Getting Lost

I will never forget my first trip to Paris. It all started with a long train ride from Stuttgart, Germany where I had been studying for 6 weeks and a check in to the Hotel from hell. After a long days travel my travel buddies and I arrived at our "hotel" and proceeded to check in. We were met by a receptionist who in typical Parisien fashion was rude and abrupt and who either was unable to or refused to speak to us in english, although we were clearly foreign. Our room was scary to say the least, somewhat resembled the dreaded bathroom from the movie saw, complete with a grimy sink in the centre and unidentified stains on the walls. We decided instantly that we would either find a new hotel or not sleep that night. Unfortunately on a uni students budget finding a new hotel last minute quickly became an unrealistic option. So it was settled that we would try to sleep as best we could and tomorrow start fresh and explore this city that we had all heard so much about. The next day we took off with a plan to see the touristy "must-sees" such as the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe & Notre Dame which were all brilliant and as an Architecture student I was in my own little slice of heaven. But the real fun started when we got lost looking for the famous Louvre. Arguments about which route we should take to get to the Louvre soon turned into a divide between the group and we decided to split off and see who would find it first. Although I must admit, distraction got the better of our group and we never did make it to the Louvre that day I must say that it was one day that I will remember for the rest of my life. Walking through the streets of Paris, finding a small crepe stand near Pompidou that made the best strawberry and nutella crepe's I have ever had in my life, eating Salted Caramel Macaroons from Laduree and pretending to afford the clothes at Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysees really gave me a taste of the magic of Paris that can only be experienced by getting lost in a city. I have been lost in many cities before, from Zagreb in Croatia to the island of Mykonos in Greece and I strongly believe that we all need to be a little lost at some point in our lives to truly find ourselves. Although the beaten track might be amazing there is something inherently special about being able to create your own experience that you won't read about in a book.