My long lost friend Morgan (@Moe_onthe_go) planned a last minute trip to France and boy am I glad that she did! We hadn’t seen each other in almost a year but that didn’t matter, we picked up right were we left off! Morgan arrived on a Thursday afternoon at Paris Gare de Nord, so I took a $11 bus up to Paris to meet her there.
It had been a long day of travel for both of us so what better way to welcome Morgan to Paris than a nice dinner and a bottle of wine! Santé! 
I had a pasta dish and Morgan had a pizza. We stayed at the restaurant for what seemed like 2 hours, just enjoying our food, wine and conversations, how Parisians do! The waiters even liked us, they gave us a shot of Italian almond liquor on the house! (Or maybe they were just ready for us to leave).
The restaurant was near the hostel that I had booked for us for the night. I have stayed in hostels many times before and this just may have been my last. We were awoken by our 4th roommate at 2 am. We decided that sometimes it may be worth it to pay a little extra to have a little more privacy (and more than 4 hours of sleep).
The next day was going to be busy since we had to catch a train around 5 pm to return to Tours. We took a bus from our hostel to Notre Dam. Such a beautiful masterpiece located in the heart of the city. We are SO thankful to have seen it and waited in a 10 minute line to view the inside before the fire that would cause major damage just 3 days later.
After visiting the Cathedral we decided that it was necessary to buy a beret and then sit down to enjoy an espresso with an almond croissant. So French!
Since we officially looked like true Parisians, it was obligatory for us to take selfies in front of many of the famous landmarks throughout Paris. Starting with The Lourve: 
Just one of the many examples that failed extremely when we were trying to take cute Instagram worthy photos. As it turns out, these ridiculous pics show way more character anyways. More of these to come..
We walked through gardens, after all it was a beautiful spring day and couldn’t have asked for better weather! Then we went to another instagram worthy photoshoot spot, Le Village Royal aka an outdoor mall with hanging umbrellas!
This place was so cute, pictures (the good, the bad and the ugly) just had to be captured!
Next, we discovered our absolute favorite thing to do in Paris- to ride scooters! You can discover most of the city by foot, but since we were limited on time and wanted to see a lot, we decided to give the scooters a try! (No regrets with this decision!)
We were a little nervous for the first 30 seconds or so, but soon we found it to be an addicting adrenaline rush! We rode along the Seine river for a couple miles until we reached the Eiffel Tower. Buckle up, another photo shoot!
We both would agree that we weren’t as cute as we felt in our berets, but we still enjoyed wearing them! You Only Live Once!
Our last activity of the day was a river tour along the Seine. Last time I went, it was at night when my Dad was visiting. A different experience, but just as pretty during the day! We sat next to a fellow friendly American traveler, it is always nice to engage in that American small talk! So engaged in conversation and enjoying the moment, that I didn’t take pictures but just this cute boomerang.
After a full day of walking, scootering, riding and laughing our way through Paris, we hopped on a Metro to take us to the other side of the city to get our bags and catch our train back to chez moi (my house). We tried to nap since I had volleyball practice later that night.
My coach picked us up from the train station and we went straight to the gym for practice. Morgan also joined us in practice! I am so glad that Morgan was able to meet my team and see what I’ve been doing the last 8 months. After all, Morgan and I did meet through this amazing sport when we were coaching at the same club when I was in college and she was new to Decatur. What better way to continue our friendship that was introduced by volleyball by playing together again.. in France! 
It had been a very long day touring Paris then a sweaty 2 hour practice. Only because Morgan was visiting, we ate Raclette around midnight. (Still worth it though)
The next day we visited one of the nearby castles, Château d’Ussé or also known as Sleeping Beauty’s castle. 
We did not find Prince Charming, but we did find some beautiful flowers to smell!
After wondering around the castle and relearning about sleeping beauty, we headed into the old part of Tours (my favorite) and had drinks and aperitifs at Place Plumero. 
We had some time to kill before going to the men’s pro volleyball game that night, so we bought some macaroons and ate them by the Loire river. 
Morgan got to experience her first men’s pro volleyball game! I have really enjoyed being able to go all year and especially to have the VIP tickets each time! We both could agree that there isn’t anything more attractive than watching professional men’s volleyball (drool).
The next day was followed by more volleyball where we drove 3.5 hours southwest to Bordeaux, France where I played my last game of the season. I am so happy that Morgan was able to come along and see me play! It was so nice to hear a familiar voice cheering me on in the crowd!
We won 3-0, finishing our season with a 19-1 record and advancing to N2 (a higher division) for next season.
After the game, Morgan and I caught a high speed train from Bordeaux back to Paris! We had already seen so much in little time but we were having an absolute blast. We headed to Paris to meet up with 2 of my other friends that came to visit. More adventures to come.
The Aud Blog 