I was from and would not stop talking.

He told me something about seeing my picture on yahoo? And that I was "so f***ing beautiful" (excuse his French) and then carried on rambling for about 10mins. I thought maybe he was mistaking me for a celebrity or someone famous he knew. He was very kind...at first... but then he began to get uncomfortably close, then trying to put his arm around me, even kiss me. I had enough. I was done being polite. I put my arm out to block him from getting any closer. I saw three young guys walking towards me, as I turned towards them I gave them an "I'm uncomfortable" look and they slowed there pace but still walking. I noticed them standing not too far behind him trying to see what was going on.

I told the guy that as nice as it was to meet him, I was going to leave and keep walking. I started to walk away towards another person sitting on a bench very close by, someone who saw what was going on. He followed me and started saying something about walking with me, wanting to sleep with me that night. I started to get nervous but with people around I knew I could ask for help if I needed to.

As I picked up my pace away from this guy and closer to the person by the bench, he started calling out my name. I told him to back off and that I was going to go do my own thing and he should leave, I would not be walking in any direction with or near him.

Finally, the three young guys came back closer and yelled at him to leave me alone. To move on. He yelled something back and then said "f*** you to me" and walked away.

I walked over to the three an thanked them, they assured me it was nothing and then I walked straight back to the hostel.

Crazy guy.

(Dear Parents: I know you're freaking out reading that, but seriously, it was okay. I found people around and could've ran or calls for help of I had needed. It wasn't as scary or bad as I'm sure you're making it seem in your minds right now. Don't worry, I being smart and safe!!! Haha love you!)

Anyways, when I got back to the hostel, I came to realise I was quite hungry so I decided to head to the little restaurant called Cafe Seepark next door. It had a beautiful, but simple atmosphere - dimly lit, dark wood and leather chairs, candles on the tables. After a long day I opted for a glass of wine and with it being rather chilly outside, an amazing tomato soup and house salad.

Now, I'm sitting in the lounge of the hostel, met some Americans, chatting and almost ready for bed.

Putting my love lock on the bridge!

The view from the train station in Lucerne!

The lake

Lucerne!

Day 7 & 8: Germany, you win.

May 6th & 7th, 2012 ---

... I don't even feel like writing this right now. Aghh. But it's 6:45am on Day 8 and I haven't gone to sleep yet. I'm sitting on a train on my way back to Cologne after partying in Munster till the sun came up. Literally. No point in sleeping now, might as well write.........
......
...
..

Nope...... Cant do it. I change my mind. I may, to quite a surprise, be completely and 100% sober right now, but there's a major lack of function up there. I'll give it another shot later this afternoon.
ZzZzzz....

--------------


Siiighhhh..... Okay.

Well, having already read an intro to what will come, I'll still start at the beginning.

Today was a rainy day and as rainy days usually go, they set the mood for a typically mellow day. Which it indeed was. (The day, I mean.)

We woke around 11:30, got ready and headed out with a few things to accomplish. Apropose, we go! I promised I would try on that dress and today, feeling well rested and so much better, was the day. So off we went to Apropose, with umbrellas in hand.

That morning I had straightened my hair all nice, but of course... As soon as I stepped outside, poof. Frizz. The downside of having naturally curly hair! Ugh! By the time we arrived at Apropose, even Janis was laughing at my #CurlyHairProblems.

I walked in and headed straight to the dress. Of course, being all high end and fancy, they only had one tiny size on the rack, so I found a sales associate close by who went to the back to grab my size and lead me to a fitting room. The dress was so beautiful. It was black satin on top, layers that pleated horizontally until it reached the natural waist where a black belt, encrusted with white crystals sat above the cream-colored satin skirt that had an overlay of puffed out tule. Though I felt a little wider in it, it was still so cute and classy! I did a little spin in the dressing room, opening the door to show the sales associate and Janis who wanted to see it on. After thoroughly enjoying wearing a dress worth €600, I closed the dressing room door, snapped a pic for memory purposes and then changed back to real life clothing. Twas fun!

We wandered around the store for a few more minutes... Where I found the show boutique. Dammit. I was done for. So many pretty shooooooeeeeessss!!!!! Jimmy Choo, Yves St. Laurent, Monolo and Loubtin! Sighhh.... It was shoe heaven. I found a gorgeous pair of Yves St. Laurent platform pumps in a dark beige with cognac-colored piping, heel and toe cap. Obsessed. Absolutely obsessed. With no sales associate in sight and realizing it was my size, I looked at Janis and then just went for it! I slipped it on real fast and then discovered that, as beautiful as it was, it was terribly uncomfortable. Thank goodness! My level of obsession lowered to just a high level of appreciation... So I found a way to part with the masterpiece and moved on... To where I found the latest collection from Christian Louboutin. Beige snakeskin pumps.... Classic black leather peep toe, all of which had the standard red Louboutin sole. I think I let out a small whimper when I saw the price stickers at €695 or higher. One day Louboutin... one day....

By that point, I had to leave my shoe love behind... I didn't want Janis to think I had a problem or anything... It's just a real appreciation of beautifully designed shoes and quality leather... That's all.. Sigh.. We were on our way to MAC so I could grab a few things I had forgotten. On our way, he showed me this little bakery. So adorable, it was painted a light, candy-colored pink and had bench-seating along the corridor wall and small tables adorned with lit tea lights. Walking through the doorway, I looked into the glass cases. I wasn't going to get anything, but after seeing the eclairs, I had to try one! I hadn't had an eclair in years! So I paid for a small one, sat at one of the small tables by the entry... And that's where I met a new friend! With wet, crimped, light blonde hair, beautiful structured face and dark brown eyes... I instantly fell in love. I never found out his name, but he was the most beautiful and affectionate golden retriever! Haha! And you all probably thought I meant a boy! Well, my puppy, Koda would've been jealous. I gave him an ear scratch and pet his wet fur with his head nuzzled against my leg. He was the cutest thing.. I wanted to take him home with me! But obviously when that wasn't an option, it made me miss my little fur ball back home in San Diego!

We headed onto MAC where I grabbed a few things then headed to a bar! Earlier that day, Janis had told me that the Cologne football (soccer) team would be playing a big match against Munich that would be the deciding factor on whether they would be in the first seed or not. Now I really have no idea what that means, nor am I sure I even explained that right, but I knew it was a big game and that the bars would be full of people watching! I wanted to join for the experience of watching a football game with Europeans who are known for their passion towards football! So off we went, dipping in and out of a few places looking for somewhere that wasn't super crowded.

After a few places, we settled at a place where we shared a long table with a few people and ordered some Kolsh beer, the main beer from Cologne (that's great, might I add.) I ordered a Hawaiian calzone as a late lunch and proceeded to watch the game.

Never have I ever been into soccer. I've watched it once or twice with an ex of mine that was from London and always enjoyed supporting his team, Tottenham. But I never really paid attention... I usually was doing homework or busy doing anything that didn't involve watching guys kick a ball around. But this time.... I was in the bar, beer I'm hand, not exactly yelling at the tv.. but let's just say I definitely got into it. And when Cologne lost.... It was soo sad. A few people...the opposition.. they cheered.. But everyone else was pretty quiet. You could definitely feel the disappointment in the air. None the less, it was an absolute blast just being around all the supporters of the local football team!

We went straight back to Janis' apartment following the game and quickly changed and head for the train station. We were on our way to Munster, a two hour train ride away, to party till the wee hours.... Pretty much till we could catch the first train heading back to Cologne at 6:34am.

We arrived at the Bahnhof, hopped on the train and enjoyed a nap mid-ride arriving in Munster around 8:45. When we got outside the train station, there were bicycles parked EVERYWHERE! I couldn't believe it! So many freakin bikes!!! Janis informed me that Munster is the biking city of Germany and everyone bikes here. No kidding! Geez!

Janis & I walked over to a nearby grocery store, picked up some alcohol and while we were in there I noticed a bottle with clear liquid and an apple on it! I grab it and run over to him, "Janis!!! Is this apple water??!" "Yes..." I think he was a bit puzzled why I was so stoked about finding apple water. "Its not carbonated right? Just plain apple water?" "Yes, why?" I explained to him that, Aaron, the guy from New Zealand that had introduced me to The Black Seeds, had told me about apple water once upon a time and I thought it was the neatest thing. He tried to bring me back some when he came back in March but because he couldn't bring it on the plane in his back, he never had a chance. He laughed when I told him how badly I wanted to try it and told me to just water down some apple juice because, surely, it would probably taste the same. Obviously I refused and have been waiting out for this apple water. So when I was in the grocery store i was stoked to find some!

From here, we headed over to Janis' friend Tim's apartment; a fantastically, modern and ikea decorated place. It was a cool spot! We had some drinks, listened to a bunch of amazing house music had a few laughs.... They mainly spoke German so i mainly just drank but they tried to include me the best they could. I didn't mind though, I'm in Germany, wasn't expecting everyone to speak English.

We went hopped in a cab around midnight to a place called Club Fusion. We were seeing a house dj named Oliver Koletzki. When we arrived, Janis' best friend, Jana had put us on the list, so we went straight in and dropped off our coats at coat check. Once inside, we grabbed some drinks and proceeded to hit the dance floor. About an hour(?) later, Jana and her boyfriend disappeared and Janis said he'd be right back having to go find a friend, leaving Tim and I on the dance floor. As the place began to get more and more crowded, personal space was pretty much gone. Everyone around us dancing and having a blast. About another hour had past and Tim gets a few texts from Janis saying he couldn't find us in the crowd and that they were now right beside the DJ on stage! Tim & I immediately went to find them and spent the rest of the night partying up there! It was so fun!

Club Fusion was a really cool spot, the only thing that really sucked - like most places in Germany, you're allowed to smoke in the venue. It was sooooo smokey! With all the secondhand smoke around me the whole night, by the time we left around 5, my eyes were burning and my lungs felt like I had smoked a carton. Breathing definitely felt like a chore. Though the music was amazing and i probably could've kept dancing for another few hours, I was relieved when it was time to go.

Janis and I took a short taxi ride to a small diner a block from the train station, where I had an amazing wrap called a Döner Rollo. Inside was salad, a thin sliced warm meat and tzatziki sauce. Sooooo good! I had drank two bottles of water, I think all the smokey air and dancing made me sooo thirsty, as I had stopped drinking sometime around 1am, and only had about a total of 5 or 6 drinks the whole night, mostly at Tim's. It was nice to be completely sober for the train ride back to Cologne at 630.

The train ride was the lonnnnngggeeeesssttttt train ride evvvvvveeeeerrrrrr!!!! About 20minutes into the ride back, exhaustion hit. Legs, lungs, body aching. Mental function gone. Cigarette smoke embedded into every thread of clothing I was wearing. Janis and I joked how destroyed we felt. Another wild night! Non stop dancing. I literally hadn't sat down till the cab to the diner. I danced the WHOLE night! #LikeAChamp.

Like you previously read, I attempted to blog, but i just couldn't put together an interesting sentence, nor did I want to. Stoked, was I, when we finally pulled into the Cologne Bahnhof. Janis and I got back to his apartment in record time. I immediately jumped into the shower... there was no way I would be able to sleep feeling as gross I was feeling. After a nice, long, warm shower... Feeling refreshed, I hit the pillow, emailing my parents to let them know I got in okay and checking my mail. I ended up laying in bed wide awake.

'Seriously?'

Partied all night till the sun rose, exhausted train catching for a grueling 2 hour train back to Cologne and now I can't sleep?!

Okay, Germany, you win. Now let me sleep.

I finally passed out around 10:30am waking up around 1:30.

... It is currently just after midnight, I'm still in my pajamas. Today was an epically lazy day with nothing but a little packing, writing, listening to music, face booking, picture uploading and eating some super bomb pasta Janis made.

Today was needed. Off to Lucerne, Switzerland tomorrow!
I'm staying in my very first hostel! Wish me luck!

Till next tomorrow,

Goodnight!

Alice & Olivia Dress at Apropose

Yves St. Laurent Heels

Munster: Bike Capital of Germany... no kidding!

Apple Water!

Soccer game at local bar in Cologne

At Club Fusion in the DJ booth!

So much rain!

Day 6: The city of love!

May 4th, 2012 ---This morning was rough. Having been setting my alarm every morning for 10:30, my internal alarm went off at 10:29. Awesome. I managed to toss and turn and fall back asleep till about noon, but the hangover that proceeded to take over my life for the day was not so welcome, but expected with the type of night we had had.

We slowly got ready, Janis making me some epic eggs for breakfast, and then decided to head out around 2 and spend the day wandering through Cologne.

The streets of Cologne are adorable. Though a large amount of the buildings are covered in graffiti, there are little shops and cafes everywhere, typical of most places in Europe.

We walked to the Starbucks around the corner for a tea and then kept on our journey. We were headed to the Dom. On our way, Janis showed me one of his favorite stores, a concept store called Apropos.

Apropos is a large high end store. When you first walk in, you walk through a long corridor, painted in a bright magenta pink. You walk up a few small steps and find yourself in a large naturally lit courtyard with a bar/cafe to your left, all with white tables, chairs and bar stools, complete with a large shiny disco ball. To your right, a store within - the handbag boutique. Walking through the courtyard, you end up in the main area of the store. Rows of racks with only a few pieces of clothing hung them. One, specifically with a gorgeous satin & tule dress on it.

I walked up and admired it, promising to come back and try it on when i was feeling a bit less like I had just been hit by a vodka bus. So we left the store and continued on to the Dom.

The Dom is an exquisite cathedral in central Cologne, right outside of the Bahnhof (now if I could just get the pronunciation down, eh Janis?! Haha!) (for all others: the train station). It is made of sand stone and covered in black filth from years and years of pollution in the air. However, there are some parts of the exterior that are very clean and white from the ongoing restoration. Being one of the 6 million people that visit the Dom every year, as Janis just told me, we headed inside to take a peak around. The doors were tall and slender, with large lion knockers. Once inside, I was blown away with how high the ceilings went! The main sanctuary room had tall columns lining either side connecting the arched ceiling. High up on the left side over hang an enormous silver organ. The one thing I was surprised about, unlike ,at of the churches Ive been in through out the years, this one didn't have as much color as the rest. It was very dark and muted, very quiet.

While in the church, Janis explained that normally we would be able to walk around the whole cathedral but unfortunately while we were there, there was a small service going on and we would be restricted to the lobby area and up to where the pews began. So we spent a few minutes inside, saw as much as we could and then headed out, walking around past the Dom and towards the Hohenzollernbruecke Bridge that crosses one of the busiest waterways in Germany, the Rhine.

When we began to make our way across the bridge, it was hard to miss all the padlocks hanging from the fence that separates the walk way from the train tracks. I asked Janis what this was all about because it reminded me of Pont des Art in Paris (that I hadnt had a chance to see). He explained that lovers come from all over the world to hang a "love lock" on the bridge to profess their undying love for each other and then they throw the key into the Rhine below. He also explained that when making the bridge they had to take in account the weight of all the locks, in terms of the architecture, because there are thousands of them going all the way across the bridge.

As we strolled along, it was absolutely beautiful to see all the locks. Different sizes, colors, types of locks. Some were engraved, some written on with sharpie, some with ribbons or flowers... It was so touching! Some of the locks had multiple locks attached for families...the first having an engraving of a wedding date, then newer ones attached each time a child was born. Another ones saw and fell in love with, was a lock that I'm sure was placed by couple that lived near by. It had their names on it "KD und Seph" and a date of "9 Aug 2003," attached to this lock were 10 or more other locks engraved with the names of cities. I can only assume that whenever they went somewhere in the world they came back and put another new lock on the bridge alongside their own. There was Berlin, Tahiti, East Coast, West Coast, Australia. It was definitely the neatest one to me.

We carried on across the bridge, seeing a few couples attaching locks, until we passed 3 teenagers. I don't think they were much older than 15 or 16. One girl was standing with her iPhone taking a picture of the other two that were standing beside the wall of padlocks. What made seeing this special, was that the other two, a girl holding a rose standing with her boyfriend. They were holding hands, smiles on there faces and posing for the picture. It was absolutely adorable. It began a conversation between Janis and I about how simple and exciting teenage love is. It's like, you don't ever have to think about distances, money, life responsibilities, anything that seems to complicate or get in the way of something really great when you're an adult. At that age, all it takes is a boy or girl holding your hand to make you feel on top of the world. I know some of those feelings, like the butterflies and excitement when someone special calls, never gets old... But I'm sure everyone can relate and understand what I mean in some way!

When we finally got to the other side of the bridge, some 15 minutes or so later, having been sauntering pretty slowly in our sorry hungover states, we decided to head over to the Triangle Tower.

The Triangle Tower is actually a tall round building with an observation deck in which you can see all of Cologne. Arriving at the top, and sitting along the glass walls were several watercolor artists painting the Dom, bridge and horizon. Definitely tugged at a few heart strings having not painted in years and recalled the last time I was in Florence where I bought a sketch pad and few pencils and drew here and there along my trip. Janis had never been atop the Triangle Tower before, so we both took some pictures then he pointed out places throughout Cologne, like the Stadium, his school, a "beach" bar along the Rhine and a few other cool places. As we walked around the observation deck, I heard this man by us explain that Cologne reminded him of Toronto. Of course my ears perked up when I heard Toronto and I asked them if they were from there. They explained they were from Montreal and then made a few hockey jokes, complete with an "eh" here and there. I love my country. Fellow Canadians make me laugh. It took the last few years living in San Diego to realize but I've found that we fit the stereotypes to a tee, and frankly... I think it's hilarious.

We headed back down the tower and decided at this point we were absolutely starving. Janis had told me earlier that there was a really great Schnitzel place by his house, called Oma Klienmann, that is incredible. So off we went to get some schnitzel!

On our way, I kept seeing these trees decorated with steamers and ribbons and hearts. They weren't actually in the ground, they were just tied to lamp posts, leaning against walls beside doors... in very random places! Janis explained to me, that when someone is in love and wants to express their love, they decorate a birch tree, usually put a heart with the persons name on it and the get it as close as possible to the persons doorway or window as they can! Hooooow adorable is that?! This city is so full of love! Pshhhh! Paris has nothing on Cologne, with their birch trees and love locks! Anything else Cologne?! So cute! I wish North America had such beautiful traditions, like these, to express love! And don't even get me started on Valentines Day, that doesn't even count!!!

Anyways, when we got to Oma Klienmann, we managed to be able to sitar a table with a time limit of an hour and a half. The table, among almost all the others, had reservations set for them! Busy place! We got the menus, of course the whole thing in German and complete gibberish to me. Janis started going down the list of what everything was until I stopped him and said, just order me whatever you think I'll enjoy with a side salad! No sense in having an entire menu read to me! Haha

So, he ordered my meal which arrived shortly after and it was the biggest piece of schnitzel I have ever seen!!! It took over the entire plate, slightly hanging off one side. It was incredible! I decided to take on the challenge and I almost finished the whole thing, but the last several bites were torture. Absolutely painful. I had made it soooo close to the end but I just.couldnt.do.it. (Especially with the hangover stomach ache I already had.) haha

We finished up, paid the bill then headed back to his apartment where I ended up sitting and writing while he took a nap. We were supposed to go out again, but after about an hour or two of relaxing, neither of us wanted to. Perfectly content, we opted to stay in and mentally prepare for the adventures we had planned for the following night!

A great, mellow and enjoyable night with much needed sleep and recovery time!

Day 5: Do as the Germans.

May 3rd, 2012 ---

10:30- I woke to my fantastic alarm, that I love so much. Again, laid around like a bump on a log for a while. Then began packing.

This mornings predicament: carrying suitcase down 6 floors without falling, dying or other on said mission.

Having realized that my suitcase was actually much lighter without my toiletries, I opted to take them out for the trip down the stairs. I zipped everything up, rolled the bag down the hallway and then stopped at the top of the first step and just looked down at the circular stairs ahead of me.

Back in San Diego, I'm a member of 24hr Fitness. I go almost every day, sometimes twice a day, and for the last little while I've been trying to do more weight lifting and such to gain a little arm muscle.. which I've always really lacked! Yes, in such a weakling. Haha So thank goodness I've been hitting the gym because I had to turn that suitcase on its side, pick it up and with it under my left arm, my right hand bracing the underside, I headed down the six floors - stopping just once around the 3rd floor to get a better grip!

By the time I made it to the bottom, I was so proud! It definitely wasn't as bad as I had thought! I slipped my suitcase to the side of the stairs in more of discreet area and then headed all the way back up to grab my purse, bag of toiletries and small bag with my book, headphones and other small things for the train ride.

When I reached my suitcase, I quickly unzipped it, three my toiletries in and got on my way. Threw the little court yard, small corridor, large entry way and out the door to the street. As I stood street side for a moment, I pondered whether I should take the metro or catch a cab.

With it being a beautiful day and the cabs being unusually cheap in comparison to North America, I decided it would be nice to catch a cab to see Paris one last time on my way to Gare de Nord.

I grabbed the first passing taxi on the corner of Ave Bosquet and Rue de Saint Dominique, the nearest cross streets of the apartment. We drove over the Siene, through the bustling streets of Paris. If you hadn't heard, drivers in Paris are crazy! There are no lanes, every one drives where ever they please, every one cuts every one else off and then you have mopeds zipping weaving around all over the place.
I could never drive here.

We arrive at the Gare de Nord and as the taxi driver pulls off to the side, a police officer immediately walks over and begins to write him a ticket. Why, I'm still unsure but I guess it just wasn't the place to stop. Needless to say he was pissed and said something in French to the officer and the officer signaled him to go. We move a little bit further down the road, the driver I believe was still in the wrong spot because he was checking his mirrors and constantly looking around to see if the officer had spotted us again. So I quickly paid my fare, grabbed my bag and headed inside for a quick lunch.

My first cheeseburger and fries in quite a while. It was great! I sat at the first floor restaurant, Cowans(?) or something like that... read my magazine, ate lunch and then after paying the bill I looked at my train ticket.
The whole thing is in French. Awesome. .. Of course not surprised. But what car am I going to and what seat am I in?
I head to the ticket booth and the woman, kind of rudely, shows me where on the ticket it has the information I'm looking for. I walk over to the main waiting area and wait, staring up at the departures board eager to find out which platform I have to head to.

By this time the train is going to be leaving in 25mins... Seriously, still nothing? .... Leaving in 20 mins..... The French really know how to leave things to the last minute. ....15mins, the train is scheduled to leave in fiiiiffffteeeenn minutes! What the hell?!
Suddenly the departures board begins to whir as the entire board changes and my train is fourth from the top with the platform number for the Thalys train being number 10. I was lucky to have been standing right beside it.

I was in car number 7. So thinking it would be at the furthest end of the platform I booked it down there. When I realized I couldn't tell where the numbers were located and I was approaching the end, of what ended up being a smaller train then I thought, I asked one of the men checking tickets where car 7 was.
"Down that way." He points to where I just came from.
Great. I thank him and head back the other direction.
When I get to the door, I pick up my suitcase, store it in the luggage area and find my seat a few rows up on the aisle.

The train ride was enjoyable. I listened to my music, read my magazine. When I arrived in Brussels, where I was transferring to Cologne, I hopped off the train and found myself walking behind some guy about my age with a skateboard strapped to his backpack. On the skateboard, a half maple leaf with the word "EH?!" drawn in silver sharpie. At first glance, I didn't think anything of it.
Whoa, wait a minute... !
"Hey! Are you from Canada?!"
"Ya, I am"
"That's awesome! I am too! I noticed your skateboard.."

We ended up chatting on our way inside the terminal. Turns out he was from Edmonton, backpacking for the month and headed to Amsterdam. He was a nice guy, seemed younger than I but we shared our stories then headed to catch our trains.

I waited an hour before boarding my next train to Cologne. Aboard the train, I was lucky to have the whole row to myself, so I parked it by the window, leaned against the window and the back of my seat, with my feet up on the chair next to me and took a nap. When I woke, I freshened up in the bathroom, and before I knew it I was in Cologne!

I jumped off the train, headed down the stairs where I was met by Janis with beers in hand! Stoked!

Last July, my old roommate Sydney unfortunately had to move back to Arizona and do we had to hunt for a replacement. After several interviews, we fell in love with a girl that stopped by named Natalie. She was bubbly, outgoing, and soooo excited about our house. It was the first person that really showed so much excitement about our house, which we thought was fantastic because we really love our house too!
There was only one catch, her boyfriend would be coming to live with us for 3 months at the end of September.
We debated because we weren't sure if we wanted a guy living with us that we had never met. What if we don't get along with him?

After a few discussions, we decided 'what the hell? Why not! It's only for a few months!' And Natalie moved in a few days later.

September rolls around and in flys Janis from Germany!

With Natalie beginning to work more and myself being home a lot, Janis and I developed a really nice friendship. We would chill and watch tv together while I worked on homework and he was on his computer; he would give me advice on guy problems, life problems, whatever. And we would all party together too! It was a lot of fun!

Janis headed back to Germany in December, and sadly Nat & him ended their relationship a month later. When I booked my trip to Europe, I asked Natalie if she would be okay with me visiting him while I'm in Germany. She, of course, had no problem with it at all since we had all been friends just a few months prior. So I hit up Janis on Facebook and we planned for me to arrive in Cologne this first week, stay with him and he would show me all around Cologne!

It was fantastic and quite relieving to know I'd be seeing a familiar face on my journeys! So when I arrived, we hopped in a cab, got back to his apartment and that's when the drinking commenced!

We decided to go to the Black Seeds show. I had told Janis about the opportunity earlier, an after checking them out, he was stoked to go see them. So we filled up a water bottle with Redbull and vodka, cracked a beer and headed out down the street! In Germany you're allowed to drink on the streets! (I love this city already!)
We grabbed a cab, who told it was cool to have our drinks in their and headed to the venue called the Underground.

The Underground is not really underground. You walk through an arched entry way into a courtyard, the trees strung with lights and tables with benches scattered in the area. We head to the open door of the venue, you can hear the band playing in the background and head up to the bouncer. I tell him I'm on the list, to which he checks then stamps the insides of our wrists.

We head in, grab drinks then push our way to the front of the stage and dancer the night away!

After the show and 2 encores later we head outside where Barnaby & Ned come out and meet us for a drink. We end up sitting outside for a about an hour chatting with them and another friendly group of fans, smoke a few cigarettes and pass around a joint (Ahh! Yeah! I know! To my family reading this: when in Germany, do as the Germans? Haha! Definitely won't be made a habit, might I add..)

After many, many drinks and laughs, a change of scenery was needed for all. Barnaby & Ned tell us they have to head over to the hotel to drop off their stuff then they wanted to meet up with us somewhere else. Janis suggests a place called Club Subway that was in relative walking distance to his apartment. So the band heads to the hotel and the group of us hop in two taxis and head to the club.

When we arrive, Janis & I are starving and decide to head to the McDonalds near by. We get there, order our food and then shortly after are met by a few of the people we were with. Mind you it's 2:30 in the morning, we've been drinking since I arrived at 8:30... Needless to say, we were both a little tipsy... I never thought I would say this, but McDonalds was bloody fantastic at that moment.

With food in our stomachs and having sobered up a bit, we headed back to Club Subway! When we arrived, we walk down the stairs (a basement club) and suddenly appears Barnaby bouncing happily around the dance floor and seemingly stoked on life! Haha

We all drink and dance and party till about 5am when we decide it was time we headed out. The group we were with had all left by then, except for Barnaby & Ned, whom we said our goodbyes to then drunkenly stumbled back to Janis' apartment and passed out around 5:30am.

What a night!

Gare de Nord Train Station in Paris

Janis & I at the Underground for the Black Seeds

Ned Ngatae of The Black Seeds

Barnaby Weir of The Black Seeds

Day 4: Success!

May 2nd, 2012 ---

Well this morning I had a bit of a late start. After having a bit of a late night, not getting in until around 11 then talking with friends and finishing up my blog posts, by morning I was exhausted. My alarm went off around 10:30 this morning and I was ready to huck it across the room. I may be on vacation, yea, but I had things to accomplish today! No sleeping into the afternoon!

I slowly got up and ready for the day... And by slowly I mean laid around for a little bit, checked Facebook, emails, texts, etc, then finally showered, dressed and was out the door by around noon.

Montmartre was on my mind. But first, to Gare de Nord to get my train tickets! I booked Paris to Cologne for tomorrow (with a transfer in Brussels) and then Cologne to Lucerne for Monday.

Following this, I headed straight for the Sacre Coeur!

By the time I arrived, it had begun to rain.. again.. So I whipped out my fantastic little raincoat and began to conquer the stairs up to the beautiful Sacre Coeur.

If you don't know anything about the Sacre Coeur, it's an incredible church, perched atop Montmartre and over looks all of Paris. So, when I got to the top and looked out the view was pretty great!

I went inside, dipped my fingers in the holy water and enjoyed all that my Catholic upbringing had to offer. I browsed around and then found myself sitting in one of the pews just gazing up at the alter and magnificently tiled ceiling, colourful and shimmering gold. I sat there for awhile, debating if I should say a prayer.. Or do anything that connecting me to the religion I was raised on but in all honesty I just sat. I was in such awe of the church itself, the fact that I was in Paris and the idea that I had become so unconnected with religion and frankly, feeling awkward about a prayer attempt. So, I sat. I observed. I thought. I enjoyed. And then I took a picture or two and went on my way.

On my way, I noticed a sign leading into a basement entitled "Dome & Crypt" then a larger arrow. My curiosity led to go find out what it was all about.
In a deserted tourist area, I found myself face-to-face with a woman in a ticket booth asking me to pay a few euros to see what the crypt and dome were all about.
After getting my ticket I ended up in a tiny, tiny circular staircase that I swear went on foreverrrr! (300 steps to be exact.) It was cramped, literally could only fit one person up at a time and had few windows. About half way up, not only was I out of breath but with no sign of life, I was also getting quite nervous.
If you know me well, you know I have quite the imagination and don't do well with scary movies, haunted houses or the like. So my nervousness slowly turned into utter fear. Why was were there NO people at a what is supposed to be a tourist attraction?
I decided it was now or never to face my fears -- I mean, I had already made it, what seemed, to be half way to the top!

Finally, I see natural light! Horray!

Suddenly, I'm on a roof, complete with stone gargoyle to my left. What the..?! Okay... I guess I'll just follow the tinnnnyyyy, what im assuming is a walk way in front of me. This is the point where I ask myself if Im even supposed to be here... Did I take a wrong turn? Did I miss a door? Anything...?! I couldn't have. Theres no way. It was just a staircase...

I walk a little further and as I turn the corner of another dome with a small gated opening I here the flutter of a bunch of pigeons. Scared me half to death! It was like watch tower-type deal. Oh, hunchback? Where are you??

I keep walking and suddenly see someone taking pictures! YES!!!! Another human being/ tourist!!! Fear disappears almost immediately.

I head up the few steps to the doorway he's standing at, which of course leads to *another* staircase. But at the top of this one, I walk through and I'm on top of the world!
...Okay well Paris, at least! I was literally at the top of the Dome with only but a handful of others. I could see in every single direction! All that fear and all those damn stairs definitely paid off. I could see the Eiffel Tower, church steeples, Gare de Nord, and downtown Paris, miles away. It was quite a sight to be seen!

After enjoying a solid 20mins, atop the Sacre Coeur, I headed back down the stairs, pathways, more stairs to the basement.. Also known as the Crypt. It was dark, quiet, smelling of age and there was an eerie feeling in the air. In the crypt, there were small alters, swords, lit candles and statues of all sorts - everything from Jesus, various saints, catholic figures and even one that particularly stuck me was headless but holding its head in its own hands.

I didn't spend too long in the crypt... was in need of some fresh air and somewhere that felt a bit less death-like. And this is when I found Rue Foyatier!

Rue Foyatier is the "street" with all the stairs and tram-like car that goes up to the Sacre Coeur. It's also the street that I walked up last time I had come to the Sacre Coeur. Standing at the very top, I stood and looked down with a grin on my face admiring all those stairs... Why? Because this time I came prepared with a slinky in my purse! Hahaha!

I must've looked so absurd with the large smile I had, bouncing down the steps looking for the perfect spot to send off my classic metal slinky - but I didn't care! This is my trip and my bucket list I'm checking off! And the French have seemed to be a bit stuffy for my liking anyways!

I get about a quarter of the way down, squat and whip out the slinky! It didn't take long to realize that the stair-to-slinky size ratio was going to make this impossible. Dammit!! If only I had brought a bigger slinky!

Still, I let the slinky slink one large step and smiled and laughed with full content that I still did what I had come to do!

I carried on bouncing happily down the rest of the stairs, slinky in hand and then when arriving at the bottom I realized it was still fairly early and could go explore a lot more. Since I was only a few stops from the Moulin Rouge, I set out to check it out.

Well, I got off the metro, which happened to be literally across the street, looked at it for a minute, snapped a couple photos, got bored and got back on the subway. Haha! At night it's a little more glamorous but during the day, it's really quite dull looking and the neighborhood is... well, quite lewd. Sex shops, strip joints, erotic museums, "head through the velvet for a good time" kind of area.

So with a few hours to kill before I had to head back to the apartment to get ready for my evening plans, I decided to make a third attempt at seeing the Louvre.

This time when I got there, not only was it open, there was only a line of about three people! Wahoo! I went through the entrance of the pyramid, through the standard security bag scan, down the escalator and grabbed a ticket and the museum map. I was on a hunt for the Mona Lisa!

It was pretty crowded in the museum, which made it pretty warm and humid. Within about 10mins I was using that great brochure-sized map as a make-shift fan.

On my way through the museum, I turned a corner (following directional signs to the Mona Lisa) and found myself in a large corridor, one set of stairs away from the statue "Winged Victory" - a very famous statue.

I remember years ago seeing this statue in art class and then again when I came to the Louvre on that school trip but every time I see it, it's pretty glorious. The way the "fabric" looks like its draped is amazing. Of course, I, like the many other people around, snapped several photos before continuing on my adventure to find the Mona Lisa.

When arriving in the room where the painting hung, there were hoards of people all pushing and shoving to get a picture of her - the Mona Lisa. The one thing I noticed is that there weren't many people that were actually looking at it, like reeeeaaallly looking at it. Everyone was taking pictures and then looking at their cameras. What's the point? .. I mean common, go google it if you're just going to look at the picture rather than admire the real thing. And in that case, get out of my way!

It takes me a few minutes to push my way through, having people completely ignore any sort of personal space I may have had, but when I get about 2 rows of people from the front I stop and just check it out. Sitting behind a pane of glass and guarded by security, its so much smaller than everyone believes and I had believed. So I admire it a little longer then go wander around the museum.

When I finally decide that the crowds were becoming less enjoyable and I'm ready to head back after an hour or so, trying to find the exit was a mission in itself.

While trying to find a door that led to the outside world, I managed to stumble upon the Venus de Milo statue which was pretty neat. And then I found myself in a room of Venus' & statues of other women.

I slowed my pace a bit and stood and stared at this one statue for about 3 or 4 minutes. It was another "Venus"-entitled statue, one holding a child's hand. But the one thing I noticed, and began to notice more about all the other statues as well, was how natural they all looked. Which got me thinking about how the perception of beauty has changed so drastically from then to now. It really gave the statues a whole new meaning for me. It was nice! :)

Shortly after I finally found the exit, with almost having a run in the security attempting to go through the wrong door.. I made my way back to the apartment.

After walking all day, my feet were killing me and I was exhausted... About 10x more exhausted walking back up those 6 flights of stairs too!
I really believed I would be prepared having been using the gym Stair Master like a boss before this trip.... Guess not! Haha

It's around 6pm and I'm heading to a concert around 830. So I sit and relax for about a half hour, catch my breath.. Change and head to the restaurant on the corner for a drink, supper, creme brûlée then hop on the metro.

Back in January, I started hanging out with this really great guy from New Zealand and he introduced me to the band, The Black Seeds. After falling in love with the band, he had told me they were going to be in San Diego on April 6th and that he wanted to take me to see them! Well plans were changed a bit when he had to fly out to Fort Lauderdale for a job but I still went to the show.

At the show, my friends & I all drank in excess and being the friendly, social butterfly I am - I made friends with several of the band members! After talking with them, we realized that we were going to be in Paris at the exact same time! They encourage me to come to the show, we exchanged information and then went our separate ways!

Well here I am, in Paris, the day of the show and ready to go enjoy some good music! Turns out one of the band members recalled I was here and hit me up with a text asking if I was still coming to the show! (Cool!) And hell yeah! Of course I was! I already got a ticket!

I had googled the name of the place, mapped out which subways I had to take and headed proceeded to head that way. Once I arrive, I realize I'm walking in circles around the same few blocks looking for the bar.
Okay seriously.. Where is this place?
I whip out my phone, look at Google Maps.. One block up.. Alright perfect.
... No bar, venue, sign or anything that could remotely be a place where a band would be playing.
Look at google one more time.. It says I'm at it.
Seriously, wtf? I look up at the very cute handbag boutique I'm standing infront of, "La Maroquinerie".
Gahhh! Dammit!!!!
If you didn't catch on, that would be the same name as the place I'm going. Excellent.
I look at google once more, this time I zoom out. Oh, look at that... Another little red pin on the map across town. Peeeerrrfect.

One long metro ride, with one switch, later and it turns out I'm in what looks to be the ghetto of Paris. Awesome.
But wait it gets better...
I decided it would be nice to wear my new wedges I got last month (that I looove) to this little shindig. Was no problem until I realized I had to walk about a mile... Against the wind... in the rain... Uphill. By the time I get to the place, I'm relieved, wet, pooped and my hair has never looked better, #absolutefrizz, #curlyhairproblems.

The band is already playing, so I quickly grab a Jack & coke and make my way downstairs to the basement-located stage. After dancing and downing my drink, I pushed my way closer to the stage. I got about 2 people away from the stage and decided that was the spot for me. It was an absolute blast and ended up getting mouthed a "heyy!" from Ned Ngate, the bassist that recognized me and a smile from the lead singer, Barnaby Weir who ended up coming up to me after the show asking if we had met prior because he, too, recognized me.

Ned caught me just as I was leaving and thanked me for coming out and supporting them again, then invited me to stay and hangout at the bar with them on the street level of the venue.

Hesitant at first because I had quite a journey to get back to the other side of town, I ended up staying for a drink. I chatted some more with Ned, Barnaby, the trumpet player of the band, Johnny and some other people that had been at the show. It was a lot of fun and once again, nice to hangout with people that spoke the same language!

I decided to head out around 1230, and having been talking with them about their tour and my adventures, we both realized (again) that'd we'd both be in Cologne tomorrow! Hahaha! Crazy! They told me I had to come out, see the show and hangout with them again! My train arrives in Cologne at 815 and they go on around 9, 9:30ish... So I said I would try and that I would have to check if my friend that I'm staying with would want to go.

As I said my goodbyes, Barnaby again encouraged me to come tomorrow and said that he would even put my name on the guest list so we wouldn't have to buy another ticket! Score!! So nice of him!

I got on my way and headed to the metro and stood looking at the map for a second figuring out if I had to go left or right to get on the one I needed to go one. A man standing beside me said something to me in French.
Me: "uhh.." He says it again. "I sorry, I speak English!" He chuckles, holding his suitcase and says with a shrug, "it's closed!"
"what?!"
"closed!" - He points to the screen above. Last run at 12:47. I look at my phone. It's 12:48.
Whhhhhaaaaat?!!!!!! NO! No, no, no, no! Shit!!!! I had no idea it stopped running, the thought never even occurred to me! Ughh!!

I end up taking the last subway to a different station where I could get a connection that would take me close enough to my apartment. I prayed that the connecting subway would still be running by the time I got there.

Of course, as a good story would have it, by the time I had got there it stopped running too.

Miles and miles away from my apartment, I get up to street level with nothing going through my head but curse words. How much would a cab back be? Could I find a cab? Are they gunna rip me off by taking a really long route? Which way am I even going?
I start walking.
Suddenly a cab appears! I run for it!

If you're a girl and a fan of Sex and the City, you may recall an episode where shes late on the morning she has to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange... She dashes out the door, screaming "Taxi!" as loud as she can and the taxi comes to a screeching halt.
That was me.

I open the door, gasping "do you take card?" The driver looks at me puzzled.
Crap. Does he not speak any English either?
"Visa. Do you take visa?" I ask, while attempting to make a rectangle with my fingers.
"Ah! Visa! Oui! .. Uhh.. Minimum £15"
"ummm.. Ya, sure. Okay, whatever!"
I hop in and we start driving.

I have a new appreciation for Paris after that ride.

We drove through the cobblestoned neighborhoods, down Quai de Montebello, passed the Norte Dam and other famous sites, all places I've visited over the past week. And while sitting in the back of the cab, all I could do was admire Paris.

Paris is a completely different place in the dark. It lacks all the hustle-and-bustle, the tourists and tour buses.. the traffic and the noise. It's calm, quiet and serene. It seems as if there is no one around and that's when you can really see the beauty of Paris.

By this time the rain and clouds had passed and the wind had calmed down. All the tree-lined streets were lit with decorative Parisian street lamps, and the Seine was relatively calm, looking very much like wet pavement. The Notre Dame was completely dark except for one single light on the very top left corner. The Eiffel Tower had turned off its lights as well. It was like Paris had gone to sleep.

I arrived at the apartment sometime around 1:30. I took a shower and now off to bed.

Today was a success and another fun adventure.

Tomorrow?

Cologne, Germany!

Cheers!

Sacre Coeur

In the Dome, the Eiffel Tour in sight!

Creepy Statue in the Crypt of the Sacre Coeur

Slinky time!

Moulin Rouge (obviously)

Winged Victory at the Louvre

The Black Seeds at La Monquinerie!

Day 3: When all else fails...

May 1st, 2012 ---

After feeling like I missed half the day yesterday, by waking up so late. I was determined to make sure I was up-and-at'em early today! Set my alarm, woke up, got ready and headed out the door.

On my way to the metro, I walked by Rue de Granelle - a market was going on. So I took a gander, grabbed myself a water and a small bag of grapes and kept on my way.

As I hoped down the stairs to of the metro to the self-service machines to buy myself a ticket, I met my first language barrier. What the heck is this mumbo-jumbo?! Son-of-a...!
Alright, alright.. Recall grades 1-9 French... Click here, click there... Accept?... Sure, why not... £1.70. Cool.. Think I got the hang of this. Ticket prints, and I'm off!
Take 2, on my mission to the Louvre!

After a few subway transfers, I make it.

I follow a herd of people and my google maps in the direction of the giant glass pyramid... As I walk through a beautiful and large corridor, I spot the pyramid! Stoked!

As I trot around the enormous courtyard, take some pictures, I head to the entrance....That's funny... Why is there no line up?

A sign:
"Le musée du Louvre est fermé Le mardi."

You have GOT to be kidding me. ... For you English folk, the louvre is closed.

Well hmm.. Alright. Next idea?

I get back on the metro, take it to the Notre Dame.
The one thing I forgot to anticipate about coming during the beautiful month of May were the lines. Tourists everywhere! The line to go in the Notre Dame was probably about a solid 45mins long. Thankfully, on that good old' school trip back in the day, I had been in it before. I cruised around the area taking more pictures, when I seethes girl with bleach, bleach blonde hair... Had to have been from California, especially with the fake boobs she was sporting. Haha... Turns out I was bang on. It was Holly Madison, Hugh Hefners ex-girlfriend of many years from the Playboy mansion. Solid celebrity-spotting on my part.

I carried on, walked along Quai de Montebello and ended up finding one of the original editions, 2451/2663 of Le Petit Prince... But was soon devastated to find out that the woman wouldn't sell it to me without buying all other 6 volumes in the collection for £550. Rats!

So on my way I went, again. When I was a lot younger... Maybe 5 or 6? My dad came to Paris for a few months to teach baseball. He told me that him and his friends always used to hang out along St.Michel, which happened to be a few blocks from where I was.

As I headed that way, I ended up discovering a fantastic bookstore, which later found out was quite famous, called Shakespeare & Co. Its a two-story bookstore, with old signs above door frames, "Old Smokey Reading Room" and "Blue Oyster Tea Room", with rickety wooden ladders to high up, stocked shelves. It featured old typewriters and organ upstairs. There were little nooks with benches to sit and read all the notes left by visitors over the years that hung on the wall. The place had so much character and history it was almost overwhelming - so much to look at! After spending about a half hour or so exploring the bookstore, I felt a bit hungry... Stomach growling.. I headed to back to the street of Saint Michel and found myself a restaurant with a good looking menu and decently priced too.

Le Cloud de Paris, it was called. I ordered myself a Croque Monsieur sandwich (ham & cheese) and a creme brûlée! At the end of my lunch a couple sat next to me that spoke English. I was so excited to hear people speak English that I said hello and had a chat. It was nice, but I was brought the check, paid up, and headed to the washroom before figuring out where to go next.

Not to get so descriptive, but while I was in washroom someone tried to open the door... Thank goodness i locked it or their would've been one of those awkward moments, but when I came out the woman apologized and I told her it was alright and started to wash my hands. This is when she did the same thing I had done just shortly before, "you speak English! Hunny! Where are you from?!" I told her I was from San Diego and, what-a-freakin coincidence, so was she! From La Jolla, not just a few minutes down the road!

We chatted a for a few minutes, told her about my adventures and she told me I had to come meet her family at their table! Well long story short, they turned out to be an absolute riot!

I sat with them for about an hour, had a glass of wine or two and cracked up while chatting with them. It was fantastic! It turned out that the woman I met, her family owns Mr.A's downtown San Diego, a favorite of my parents, and her son was an editor of Celebrity Apprentice & The Amazing Race, which I'm dying to do to some day when I'm am American citizen! (haha) it was a fantastic afternoon, and so nice to sit and socialize with people that spoke English, were funny, annnnnnd from the same city!

After exchanging information, we parted ways and I headed back to my apartment. When I got back I decided to change into a good ol' tshirt and headed out to climb the stairs of the Eiffel Tower.

Ya, you heard me. Climb the stairs all the way up.

Well when I got to the Eiffel tower... Not only was there a line that wrapped around for days and days... There was also an enormous line just to go up the stairs! Who knew that so many people Had the same idea I did.
Once again, plan failed.

The sun was setting, and I didn't want to be out when it was really dark just as a precaution while traveling alone in Europe, so I opted for a chocolate banana crepe and a walk over to the cafe across from my apartment for a glass of champagne. Not bad, if you ask me!

Tomorrow I'm headed to the train station to pick up my next ticket to Cologne and then to Montmartre and then the Black Seeds concert tomorrow night!
Should be a nice day! :)

The Louvre!

Closed on Tuesday

Notre Dame

Shakespeare & Co.

Rosalie, from La Jolla! 

La Tour Eiffel!