-"Parlez-vous Anglais?" -"No."

(Blog post written pre-wifi access at our first Paris hostel)

So today is officially day three of being abroad! Last night was definitely interesting, being interrupted by the guys on our trip coming back to the hostel late at night and finding a sleeping man in one of their beds. They drunkenly informed him of this and made him move to another bed, this bed being the one above mine. Praying that a fight would not ensue I pretended to be sleeping and luckily everything was all right.

In the morning we went to the Science Museum (for free!), which was actually really interesting.  There were a bunch of exhibits with high-tech interactive activities, and it was located just a block away from our hostel. Kate and Dana attempted to be stealthy in an exhibit of an alarm system which would go off if you stepped on a light beam before reaching the safe.

After we grabbed a quick bite to eat and made our way to the chunnel THROUGH THE OCEAN.  The winding tunnels made the pressure changes every two minutes, making ear-popping feel like we were entering another planet (thank God we packed gum!).

We got to the station and somehow managed to navigate the train system. It was all in French, and for some reason not one of us brought a phrase book. Smart right? We learned pretty quick that ‘Sortie’ means exit. The only problem being there were 14 exits. I got to test out my ONLY French phrase on the woman at the ticket counter “Parlez-vous Anglais?” Who then responded “No.” and we panicked. Kate whipped out some Spanish, mixed with our only French word, and mixed with whatever else she could think of. And sure enough “Exit Un” And we were off! (Train station pictured below)

We found our hostel shortly after and then found out it was a cash only sort of operation. Our “free breakfast” came from a vending machine, and they required us to leave the hostel during the day. We quickly showered and got ready for our evening out with my French friend Flora for her birthday celebration. She had given us an address to a bar that required a train change and we were terrified. Somehow with the help of a man named ‘Bear Grills’ we got a ticket to the right stop! We got off and made it successfully only to wander the streets of Paris for two hours. Then found it! We celebrated with a glass of wine and gave her some Minnesotan presents. It was so much fun!