100 views / Honeymoon

In celebration of my 100th blog view, I would like to dedicate this blog to my 4 readers. Thank you for visiting my blog multiple times per day, allowing me to achieve more views than I thought I would ever get. It's surely an accomplishment that is in par with receiving my college diploma. (And now, off to my second blog in 2 nights. WHAT???)

Paris, France was everything that Lindy and I hoped it could be. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre (and that glass pyramid thing), Notre Dame, and the body odor was all there. It was magical. Our three day trip was like a fairy tale.

Lindy and I took a train from Stuttgart, Germany to Paris. You buy the tickets, and it's completely up to you to find your train. Nobody checks to see if you're in the right one or not. That is, of course, until you're about 10 minutes away from your destination. I kind of wonder what they would do if we had just hopped on the train without purchasing a ticket. I would imagine something like this.

Our hotel was nothing short of spectacular. After checking in, the receptionist told us to take the elevator up to our room. Problem was, we didn't see an elevator. Lindy and I looked at each other confused. She pointed at a door in the corner of the lobby (the lobby, by the way, was about the size of a walk-in closet). I look at her like she's crazy and I say "I think that's a closet." I guess the receptionist could sense we were confused and told us that the closet was, in fact, the elevator. We make our way to the elevator and noticed there were no "up" or "down" buttons. "Open the door" the receptionist tells us. Wouldn't you know it, the door opened like a conventional door. When we saw the inside, it was shocking. It was like walking into a coffin. There was no way we both could have fit in there, even with our small luggage. But we did! I pushed our floor number, and the elevator began to move...and so did the walls. Apparently, the elevator was more like a lift. We pressed close to each other so we didn't accidentally get scraped by the walls.

We came to a stop, and nothing happens. The door doesn't open, so we just stare at the door for about a minute until I start feeling claustrophobic and decided to push the door open. We forgot it was manual. When we went back downstairs to go out and explore the streets of Paris, we saw a family of 4 disappear into the closet/elevator. They were never heard from again.

Our room was even better. The bed came up to my knees (and I'm really short so you can only imagine). The pillows were sewn on to the bed because I guess people steal pillows there on a regular basis. The t.v. was about the size of a hand-held t.v. and the remote was screwed onto our headboard (I guess people steal these too). It was really interesting trying to turn the channel because you're looking at the opposite wall while trying to find different channels. Lucky for us, there were only 2 channels.

The room was so small, that when you walk into the bathroom, the bathroom door hits the bed. The door opened just wide enough for us to walk in to do our business. You can literally take a dump, brush your teeth, take a shower, do your hair, make the bed, and watch t.v. all at the same time. If the hotel was going for convenience, well, you can't get anymore convenient than that.

After reading all that, you would think we had a miserable time. Actually, it was one of the best times I've ever had. Lindy and I laughed about it then, and we still laugh about it to this day. While Paris is known for fashion and riches, we had no job, no money and no clue. We lived off baguettes and water. Our main and only mode of transportation was our feet. But we saw all the attractions that lure tourists. I would do it all over again without changing a thing.