A Year of Blogging: July 8, 2011

July 8 is Video Games Day. Once again, I find myself stumped. We did not have video games as kids. My neighbor Matt had an Atari, but I couldn't tell you what games he had. Several of our friends had Nintendos, so we did occasionally play Mario Brothers or Tetris at their houses. Video games never really interested me. So I think I'll have to look at other resources and see what else today holds. On July 8, 1951 Paris celebrated it's 2000th birthday. 2000 years old. Amazing. Paris has become a beacon of fashion, art, and romance. I had such high hopes when I visited Paris as a teenager. Paris! Every girl's dream come true to visit Paris! And yet, when we arrived in Paris it was nothing but disappointment. I know my view might have been colored by a few things: our tour group booked us a hotel in the red light district where we slept four to a room. From the wall to the window was nothing but beds and cots. Compared to the luxurious accommodations we enjoyed in Spain, it was a letdown. Our French teacher was our chaperon, and once we got to Paris he took off on his own agenda, leaving four teenage American girls alone in Paris. I was the oldest of the group- and I was not quite 16. The other three were my sister and two of her friends. I had a responsibility to my sister, and I felt I had a responsibility to all of them. The other two girls wore shorts, which is something only hookers do in France (unless it is in the summer when they have the influx of American tourists). As we walked through the streets, guys made catcalls and offers to the girls. I remember coming off the subway one day, and as we were walking up the stairs, guys walking down the stairs stopped and reached through the railings grabbing one of the girls. I screamed and I'm pretty sure I beat them with my purse until they let go. We went to the Eiffel Tower in the daytime, and then we went back at night. We had heard that you just had to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, and go to the top and overlook the city of lights. So we did. When we went at night, it was crowded. The people were so incredibly rude. I've heard of rude Americans, but let me tell you- the French have it all over us! We were getting pushed and shoved, and finally this nice family ahead of us in line motioned for us to join them. They heard our accents, and no doubt saw the terror on my face, and stepped in to help us. They were fellow Americans, and I was so grateful they came to our rescue. Then of course, I'm afraid of heights, so I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but couldn't go near the windows to look out. The one good thing about Paris were the patisseries. Patisseries are bakeries. They had the most incredible croissants. We went every morning and bought fresh baked goods for breakfast. The morning we left for NY, I bought six croissants to take home to my folks. I didn't realize you weren't supposed to bring food through customs. Thankfully, when we arrived in JFK, the customs area was swamped, and they weren't too concerned with a few teenagers coming back from a school trip to Europe. This was of course in the pre-9/11 days. Now, you wouldn't get away with it. The next morning Mom and Dad were able to taste a little bit of Paris at home in NY. It's a shame I hated Paris. It would probably be great to wander around and soak up all that history. But even if I felt like making the international flight, my memories of Paris are still vivid enough that I have no desire to go back. I guess I'll just have to read about the 2000+ years of history!