Chase Gallagher

Paris isn’t the kind of place I normally visit. But that’s okay – the adventure was about accomplishing irregular things.

I had french food, I saw french people (and some american people) and I was one in a million. I had always wondered – “What is Paris like?” – and over the course of a few days I found out.

While the other places I visited were different, Paris was the city that felt the most different. It felt like I was in a place that made me realize I was in Europe – not some Disneyland fantasy themed city. That’s not to take away from the other places. It’s just that it was a completely different sensation.
I think it was the cafes. It was a cultural thing that doesn’t exist here. Sure it rains here, but it rains there. They have covered and heated patios. They deal with it. It seems like around here it wouldn’t fly.

It was a fun couple of days. The un-fun part was that I grew to despise my fellow hostel dwellers. The room was tiny, and they were a very outgoing retired couple from Florida. They felt the appropriate length of time before freely dropping pants in the presence of others was about 2 hours.

But who am I to judge?

From Paris I boarded the Eurostar to London. It was a surreal experience. The train here goes about as fast a car on the highway. Your brain can handle the scene out the window flying by at a semi-familiar speed. The Eurostar seemed to go twice as fast. It was difficult to focus on the foreground. It also just felt fast. I do think the Amtrak Cascades’ cars are probably a little bit nicer than the Eurostar’s, but the Amtrak Cascades doesn’t go to London or Paris so they lose.