Saturday Night Fever

So, I did end up going out on my last night in Paris. I gathered up my courage, and got all dolled up. My style is sorta lady like/preppy and I don't like showing a lot of skin, so I ended up wearing a sky-blue dress I would wear to work, huge pearls (too big to wear in the day) and taupe flats. I also threw on a sky blue pashmina. I definitely didn't feel that I looked catcall worthy even though I felt I looked nice (this will become relevant later). Anyhoo, I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower to see the view:



It was nice. I was wistful because I was alone in Paris and single amid all the couples around me. It was a bit hard. Then this guy came and sat next to me, and started talking to me. He didn't speak much english, so I was forced to really try to speak the best french that I could. Well, we ended up talking and walking a bit. He wanted to walk along the Seine but I was like, um, no. I'm a woman alone in a foreign country, so there was no way I was about to walk along the dark, dimly lit Seine with him. LOL. I know that interactions between men and women are probably different in Europe (ie the men seem more forward) but that's something that I hope to get used to over time. Anyway, I really wanted to be by myself (I know, after I said that I was tired of being alone; I'm such a contradiction) so we parted ways after he walked me to the metro.

I wanted to go back to St Germain but I got LOST! I have a hard time finding my way around my own country, so I should have known better. But there were people out, so I felt safe. Somehow, I ended up walking to Invalides and then turned around to head back to the Seine (my landmark lol). I crossed bridge and ended up getting to the Champs-Elysees. But I can't tell you how LOL. I walked up and down it. Even though I told myself I would go home soon, I couldn't leave. I just kept walking up and down. By the time I was ready to go, the metro was closed (or so I thought). I got SO lost. I couldn't figure out where I was and no one could tell me how to get back to the Opera district. A couple guys pulled me to the side and tried to dance with me, but it was scary more than anything. I started to feel very transparent and silly for being out alone at night by myself. Anyway, I couldnt' seem to flag down a taxi, so I kept walking. Another guy smiled at me and said "hi" so I practically ran to him, and asked him for help. He said, just take the metro and I said, "isn't it closed?" but apparently it wasn't. I could have sworn I saw the gates closed. Anyway, I got on (where I was solicited by another man--he wanted to give me a massage) and got off at the right stop. When I tried to make my way to the transfer point, I was stopped by the metro man who said the metro was closed. My American brain couldn't quite process it fast enough, so I still tried to walk down. He was pretty annoyed. Perhaps that's why he wouldn't help me figure out a way to get home. Fortunately for me, I temembered that I had my map, and found my way to Avenue L'Opera. It was pretty much a straight shot back to the hotel. By this point, my feet were literally dead. I really thought they would just fall off.

I think I made it to bed by 2am and got up an 7am to catch my train. To be continued. . .