It took me a while to write this entry. Everything is happening so fast and it's been hard for me to put into words my experiences. When I would finally be able to sit down and blog nothing would come out.
Coming from Spain to Paris, France was quite a culture shock to say the least. As one of our tour guides in Barcelona said, "The Spanish has the second largest life expectancy in the world because of siestas, olive oil and good wine." He later went on to explain how the Spanish mindset is. They let things run it's course, no deadlines do no stress. Such a beautiful concept unknown to the western world. I'll have to talk to Mr. Obama about implementing siestas in our day, but time is money as they say, and lost sleep is a shorter life!
Paris reminds me of New York City; the constant, untamed traffic, the feeling of always being lost, the not always very welcoming locals. But nonetheless, Paris is one of a kind. It is crazy to see so much history and culture everywhere you turn, unlike home in the Silicon Valley where everything is new or being created. Amazing to think of the people that dedicated their life to the monumental works of art displayed around the city. Upon my first day in Paris, we visited the Tour Eiffel and the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower is massive! What a sight to be seen. I was able to take a selfie with Mona Lisa herself, which was smaller than I expected but more beautiful too. The sculptures were my favorite. They were so lifelike, ever dimple every crevice, the textures portrayed in solid rock, magnificent indeed.
On our third day, my family went home. It was really hard for me. This is the first time I've ever been away from my family for this long, let alone over 6,000 miles away. Granny called me at the hotel because she thought she had free long distance, but she doesn't, so she'll be expecting a pretty high phone bill for the month. She and my aunt were also able to send me and iTunes gift card to purchase movies on my phone because Netflix doesn't work in Europe. Probably one of the worst things to find out when you're a teenager alone in another country. Just as a warning, most restaurants not in touristy areas are closed on Sundays. So I took a 45 min metro making 3 Line changes and over 25 stops to a Chinese take out place. I was too tired to make the trip back so I took a taxi that costed me 20€ which amounts to about $30. Fun. Another warning for you all. The maid service in hotels don't knock! I was in the middle of changing my clothes when the maid barged in with her garbage bags in hand. I definitely screamed and she quickly found her way out. And I thought knocking was universal!
Anyways, off to Romania I go!
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