The Best View in Paris

View of the Eiffel Tower from Montmartre.

This week my friend took me to Montmartre. It's a city on a hill in the 18th district in Paris that lets you see the whole city from the top. I definitely got my workout that day. Walking almost a mile on an incline, but in the end it was all worth it. On the way up, there were dozens of street artists creating and selling their work in the squares. There were restaurants around every corner and walking past just made me more hunger each time. I did give in eventually and get a crepe, with Nutella and bananas of course.

People looking out at the view of Montmartre.

The walk seemed never ending as we turn each corner and there is more hill to climb. The most important thing I've found about Europe is to have good tennis shoes, best decision I've made yet! We finally arrive at our destination and the view from up top there was absolutely stunning. There are buildings as far as the eye can see and of course I went when it was warm and sunny out, so it was packed with people. Some people were having picnics on the stairs, some were playing music in the grass, and some, of course, were being touristy and taking photos, like me. Everywhere I looked was an interesting photo. From the people hanging out to the great scenery. So glad I brought my camera that day.

That is one thing I find difficult about being a photographer. I always want to capture the moments I experience and forget to simply enjoy it sometimes. There's always a battle within on whether to go as a photographer or as a participant. I've tried going as both and it just doesn't work out as well. I don't fully enjoy it because I don't want to break my camera and the photos are always rushed. Most of the time I choose to go as a photographer because I want me and all my friends to have photos of the great times together.

Great photo of the people looking out at the view, captured by my friend, Lina.

I think I will always have that struggle when I go out and do things, but I'm ok with it. Just remember all those photos you see of people having fun, there's somebody behind the camera deciding to be a photographer that day. I hope you all have a great week and see you next time!

Mon Voyage á Paris.

Before I get into my journey to Paris, which is what the title means if you don't speak French, I just want to say how amazing my time in London was. I met truly amazing people, especially my flatmates Matt and Izzy, and had incredible experiences. It felt like everything was meant to be, how everybody in the house had a special talent to contribute to us starting our vegan food blog, www.littleleaf.com. Ryan does the design, Izzy is the mastermind behind the recipes, Matt has incredible people skills, and, of course, I take the photographs. They will always be best friends in my life and am so grateful to have met them. That said, it was really sad to leave them and be on my own in Paris. Don't get my wrong, I know Paris is a wonderful city and I will have amazing experiences there as well, it's just hard leaving something so great like that.

I wake up New Year's Day morning and say my goodbyes as I head off to the Eurostar from London to Paris. Honestly, the Eurostar is nice because it's so fast, but it was a little lack luster during the train ride. I may have slept through some amazing views, but from what I saw was just another train view. I finally arrive at Paris Gare du Nord, collect  my bags, and go to the exit. I have two things on my list I need to do, exchange my currency and get to my apartment. I see machines that say échanger on them and so I give them a go, it's all in French and there's no English option, so maybe not. 

I proceed to go outside and it is absolutely freezing. I came from London, which was pretty cold at 9 degrees celsius and Paris was -1 degrees when I arrived. I see a currency exchange shop. I go in the shop and ask their exchange rate. Oh my god, they wanted to give me 1 EUR per 1 GPB and 0.85 EUR per USD, no thank you. It would be like throwing money away just to convert it to the local currency. I'll fast forward a bit so I don't have to back track. The next morning I'm scourging the internet trying to find exchange rates, but most websites don't have their rate and I don't have a local phone number to call them. I finally found a link on a thread that compares the exchange rates around your chosen city so you can find the best one! It's an amazing website and if you're doing any traveling I highly recommend it, www.money-changer.net/en/paris. 

Now that we have the currency conversion out of the way, lets rewind and go back to the train station. I had given up finding a place to convert my money for the day and now I need to find a way to my apartment. I was approached by a taxi driver, I told her the address and she told me it was going to be 60 EUR! I knew this was vastly overpriced because I checked the Uber rate prior to my travels, which was 12 EUR. Knowing this, I go order an Uber then realize I don't have any service in this country. I try every unlocked network and non of them worked. I start stressing out because I told my land lord that I would arrive by 17h00 and it is now 16h15, with a 30 min car ride. I walk around outside and finally find a network I can join at a local cafe. My Uber arrives and after 10 minutes of walking around trying to find him, I'm in a warm vehicle.

I arrive at my new apartment and am greeted by my new landlord, Jacky. We go through the paperwork, sign all the lines, cross all the t's, and dot all the i's. At last, I'm able to unpack and change into my pajamas. One quick note, I recently watched a documentary on Netflix, called Minimalism, which I highly recommend. Doing so much traveling lately, I decided to try it and condensed everything I own into two suitcases and my backpack. It was nice getting rid of all the non essentials that don't add to my life, but I had just to have. Once I had everything set up, I put on a movie and quickly fell asleep. Stay tuned for my next Paris adventures!