#Au-revoir #Paris, onto #Sansebastian! #michelin #foodie #pintxos!

On the night of 9/13, we prepared for our 8am flight to Spain. We said our goodbyes to the little chateau in 16E district on the 2nd floor of a building on Rue Saint Francois millet. Goodbye weird toy yachts that our host collected, goodbye little standup shower that I almost slipped out of because it was elevated so high on a wooden platform (or maybe I'm just short according to European standards). Goodbye toilet that had a rope that hung from the ceiling for a flusher. Goodbye my host's mini fridge that had nothing but Jambon, jars of pate and jam, and other cured meats: bachelor food. Goodbye the bittersweet memories of a fairy tale turned reality check in this ity bitty icky apartment in the richest borough in Paris. The last day in the place was nothing like the first day. 

When we first arrived to the apartment, we felt like we were on set at a Vogue photoshoot. Everything looked lux: the expensive toy boats, the cute French window overlooking a quad, and the little kitchen area that had what we thought was a shelf but ended up being a hot plate that could be used as a stove top. It seemed so nice at first, until... maybe it was the tour around Paris because once we got back to the apartment for our last night, it felt dusty, lustreless and cold. This was a reminder that money doesn't buy you inner warmth and comfort and nice things always come with a price. The price I paid, I'd rather not say. Regardless, Paris was everything I wanted it to be for my first time and I have zero regrets and a million memories.

Still don't know how I survived without knowing a lick of French. I remember asking a random guy for directions because he was wearing an Oakland Raiders hat. The French idolize America and I don't blame them. San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area is pretty damn awesome. I think at that point I was getting homesick, but I immediately forgot about home once we boarded the TGV Atlantic #8533 train at 10:28am from Paris to Montparnass to Hendaye then finally onto our intended destination, San Sebastian, the unofficial foodie city of the world with the most Michelin rated restaurants in the world. Stay tuned for the next blog where Katrina will share her knowledge about Spanish tapas, or as the Basque call it, #pintxos! Kai - e -sho!