Day 1: The Longest Day

I am constantly struggling with maintaining my excitement, for there is so much to be thankful for and so many new experiences to be had. My reality is parallel to my dreams this week and I am so taken back by it all. I know my excitement was the only thing keeping my body functioning after what felt like a 48 hour day. To be honest, I'm not sure how many consecutive hours I was awake but I assure you it was a long time. After spending an entire day in airports, or at an altitude of 10,000+ feet, we finally, finally landed in Paris bright and early Monday morning. Dr. Lukosius was well rested and ready to lead a group of 50 insomniac zombie like students and faculty to our hostel Aloha. We were going though a maze of metro lines, on and on trains, up and down a dozen set of stairs all while carrying our suitcases and fighting the crowds the entire time. It was very hectic, so hectic we actually lost two students in all the chaos because they could not exit the metro in time. Luckily they put their heads together and quickly reunited with the rest of the group. All the stress and exhaustion immediately went away (for me) the very moment we turned the corner of the street our hostel is on and could actually see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I now wish to walk in the middle of the street every time I return to our hostel, for that is a view that could never grow old. After settling in, and a desperately needed lunch break my roommates and I went to explore the local district eager to start researching the area. After a well deserved nap we then went out on the town again, this time in search of food. The pineapple boat I had was almost too pretty to eat, almost being the key word. I absolutely would not be opposed to returning to Café Volontaires, the steak and potatoes my roommates had looked absolutely delicious. By the time dinner was over it was nearly midnight, and we knew we must get some rest for the next day would be an even bigger one, Bastille Day to be specific.