A home for my words.

Although I’d had good moments in Paris on my first trip, discrimination I experienced there first and secondhand turned me off from ever visiting again. That is until a college friend invited me to tag along with her, her best friend, and her sister as they visited Paris and then Amsterdam. I’d enjoyed my previous stay in Amsterdam, so I reasoned the trip would end on a good note, even if Paris soured me once more.

Although Paris was freezing and I was unfortunately still dealing with severe anemia back then, sharing the experience with friends did help soften the city’s edges. Since there was nothing in particular that I wanted to see, I was cool to follow their itinerary and find the wonder in little things.

The first time I visited the Louvre, I’d paid for a skip-the-line ticket, which was WELL worth it. On this trip, I was technically a European Temporary Resident thanks to my job in Spain and also wasn’t required to stand on a long line. If you plan on visiting the Louvre, I do recommend finding a way to avoid the line, as it can take around three hours just to get inside. We also visited Musée d’Orsay and a trendy restaurant or two, which I don’t think I did on my first trip.

The best part of this trip was that we were there for New Year’s Eve! We met up with an old college friend who was living in a model agency apartment at the time. I remember we had a beautiful dinner with live music and went outside in time to view fireworks. We then spent the rest of the night playing board games and I fell asleep in the cab ride back to the Airbnb!

I usually do my best to avoid traveling to places during winter since my body isn’t able to handle cold weather. But there was some charm to seeing the Eiffel Tower covered in a winter’s fog as its nightly lights fought to shine through.

So there you have it. My second trip to Paris was nicely cushioned by companionship ❤