What Happened in Paris

Chapter 2- The Second Day

I wake up in an unfamiliar place. Yellow sunlight streams through white curtains, flowers bloom outside the window, and my sister stirs beside me. Then, I remember, we are in Paris. I sit up and see both of my parents reading in bed. I get up off of the fold out couch me and my sister have been sharing and walk over to their bed. I snuggle in between my parents, and pull out my book too.

After 20 minutes, my sister wakes, and I decide to go get breakfast by myself. My mom lends me money and I wander down the street. I come to the small bread shop from the night before and ask for four croissants in hesitant, bad French, and the man behind the counter asks

"Anglais?"

"No," I reply, and use the one phrase I know well: "Vous etes Americain."

"Ahh," he says, and as I leave, he lets out an uncertain "Good bye."

At the grocery store I get some nutella, strawwberries, and orange juice, and proceed home, pushing through the throngs of people walking around cars parked on the sidewalk. I decide to walk in the street, because that is what everybody else is doing.

Paris, I think to myself, the only city where you park on the sidewalk and walk in the street. I complete the short walk back to the apartment and climb the stairs with my purchases.

We eat the croissants and I even post a picture on Instagram, because, thankfully, the apartment has wifi.

Then we get dressed and try to decide what to do. In the end, we just end up deciding to wander around and explore Paris.

We wander along the banks of the Seine and I marvel at the beautiful buildings, because even the ordinary houses are picturesque, with little colorful window boxes and lace curtains. The apartments with balconies even have little cafe tables and small potted trees.

We discover a beautiful garden with benches under the round leaved trees. A long fountain with pots overflowing with flowers under a thick canopy of the same trees.

In another fountain, large and round this time, a fleet of small boats is being pushed around by Parisian children with sticks. I sit on the edge of the fountain and bask in the sun. The children clamber along the wall and dip their toes in the water. I slip off my clunky boots and do the same, enjoying the cool sensation of the water on my feet. I have my camera with me, and, as they pass, I take pictures of the colorful little sailboats and the trees.

Old couples eat ice cream on green benches, and young lovers sit on each other's laps, holding hands. In particular I notice two young people, both about fifteen, a year older than me, sitting next to each other arguing in fast french. They seem to be going back and forth with each other about something. I think I am coming off a bit stalker-ish so I walk back over to where the rest of my family is dozing.

I squeeze next to my sister, who shoves me off again and tosses her light brown hair as she laughs. I don't care though, I'm happy today, there is no school to worry about, I don't have to bother with homework or sports.

Finally we move on and enter a small museum with a whole bunch of old wartime newspaper photos. I am sure it would have been more interesting if the captions were in English, but they aren't , so I satisfy myself by wandering around and moping until we leave.

We find a small café and order crepes, I get a ham and cheese one and a latte. While my mom rants about how small the coffees are, I look around at the people on the street around us. I see a boy and girl walking stiffly side by side, the girl with long black curly hair, the boy with short blond hair hidden under a beanie. It is only then that I realize that they are the arguing couple from the park. I shake off a weird feeling, they are not following me, I reassure myself, they just happen to be going the same way. The two people pass and I go back to my crepe.

When we make our way past Notre Dame, to the small island, and finally to our apartment, my feet feel like they are about to fall off. We dine early and are in bed when the sky is still blue, about 8:30.