Departure To A New Life Begins

The journey of a lifetime had finally arrived which meant the dreaded final goodbyes were nearby. One final event would conclude my time in Newcastle…I like to call it tag team tear jerkers and let me tell you I cried every single final goodbye hug,and it wasn’t pretty. Each hug, a little more tighter than the last. A little farewell gathering consisted of constant refills of punch,and we all know when punch is involved then we were in for one last rippa of a night. And there I was parting mother bear and ready to hunt through the wilderness, just kidding I was at the airport. It was real epiphany for me, I realised just how much courage I thought I had which soon diminished in seconds as I stepped away on my own. But there I was … set out to endure this new adventure that had me tingling from head to toe and enfused into my dreams of a night.

First stop Paris(or Pariiiii as the locals say it)

Paris was exactly how I expected it… busy streets and impatient people but everything’s new to my eyes. When asking a young fella if he knew the whereabouts of the couchsurfing address i had lined up,he told me, before you say anything you must say bonjour and from then on it stuck. I can now confirm that the necessities of being French are baguettes, cheese and wine. If you got that then your set for a good day.

I don’t know how I feel about this place. First instincts I hated it! The place smells (excuse the language) like shit. The people are rude, impatient and never smile, and the biggest downside is highly priced terrible coffee. But fortunately, my days got better. Left on my own to discover this place was daunting, especially only knowing a limiting 5 phrases in

French. I recieved a lot of satisfaction out of scoring a free crepe and 6-hour city tour by some forty something year old man (whose stunning blue eyes made me question my instincts). But I made it out alive and for once I felt a-l-i-v-e.

Being a new place there is always so much to look at and now I find people watching one of the most entertaining ways to pass time. Everyone is so lost in the rat race of life so it’s the biggest contrast to be sitting on a corner café. The wide open, neatly trimmed parks and gardens spotted around are screaming for relaxation and serenity in this hustle and bustle city, how ironic right? However, this new soil is bursting with personality. Just walking through the metro station is enough to prove that. Music is everywhere here and the passion and happiness of these buskers is contagious making it near to impossible not to smile.

Tips for Paris

1. Buy a metro card. It will be your lord and saviour for getting around the city. Mine gave me unlimited trips for a week and I paid 25 euros for it, its extremely convenient considering one way will cost you 10 euros in its self. However, in Paris you can walk everywhere. From the centre of Paris it spirals out into 5 zones and it only takes you a one hour walk from the centre to the outside of the city.

2. There is a very limited number of public toilets around and majority of the cafes and restaurants only allow customers to use theirs. Most of the toilets are downstairs so if you find it without having to ask then you have successfully hacked this trait.

3. It doesn’t get dark until around 10:15pm so when Parisians go out, they go hard. Just to prepare you they usually head to a bar from 12-2am and then go clubbing from 2am-6am so make sure you have Panadol on standby as you watch them all take off for work in the morning. Oh and ladies a lot of places give you free entry and drinks throughout the night if you can find them.

4. Highly recommend staying at St Christopher's Canal. I ditched a night of couchsurfing to meet some people and this places prides itself on bringing everyone together. Rooms are amazing and every afternoon they run APERO where you get free sangria and beer pong on the house.

Safe travels! Next stop Munich, Germany

Louvre