The Louvre
On Lock Bridge with Notre Dame behind me.
Museum Rodin with The Thinking Man.
EEk, first night seeing The Eiffel Tower.
My recent trip to Paris was the first vacation/photography workshop I have ever done alone. Traveling (for vacation) alone is not something that I had ever thought I would to do. However when this opportunity presented itself I couldn’t pass it up. As much as I wanted some company it wouldn’t be much fun considering I was there for a workshop.
Being in Paris was such a great experience, traveling alone did present unrealized complications but any trip does. The positive side was each day I was able to plan what I wanted to do, when, how long and I had to figure out how (train, taxi etc) to make it happen. This is not a very difficult task but not speaking the language did create a little anxiety in me. I thankfully successfully did this at every attempt...
The only time I had a problem was when I tried to meet up with an Australian photographer and her daughter. We both waited at different terminals for a few hours. The problem there was lack of communication, which I felt very bad about...
Upon arriving in Paris I had to figure out how to get from the airport to the country where I was staying by train. The train system was easy enough, a bit of an undertaking my large 50 pound bag with two other carry ons made the many, many stairs difficult to maneuver. Oh and did I mention it was a holiday, so the station was packed. I felt like a silly girl for having such ridiculous amount of bags. When I finally made it on my last train I sat down with a huge sense of accomplishment. My first hurdle of the trip was over and done successfully.
My next task was getting settled in the city after a few days in the country. I got my apartment in the Latin Quarter, grabbed some fresh bread, champagne, and pistachios (my diet for the next few days) and with in an hour was off to my first museum. EEkk! Ok being a Mom I'm not use to that sort of freedom. It was great for the next four days I did whatever I wanted- for as long as I wanted! And not being with my family (as much as I missed them) I felt like I had soo much time on my hands! I actually lost 4 lbs. I'm so use to running around I kept the same momentum in Paris and somehow lost weight even thought I ate more bread, croissants and champagne (and had a few Coke's) then I ever do at home. I did do a lot of walking but I didn't work out other than the push ups and sit ups I did in my room.... The fresh warm baguettes, mini chocolate croissants, and other pastries they sold by Notre Dame were amazing. And now you know one reason why I stopped there daily.
Having a smart phone has really made traveling easier I have to admit. I was able to see on my GPS if I was along the right path. I didn’t get lost and I had another personal win under my belt. For the rest of my time there that’s pretty much how it went. Everything I had planned work outed and I never got lost.
Now traveling as a woman alone does have it’s down side. At first I was receptive to people striking up conversation. Within a day of being there I realized I could not sit alone for too long with out being bothered. It seems that a woman alone is an easy target, this caused a mixture of emotions.
At first it was kind of laughable, these guys would linger, if I moved they would pop up again then strike. After a day or so it became a bit unnerving. It felt as though I had neon sign pointing me out *woman alone* I became concerned I would become a target of any host of crimes. It’s something I tried not to think too much about.
Being a petite woman being aware of my surroundings is something I’ve always had to do. So I tried not to let this become a major focus. As normal I told anyone I spoke with that I was meeting friends or that someone was expecting me. Most of the people were very helpful and overall I felt very comfortable throughout my trip.
I will never forget Paris.