My Trip to France was Amazing!

I returned back from Paris Monday night. It was awesome. It was great to be able to do what I wanted, spend my own money and not be surrounded by toxic people or people that put me down. I've been to France many times, and every visit has always been special.

One of the things I wanted to do was have a picnic with a view of the Eiffel Tower. And I managed to do it on the Saturday. France and the UK have a long history of friendship and rivalry between each other over the years. French was my favourite subject to study in School, along with history. I'm not fluent in French, but I can take part in some basic conversations. I've noticed that people were more likely to help me out when I tried to speak in French.

I stayed at a place called St Christopher's Inn near Gard Du Nord. Hostels can be a hit or miss, but other than cold showers, I was happy with my accommodation. It had all the facilities I need, and it was handy being close to the station. A lot of the people in my room were only there for one night, so I didn't get much of a chance to get to know many people. But lots of people said hi and I had some nice quick chats with them. Didn’t realize until the day I checked out they also own another hostel near a canal. If I came again, I might check in there next time.

It's a culture shock for me that a glass of wine was cheaper than a latte. This glass of rose was €3.50, and my Matcha latte and hot chocolate at the restaurants I been to both cost €5. The food scene was amazing. I was overwhelmed with all the choices. My favorite was Mori Cafe. It was a long walk from my accomodation to the place, but it was worth it!

The day trip to Amiens was really good and cheap. Both ways was €10 and the transport was smooth. I really liked being on the French trains. The chairs feel a lot more comfy and cleaner than the ones in the UK. I had a good walk around the city. I visited some local stores and visited the Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens. It’s a really beautiful building and it’s meant to be one of the biggest churches in France. I never ended up buying any souvenirs in the end. I did buy a towel and some foot cream at Hema though. I also had lunch at a place called Gomu, an Asian/American fusion chain that does burgers in boa buns. Didn’t realise until I walked past it on Paris that there was more than one of them.

I did end up browsing lots of shops. When I was walking and on my way to find things I would stop and look at stuff that interested me. Like the Care Bear candles, the Lego store and many book shops. I bought some gifts for my family at a the C’est Deux Euros shop. What was meant to be a 40 minute walk to a restaurant ended becoming two hours. Though when I did reach there, the place wasn’t open yet, and there was already a small que.

I did between 3-6 hours of walking each day. My legs ached, and I was falling asleep on the train to the UK, but I think it was worth it. I treated myself to croissants for breakfast and tried McDonald’s in France too. I had breakfast at the hostel and I didn’t eat out every night. Sometimes I grabbed something from the supermarket and ate it at the accommodation. My favourite from the supermarket was the goats cheese salad.

If I go back, I would love to have lunch at Mori Cafe again. Maybe go to Yogamour if it’s still there because the atmosphere was nice. Might be interesting to have a coffee there after a yoga session in French.