"The party lasted an entire week, and honestly, I don't remember most of it" -Tangled

Where oh where to begin. Laura, Katherine, and Cathy all came to visit. That statement right there should be an indicator of what is to come.  Last week's craziness all began when Laura came to visit on Monday, which was also Halloween. The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before I stayed in all weekend and attempted to recover from the cold that I've had for the last month and half. I wanted to be ready all sorts of shenanigans when everyone came to visit. When Monday rolled around I was rested and ready to go.

Halloween is kind of my jam. Now don't get me wrong, the Christmas season is by far my favorite time of the year (I am definitely already listening to my Christmas music), but I LOVE to dress up in costumes. Past costume highlights include Mario Kart, Captain Planet and Planeteers, Space Jam, and Mr. and Mrs. Pac Man. 

Space Jammin'

Pac Man and a lone Fairly OddParent

Mario Kart. . of course we had races around campus and threw banana peels at each other, duh. 

With our powers combined. . 

Alright, I'm done reminiscing, hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. To continue, the only problem with being in Madrid for Halloween is that (at least according to what everyone had been telling us) they don't really celebrate Halloween here and no one dresses up. But luckily for us, a lot of the clubs have taken a liking to Halloween, and if you come in costume you get in free on Halloween. Sweetness. Lian, Jax and I were trying to come up with a costume that would be super cheap all day, and decided that after class we would go to the cholo store across the street from our house and look at the random stuff they have. The store is an a chino (asian-run) store that's kinda like the .99 store and has everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. From clothes to toys to furniture to costumes to glasses, etc. Not exaggerating, not even a little bit. It's name is "chollo" but we think that "cholo" is much more fitting. Anyway, out of nowhere Lian had the fantastic idea that we should be Charlie's Angels. Brilliant! All we had to do was wear all black and do the classic pose. But we really wanted toy guns, so off we went to the cholo store. It is then when we made the great discovery of light-up bubble guns. You read me right. Light. Up. Bubble. Guns. Life was complete. We made our purchase, went home and got ready. On our way out, Santi immediately knew what our costume was. He loves his American shows and movies in Spanish. We were kicking ourselves for not getting a picture with Santi and being Santi's Angels instead. 

Down in the metro we realized that people do in fact dress up here, only they go the creepy, scary route. Intense zombie makeup with fake blood everywhere, guys and girls alike. There were a lot of guys in drag too. . it was strange. No one was dressed as a character or anything from pop culture. Clearly the slutty halloween concept has yet to hit Spain. So while we were giving them weird looks, we were getting weird looks right back for not looking like an extra from the Walking Dead. We got off the metro to meet up with everyone and Laura, and then head to Pacha. It was SO GREAT to be reunited with Lo! I missed that beezy. We all headed into a bar to grab some shots before the club. Luckily for JJ and I, the bartender really wanted some glitter for her face and she asked us. Caitlin had some and let her use it, so she gave us all free shots. Score. After the shots we went to Pacha. When we weren't let in right away people started bitching out the bouncers and yelling at them. Because, you know, people always respond well when they are being berated by obnoxious Americans. So after that didn't work out (shocker) we got back on the metro and headed to Maloney's, a little bar that is pretty much supported by USD abroad kids every year.  

Bubble Gun! 

USD metro take over

Once at Maloney's we enjoyed some classic American music, you know like Shania Twain, drank some more, and hung out for a while.

LAURAAAAA

not sure. .  

St. Nick stole my gun

Four of the Freshmen crew reunited! 

After a while of catching up we decided to go somewhere and dance our asses off, so we headed to Lian and my's home away from home, Gabana.

Bear vs. Leprachaun. Bear won. 

 We got to Gabana, but we had missed the window to get in for free and it was 14 euros to get in. Lian and I were not down to pay, especially since it was so late that we would only be there for 2 hours or so, and we always get in free there. Dom, who had been at Gabana the whole time, came out to try to sweet talk the bouncers. But even Dom's man-fliritng didn't work.  Laura, Chris, JJ, Colt, and Nate all headed to Kapital, while Lian and I decided to head home because we didn't think it was worth it to pay 14 euro for 2hrs there either. Also, Gabana isn't a terrible walk from our house so we didn't even have to pay for cab home. The next day we didn't have school. I had planned to meet Laura and Chris at Parque Retiro to show Lo around, but I had serious relapse in my cold so I stayed in and rested. It sucked, because not only did I feel terrible about not seeing Laura, but Cathy and Katherine were coming in the next two days and I knew I had to rally to show them around and take them out.

The next day I had my brutal day of class, but once it was over I went and picked up Cathy from the metro station. We came back to my house where Concha had a delicious paella ready and waiting. When we walked in I introduced Cathy to Concha, and then played translator between the two of them for a while. I ran to put something down in my room and heard Concha yammering away in Spanish and asking Cathy a question. Then silence. And then pause pause pause"Uhh Maddieeee." After that special moment we had dinner and I'm pretty sure Cathy ate 3/4 of the pan. Even Concha was impressed. Then it was time to get ready for the nights festivities. Which, it being a Wednesday, meant going to Gabana. Once we got our act together we met up with Laura and her friend at the metro station and then went to Gabana.
At first the bouncer's wouldn't let us in. . again. Gabana was really letting Lian and I down this week.  We went to the side and tried to figure out what we would do. About 10 minutes later a different security guard said that we could go in, he talked to the other bouncers, it was fine. So that was awesome. We walked downstairs and realized that, once again, we were a tad early. You see, they had a flamenco night prior to the normal Wednesday night party and it had just ended. The club was filled with all of these very classy middle aged people. We chilled in the corner for a while and watched the club shift from classy middle-agers to schwasted college students. It was real interesting. While we were posting up we ran into Roy and Amit and managed to meet two more club promoters for Gabana, David and Jose. And then we ran into a our good 'ol buddy Guillermo (sidenote: this kid is everywhere, every single night out, and no matter where we go he's there. We don't know what the hell he does.) Well, our new friends and Guillermo got us a bottle so we were living large.  After finishing off the bottle we moved to the dance floor to show off our incredible dance moves.

Cheers Jose, Cheers. 

Nice scarf David

Roy having a great time

Around 3:30 am we decided to head home because Lian and I casually had class at 9 am. As we were leaving we ran into Amit who had lost Roy. We went outside to help him find Roy. We started talking to two cops and asked them if they had seen him. Turns out they saw Roy sprinting full speed down the street and said that he was wasted. Good, good. Well, we all went home and crossed our fingers that he would make it back ok. He did, only after he passed out on some doorstep until 6 am and then went home when he woke up. Glad to see he's doing big things.
Cathy, Lian and I got home around 4, polished off the rest of paella and then went to sleep. Cathy and cuddled in my twin bed. Then Lian and I went to class at 8 and hated life.
We got home around 12 and promptly fell asleep. Cathy was just waking up this point and wanted to go see things. No way in hell, lo siento puta. We pulled down the blackout shades and napped for three hours, locking Cathy in our pitch black room. Ooops. . at least she had my computer. I finally woke up around 4 or 5 and took Cathy out of our cave and to her hostel to check in and to see Katherine. I hung out with them for a little then went home to eat dinner. My cold came back with a vengeance again and I felt terrible, so I went to bed right after dinner and COB took Katherine and Cathy out that night.

I woke up Friday feeling a lot better and headed over to Katherine and Cathy's hostel to pick them up. They had had quite a night with COB. We went to the Dunkin Donuts downstairs to get them some coffee and donuts so they could rally. Chris came over and then we proceeded to show Cathy and Katherine around Madrid for the rest of the day. Cathy and Katherine go the impression that I didn't know where I was half the time.. . . sorry I got upstaged by O'Libro and his absurd random fact knowledge about buildings. Not my fault. After seeing the sights we went back to mi casa for a delicious Concha meal.
Once our tummies were filled we went to a bar near O'Libro's house that he has dubbed Disneyland. The bartender there knows him well and makes THE BEST sangria. I'm hoping to get my hands on that recipe before I head stateside. Chris wanted some more hard alcohol and proceeded to take some shots. In the corner. By himself. You would think I would be use to his ridiculous behavior by now, wouldn't you?

Then it was off to Baldoria, a club night that was being hosted by the same people who host the Gabana nights. So you see, I know people in high places here and my main men got us some bottle service. Just kidding. . but not really. Dom tried to help us out and pop the plastic part off the top of the vodka bottle but he only succeeded in snapping his house key in half instead. That takes pure talent. Later, with one bottle down, we all moseyed on to the dance floor. Before I knew it, Katherine and Cathy were MIA and I was just with Lian. But it was okay because we ran into my friend Ivan, who I know from soccer, who proceeded to give us more of another bottle. Turns out Katherine and Cathy were outside with O'Libro getting beers from a backpack from a rando in Sol. In other words, they were keepin' it reall cla$$y outside while we enjoyed us some more botellas inside. We ran into them again and then proceeded to have a dance marathon for the rest of the night. Lian and I campaigned the kids we knew DJing to play Cat-Daddy, but they didn't have it. Sad day. But we did get a promise from Michael that he would play it next time. At multiple points throughout the night we were all on stage, or on these white blocks that were on the dance floor, which were basically mini-stages.  Dom and I had a dance-off, whilst on opposite stages across from each other, while he was dancing with a girl. And she had no idea. For example, if the move we happened to be doing was the sprinkler, I would do the sprinkler and he would do the sprinkler behind her when she would, for lack of a better term, drop it low. This went on for quite some time as we made our way through the classic dance moves, and she never realized. It was very entertaining. Later in the night we ran into some more USD kids, one of which said to me "Hey I saw you on the tvs!" . . . . . . . uh what? me? tvs?. . . . in fact they had a camera filming people, and they would put what it was filming on ALL of the tvs in the club. There were screens everyfuckingwhere. Oh happy happy joy joy,  my awesome dancing was on display all over the club. I can only hope that it was to show the world my impressive Shopping Cart technique.

Sad key

Lian being weird, per usual.

We continued dance until 5 and then went to get Pa pizza. Lian is obsessed with it, and it is TERRIBLE. I don't understand her obsession at all. If shitty frozen pizza and four day old Papa John's had a retarded love child, it would be Pa Pizza. But it is open 24 hrs.  We went and got some before walking Katherine, Cathy, and Ali back to their hostel. Lian and I still had an hour to kill before the metro opened, so we took over their beds and talked until the metro leave. They were exhausted and wanted to sleep. Saying that they wanted to punch us in the face repeatedly at this point would be an understatement. We finally left to catch the metro and made it home around 6:30. 

I woke up around 1 the next day and met Cathy and Katherine in Retiro Park. We had the most romantic time rowing boats. Except for the fact that they made me row their lazy asses around the lake the entire time. I was not amused. 

 

not pleased

That night it was off to Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world, with the rest of the AXO crew. Towards the beginning of the meal I managed to drop all of money on the ground. Now this really wouldn't be that bad, except for the fact that all of it was coins, and it was all my dinner money. I dropped about 12 euros in one or two euro coins and they scattered everywhere under the table. Klutz-tastic. The only way I could pick it all up was to crawl under the table. In a 5 star restaurant, which also happens to claim the title as being the oldest in the world.  Some of the girls did that motherly whisper scold "Maddie, get up. NOW." Maybe some of them thought I was chillin' under there just for fun, like it was a great fort or something. Sorry, nope. I build fantastic forts and this was not one of them. I told them that unless they wished to pay for my meal, it was a necessity. Once they realized how much I had dropped they understood. 

ma moneys 

disappearing act

axo crew 

After dinner Katherine, Cathy and I headed back to Disneyland one last time and met up with O'Libro. When we got there Disney Channel was on the tv and life was great. We threw back a couple of pitchers of sangria while watching Enchanted (yes, the Amy Adams movie) and then it was off to El Tigre to meet up with Dom and Kev. When we got there Dom introduced us to some of his friends from home anddd the girl who had been dancing with the night before. Yeah, the one we were doing dance moves over. Well I started talking to her and talking up Dom (pro-wingwoman right here, just saying) She seemed really nice. Then she said, "you seem like the type of person who has their belly-button pierced!" Personally, I'm not really a fan of how they look, I kinda think they look. . .uhh a little trashy. So I said "Sorry to disappoint, but nope I don't, but I do have quite a few on my ears." She then proceeded to show me piercing she had on her hip bone, which I actually thought was kinda cool. Then she turned around, pulled down the top of her pants and showed me the piercing she had at the top of her ASS-CRACK. In the middle of a completely packed El Tigre. I was not expecting that at all. I stood there in shock while Kevin stood next to me grinning like an idiot. Cathy, Katherine and Chris had watched this all go down, but they had only seen my reaction and thought she had a tramp stamp. So Cathy came over and asked if she could see her tattoo, and the girl proceeded to show everyone again. 

El Tigree

After that episode we all decided that it was time to head to Dubliners. Once there, we of course ran into a lot of USD kids. At one point, Cathy and I were talking to Joe and making our way to the bar when I said something sassy to her. Joe said that I should be slapped for that, so Cathy slapped me. Hard. Drunk hoe. Then she told Joe that it was "only maddie" and really fun so he should try.  He joined in and the two of them proceeded to have slapfest with my face in the middle of the bar. Both of them were not exactly sober so these were actual slaps. Needless to say my cheeks were bright red for quite some time after that.

pre-slapfest
Not sure why I'm even friends with them

Katherine, Cathy and I left and walked to their hostel. On Gran Via, a very busy (even at this time of night) shopping street, Cathy took a tumble and managed to take me out with her when she went down. She had caught me at my ankles so I flew over her. Katherine said I was basically horizontal. I landed flat on my face and managed to slap the cement in an extremely loud manner. We blocked the entire sidewalk and caused quite a scene. We attempted to laugh it off as we got up and then booked it back to the hostel. Katherine's flight left really early that morning so we said our goodbyes. Cathy and I got up around 1 again. I left because I was going to go play soccer and Cathy was going to go to a museum. On the metro ride home I started feeling absolutely terrible. I think my body had had enough of me ignoring it being sick and was all "screw you bitch! If you won't let me get better I'll make your life a living hell." 

And that it did. 

Cathy, being the best friend ever, documented my demise.

 

It sucked. When I got home I crawled into bed and didn't even bother moving the massive pile clothes that was on it. To be perfectly honest, the pile of clothes was actually a nice cuddle buddy. Cathy came over again for dinner, which I barely made it through, and then watched movies next to me while I listened them. She left the next morning, so we said our goodbyes and then I slept and tried to recover the next couple of days. 

And that was the end to one helluva week.

"That must be Nigel with the brie!" -10 Things I Hate About You

So I told Cathy that when I first saw her in Paris she best have brie cheese, a baguette, a beret and a fake mustache or our friendship would be at risk. I really wanted to say, "Oh that must be Cathy with the brie!" But that hoe fell through on all accounts. Except for the mustache. It was ok that it wasn't movie quality, at least she showed up with one of the things on the list. And besides, I was just way too happy to be reunited with my lesbefriend at long last! 

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? 

We got in to Paris in the morning on Friday. It was a trip planned through the USD program and there were 18 girls who went. Lian, Jax and I dropped our bags in our hotel rooms and then immediately went out to meet Cathy. We got a little lost trying to find the metro so we stopped this elderly man and asked him if he could help us find it. By ask  I mean we attempted to say metro in a questioning tone with a French accent. Once he understood what we were saying he took us to the metro stop, instead of just telling us how to get there, which was about 10 min walk away. He was super sweet but liked to talk to us in French. None of us speak any French. We could understand some words from knowing Spanish, but that was about it. We just smiled and nodded a lot. Once we got there he pointed out and then peaced out so fast we didn't even have time to thank him! So I will thank him here. Thank you old man, you saved us a lot of time and struggle!

Never even got his name, but
thanks! 

We got off the metro at the stop Cathy told us to and then waited at the corner while I called her. Cathy said she was on the way, and as I was on the phone describing where I was I saw this girl with brown hair on the phone walk right past us. I only saw the back of her head but I told Cathy to turn around. Sure enough, the girl turned around and it was Cathy. She had almost walked into us and had no idea. Special friend moment. We had our reunion and she showed me her mustache and life was great. Then Cathy went and showed us "the big fucking building." I'm still not quite sure what the real name of the building it but it was pretty. Cathy then told me that Kyle and Katie were in town. That little tool hadn't told me. Well he said he might be, but with him might is always a no so I assumed he wasn't there. Once I got over my fake anger of not being informed of his presence I got really excited to see him for more than just a night.

The Big Fucking Building

After we saw the building we wandered and went to Notre Dame, saw the lock bridge and then got our first crepes of the weekend. The lock bridge is this bridge that people put locks on (duh) and you get a lock with your significant other, write both your names on it, lock it to the bridge, and then throw the key into the river to show that you'll be together forever. Cathy and were going to do it but ran out of time. It's ok, we don't need no lock to show our love. 

Notre Dame, and our best bud Quasi

First crepe! Key word: First 

lock bridge

After we ate we went to some shops and got some cute clothes that I didn't need and then I got the best jewelry ever. THE BEST. I've never been more excited or happier about a purchase. I got two bracelets, both gold, one is a cute normal golden one, and the other is also pretty and delicate but the charms are . . . PAC-MAN AND A GHOST. Yeah. I know. Greatness. At this point we all got pretty tired so we went back to the hotel and napped for little bit. 

best purchase ever 

After we napped and rallied we headed to meet Cathy again and go to some bars and get dinner. We went to one bar that was really cool and had great drinks for 4 euro during happy hour. After our first drink Kyle and Katie met up with us and we all got crepes next door, which were, of course, delicious. Then we went to another bar and got two huge pitchers of their house drink for real cheap. And those bad boys were strong. It was around this time that I heard my favorite French word, pamplemousse. It means grapefruit. After we drank those we decided that we wanted to go the Eiffel Tower with bottles of wine, so off we went. On the way there we stopped at little market and picked up our supplies: 3 bottles of wine, 1 bottle of champagne, and 2 boxes of chocolate cookies. Kyle got the strange combination of 2 coronas and a box of apple juice.

At this point in the night we all became ridiculous people and had way to much fun. We were crossing the street right in front of the Eiffel Tower and I almost got hit by a Prius. Kyle said that getting hit by a Prius would have been the worst way to die. But I said that I would have died at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower holding a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate cookies. Sounds like a damn good way to go out to me, especially if they left the Prius part out of the obituary. During this time Kyle also started putting his hand in every picture that I tried to take. So now I have 10 or 15 pictures of Kyle's hand in Paris. As for our time at the Eiffel Tower, I think that the pictures do a better job of showing rather than me telling. 

Dream Team 

She loves me, I swear. 

Bottle to the Face in front of
Eiffel Tower. Cause we're classy
like that. 

Le Tower 

just a great picture all the way around.

Lil' Babushka

Dancin' under the Eiffel Tower

Roomies

All of the wine in the world could not have kept us warm at the Eiffel Tower, although we tried. It was freezing! It had been chilly all day but it got really cold while we there. The whole thing felt like it was right out of a movie. When you see something so many times in pictures, movies, etc., it's hard to believe it's real when you're actually there. We left after we saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle. Lian and Jax decided to be good little girls and go home and sleep because we had a bus tour the next morning, but I went with Cathy to drop Kyle and Katie off at their hotel and then go to Montmartre, which overlooks all of Paris. On the metro we Cathy decided to lick me for no reason and it was not a pleasant experience. 

Ewwww. She definitely regretted that decision. 

Kyle thinking: How am I friends
 with these people? 

We found their hotel and dropped them both off. But on our way out we discovered that the floors of the hotel were covered with plastic because they re-painting the walls. For some reason we found it incredibly funny and Cathy wanted a picture with plastic, so I took one. Then on our way down the stairs Cathy kept saying that she felt like she was going to slip because the stairs were kind of steep and they circled around. I said that I love stairs like this because they're so much fun to skip down and that she was being silly for thinking she would slip. So I went to skip down the stairs . . . and on the first one my foot went out from under me and fell down the entire flight. I ate it so hard and it hurt so much. Karma is one nasty bitch. But I was laughing to hard to actually say how much it hurt. Five minutes later Kyle came out and saw me still sprawled out on the stairs and cathy sitting on the flight above me, both of us laughing hysterically. He then tells us that the walls are paper thin, he heard the whole thing, and we probably woke up everyone else in the hotel also. I apologize to everyone in that hotel, I would hate me too if I got woken up by that.

the plastic 

final landing postion, 10 points! 

ouch. 

Cathy and I made it out of the hotel and back on the metro without any further incident. Oh we also still had more than half a bottle of wine with us at this point. We got to Montmartre, which actually turns into a pretty sketchy area at night unbeknownst to us. Turns out a lot of sketchy groups of guys like to hang out up there and along the walk up. We decided that it was best not to talk on the way up so that we wouldn't stick out as much as Americans who weren't quite sure what they were doing. We got to the top without much of an incident, but then we heard footsteps running behind us. These two guys who had past kept trying to talk to us and would step in front of us when tried to pass. After a couple rounds of an awkward two step, we went down some stairs and they got the picture and left. We looked at the view for a couple of minutes and then we went back down to get take the metro home. We got down to the metro home plenty of time before it closed, but about 20 minutes later the cops came down and told us that it had closed. They were very nice though and told us where to go, etc. We went upstairs and got a cab. Of course the cabbie we got said he didn't know the area where Cathy lived, but then he figure it out. Or so we thought. He had no idea where he was going, which meant that he was just trying to screw us over. And you can't be a cab driver in Paris and not know the area that Cathy said. We got out, paid him the small fare that we owed him, and then tried to get another cab. Only no cab would pick us up. Not a single one. They were all either occupied or off-duty and we tried to wave down at least 30. How the hell can all these cabs be off-duty when the metro is closed and people are freezing their asses off? Don't they want that money? We weren't the only ones trying to get a cab either, there were a fair amount people trying. After an hour or trying we were both so cold we were shivering so went into a restaurant that was still open. We still had about a quarter of the bottle of wine left so we stashed it in some bushes before we went in. Yeah that wine is still probably in those bushes, we completely forgot about it. We sat down and got a hot fudge brownie and a creme brulee. What? We both had the drunchies and were freezing. While we were eating these two French boys at the table next to us started talking to us. One was clearly trashed but he was really entertaining. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. Then he said he wanted to have 7 kids and I said no wayy. He responds by saying, "Why? That's good for you, then you get to make sex 7 times!" We got divorced shortly after. Then the boys switched to being rude. They lost their funny-ness and just started mocking us with a hard edge. We had gotten an order of fries too (yeah i know i know, yet another reason why i'll be Hubert's size shortly), and they kept saying "o do you like french fries?" after while we were cleaning the plate, trying to be sarcastic. So I got sacastic back and said "no i hate them, thats why I just ate an entire plate." Cathy and I were trying to figure out when they flipped the switch, and then I realized that it was after the one I was talking to used some cheesy line and I said "you've got to be kidding be, that line doesn't actually work on girls does it?" He wasn't happy with that. Ohh weelllll not sorry for being honest.

Our new friends. Sort-of. 

In happier times, before the divorce. 

After we had warmed up and had eaten we went back out to try to find a cab again. Again we wandered for an hour. But this time it was only colder, so cold that Cathy started tearing up and my entire body was going numb. Finally I saw a green light far down the street we where on. At first I thought I was hallucinating but I ran to the center divider just in case it was a cab and not a figment of my imagination. It was one! I felt bad because I completely stole it from this guy. We had been following him and his girlfriend for about 30 min and they were also trying to find a cab. I actually sprinted down the center divider to beat him to the cab. I felt bad for about .124355 seconds until I realized that the cab was warm. We dropped Cathy off at her house and then I got dropped off at my hotel around 5 am. I had to be up and in the lobby ready to go at 9 am for the bus tour. 

8:30 am rolled around and my alarm went off. I was not a happy camper to hear that go off. I somehow managed to get ready for the tour, but every couple of minutes I had to sit down to regain my composure. I made it downstairs and sat down in the lobby while we waited for the rest of the girls to come back down. It was around this time that I decided there was no way I was about to do this bus tour. It was also foggy, rainy and cloudy out, so I didn't feel completely terrible missing it. It wasn't mandatory, but it had been in the trip package. Lian and Jax came downstairs, I told them I wasn't coming and then went to wait for the elevator. I heard Burgos (our program director) ask where I was going and the girls said I wasn't feeling well. After they said that I yelled out to him,"Burgos I'm too hungover, I'm not coming!" No sense in hiding it right? I didn't want to lie, especially when how terrible I felt was all my own fault. He then came over and asked if I was ok, and I told him I was just out too late the night before and really needed to sleep. He was such a sweetheart about it and told me that he could see if he could switch my tour to the next day and to feel better. I went upstairs and slept until 2 pm. 

After I woke up completely recovered I met Cathy and we wandered around some more, went into some stores, and went to her crepe man. Her crepe man should be super hero, his chicken and cheese crepe changed my life. We wandered some more and then met Lian and Jax to go to the top of the Montparnasse, which is this massive building across from the Eiffel Tower that has incredible views. We watched the sun set over Paris from the top and then went to dinner. We went to this random little place that we found that had great deals for a 3 course meal and Kyle and Katie met us there. I got escargot for my starter. About 10 minutes after getting it Lian asked if she could try a bite. I said sure and the realized that I had eaten all of it already. Oops sorry Lian! Then the older man at the table next to us asked the waitress to ask Kyle what "his scent" was because he wanted it. . . . Kyle wasn't wearing any cologne. The guy asked again because he didn't believe him, and again Kyle had to say he wasn't wearing one. For the rest of the meal the guy kept awkwardly sniffing Kyle. After dinner Kyle, Katie, Cathy and I went to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs-Elysees. In the Champs-Elysess is Laduree, the best macaroon place in the world. I had the salted caramel one and the orange blossom one. They were heaven and the best things I have ever eaten. Ever. I know I've said that a lot in this blog but these actually were. If anyone needs any gift ideas for me, get me some of these and I'll be the happiest girl in the world, not exaggerating. Just don't expect to share any.  Then I went home and slept so that I could get up early and not have to wait forever to get into the Lourve. 

View from the top

Escargot

The next day we all got up early and went to the Lourve to admire some art. We saw many famous works, like Mona Lisa and Victory. The architecture of the museum itself was one of my favorite parts. I also had some fun goofing around, because c'mon, we all know that's my normal state of being. 

He was such a hard ass. . hehehe

Then we met up with Cathy again and headed to the Eiffel Tower once more to see it during the day. When we got there there was a group of people learning the dance to MJ's Thriller and they were all wayy into it. A good-sized group of people had gathered around them to watch. I wonder how they decided to practice there, interesting choice. "What are you up to today?" "I'm going to go learn the dance to Thriller in front of the Eiffel Tower!" Sounds like a good time to me. After our daytime photo shoot Cathy, Katie, Kyle and I wandered for while. I had to be back in the hotel lobby at 6:30 to meet the group before the flight. But before I left I wanted one last crepe, so we waited in line at this crepe stand in the park. We had waited for a while when Cathy looked at the time and it was 6:10. I was a good 20 min metro ride away from the hotel, but we were next in line so I decided to wait. I got my crepe at 6:20, said bye to Kyle and Katie, and the booked it to the metro with Cathy. Luckily all my stuff was already packed and downstairs because we had had to checkout at 12. I called Lian and told her that I was on my way but that I was going to be late. I said goodbye to Cathy when she got off at her stop, it was 6:40. I got my stop at 6:45 and then had a 10 min walk to the hotel, so I ran it. I was in tights in a skirt and flats. I was trying to run as fast as I could while keeping my skirt down and my shoes on. I definitely flashed Paris a couple times. So now I've got two cities I've unintentionally flashed while abroad. Awesome. At one point a group of Asian tourists started taking pictures of me. I got to the hotel completely out of breath and frazzled, but it was fine because we were still waiting for other people and our transportation to the airport. And I know you're all wondering the same thing, was the crepe worth it? Absolutely. 

After I caught my breath I realized that other people in our group where freaking out. Turns out we didn't have cabs coming to take us to the airport. Burgos had called some but these girls didn't want to wait. We still had 3 hours until we had to be there. One group of girls hailed one outside, another group decided to wait for the one that was coming, and then somehow the rest of us got roped into wandering the streets for cab. Not standing in front of the hotel for one, even though thats where a lot of taxis go to get people. No, wandering the streets with all of our stuff. There were about 10 of us with Burgos. We were in a pretty sketch area, and with my history with cabs in Paris I had feeling this wouldn't end well. We ended up getting on the metro (Lian, Jax and I had wanted to in the first place and then take it to the train to the airport but other people said it was "too complicated") to take it to a bus that would go the airport. People were mad about taking the bus because it cost 10 euros. . which is about how much a cab would have cost. At this point I started to get a little nervous about making the flight, but not really, because what happens if we miss the flight? Oh no! we're stuck in Paris an extra night! bummer. Once down in the metro, we all got in one metro car, and as we're going we ask what stop we should get off at. Through out this whole thing these girls are having coronaries, acting as if their lives are going to end, and that Burgos is Satan reincarnated for not fixing it. I was gonna hit a bitch soon if I heard one more person whine, so I told Lian that I knew how to get to and take the train because Cathy had explain it to me, but we had to get off at the next stop. We get to the next stop, Lian looks around and says we're going, and then gets off. I followed her out. This causes chaos on the metro as girls are running off, knocking people over, and Burgos is just sitting there looking so confused. Lian and I just kept going without looking back, and Jax and Sarah caught up to us. Us four then made it to the metro transfer, while everyone else stayed and figured out how to get to the bus. We got off the metro and then went to our connection for the train. Turns out our Metro day pass, that was only 3 euros, worked for the train to the airport too, so we didn't have to pay any extra. We texted Burgos to tell him what we where doing, and to apologize for leaving him alone with all of the girls who ready to eat him alive. Then we took our nice, relaxing train ride to the airport and got there an half-hour before boarding. The other girls who took the 10 euro bus got there just as we were getting on the airport bus to take us to the plane. 

I loved Paris and thought it was a beautiful city. And now I can't wait for a one Cathy Childs to come see me in Madrid this week and weekend. And Katherine's coming. And Laura. Shit's about to get real crazy up in here.