I had so much planned for this trip and not nearly enough time to do it in…the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, sip wine and champagne, take a trip down the river…but also dive deeper into the culture…I researched the history of African diaspora in France and found out some really interesting trivia…so I made plans to visit those areas…nope didn’t happen…one of my idols lived here, James Baldwin…I was definitely taking that tour…nope didn’t happen…I found a great bookstore…closed for whatever reason…any reason…reason probably being, because I’m visiting…booked a couple of activities for an authentic home cooked dinner…host cancelled the day before…oh well…I’m gonna make a mudpie out of mud…after a early start to the day at the train station…the scenery from London was pretty but not what I anticipated…I contact an Uber…and here we go…I walk outside pulling my carry-on bag in one hand and my hideous aqua checked bag…make a left…walk to the sidewalk which is the direction that my driver should be coming from and realize…pretty much all of the Ubers here are the same color and make of car…I know this is when the bs starts…I see that the driver is about 150 ft away…I scramble weaving through what must have been a couple of hundred cars congested by the intersections…I check license plates…the driver messages me in French…I try google translate but its not working…he calls me…we don’t understand each other…he cancels my ride…I order another uber…same thing…cancelled…I take a step back…walk with my ugly luggage through the fashion capital of the world…find a café…order a baguette and a bottle of water…eat and take a deep breath to gather myself…get up…try again…same thing…I’m heated now…I see a driver drop someone off at the corner…I knock his window…show him my destination…”I need to go here”…I pull out cash…he agrees…sometimes old school methods and hard cash is more convenient than technology…My hotel room was in the thick of things…a nice balcony overlooking the street…the French architecture on either side was gorgeous…I decide to take a stroll and get lost into something…which is exactly what I did…the train system and bus system were hard for me to manage…not to mention several routes weren’t running and there was no information stating that they weren’t running…I tried the uber thing again…same result…decided to cut my losses…I’m lactose intolerant and rarely eat cheese…but tonight I settled for a good ole cheese pizza…
The next day was actually really good…I went to Epernay, France…home of the Dom Perignon headquarters…a really nice trade ride from Paris…the weather was pretty chilly and misty but I made the best of it…it was a holiday so there was a military parade going on in the street of Epernay right outside of the headquarters…I took some pics and video…and waited to meet up with my tour guide and other guests…right outside of the Dom Perignon statue…they came out shortly after and we began the tour…riding to vineyards, champagne tasting, guessing the notes of the champagne…I’m not a connoisseur of any sorts but it was interesting to learn and has actually come in handy…we went to a few churches…saw the burial site of Dom Perignon who is actually buried inside of the church…I chatted with the young ladies that were in my tour group…they were super cool…all from the U.S., very intelligent, well-traveled, and successful in their industries…nothing like meeting new people and networking…they suggested places that I should visit and eat…I took note…for next time I visit…It was after dark by the time my train got me back to Paris…I was tired after a long day but it was my last night and I hadn’t even seen the Eiffel Tower…I sucked it up…finally was successful at snagging an Uber and had them drop me off near the monument…it was all it was cracked up to be…it was late November so Christmas decorations were in full effect…people were out enjoying the fresh chilly air…I snapped a few pics…again asking random strangers while I pose…knowing damn well I hate taking pictures…at least I hate taking pics with me in them…what I will say about Paris…minus all of the setbacks that I had…I felt the energy…there is a romantic vibe that is undeniable…even traveling solo, I could feel the intimacy of the city…Intimacy doesn’t have to infer sexual interaction or be partnered (although 2 is always better than 1)…Intimacy…at least my definition of it, is the absence of distraction…to be lost in the moment…connected…full attention on her…on it…on Paris…I’ll be back shawty!
Holiday Inn Paris-Gare de Lyon Bastille
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