I’d left London at St Pancras Station and arrived at the Paris Gare Du Nord station by the Eurostar. The Eurostar was a strange experience, partly because the seats were facing backwards. If you have sensitive ears, I suggest you pack pressure earplugs as they’ll come in handy; the kind that relieve pain during flights. While I was at St Pancras Station in London, I also picked up some paper-tape to tape the soles of my feet and a stick of deodorant by Dove. Only, I later found that it wasn’t a stick, it was a cream that pushes up when you turn the knob at the bottom. I was a bit annoyed at myself for not reading the tiny print that said ‘cream’ on the back, but in any case I think I will still prefer it to the spray that they sell here in Korea. The Body Shop in Korea does have a gel type deodorant, but I have yet to have found a stick deodorant in Korea. Sigh.
While traveling on trains through Europe, I was a bit nervous whenever I stowed my luggage in the luggage racks. I have heard of people being robbed of their entire suitcase on forums, so I didn’t take a nap and checked to make sure my bag was still there every now and then.
All the horrors you’ve heard about the Paris underground is true. The underground was filthy and the stench of urine was everywhere. Whenever I was entering through a turnstile there was always a man, woman, or even a child that would thrust themselves against my back to squeeze through the turnstile with me. Even when I looked back at them, they didn’t care to apologize or even look remotely apologetic. For them, it seemed to be a part of daily life. There was never any security making sure that people were paying to take the underground, and the exits didn’t require your ticket so it made it that much easier for them to leave. There weren’t any escalators so I had to lug my luggage bag up and down the stairs. Thus began my bumpy journey through Paris!
