Leaving Paris
Panicked!
I was meant to be back in Rue Montorgueil having a nice croissant and coffee for breakfast. I was meant to buy my Parisian souvenir — a classic french blue and white choker. Instead, I got up at 9:30 AM. Only had enough time to go to the corner cafe, have coffee and a fairly ordinary croissant (still can’t go wrong tho), and write. I left the keys inside the apartment without meeting Jordana again. I at least loved the place, very French, refreshing white paint, floorboards, open space from the dining to the lounge out to the balcony. A saving grace for my short stay in Paris.
It was already 12 noon. I nearly lost my way to the Roissy Bus, I got there to catch it on time… but not without much anxiety. It was already 1 PM. My flight’s at 3 PM. It took an hour to reach my terminal. Charles de Gaulle must be the biggest airport complex; it took nearly 20 mins just to reach from the T1 to T3 where I’m checking in! there was T1 A, B, c, D, E… F**k! I was palpitating for every letter coming up! It went all the way to G!!! Luckily, I didn’t have to go through immigration checks and checking in an hour before departure was acceptable.
Rest of the trip was smooth. Took one and a half hour from Paris to Prague.
Prague
The moment I landed I’m already in love with the place. Purple lavender littered the grass. I changed 100 Euros to kroners, bought shuttle ticket for 150 krn, grabbed maps and brochures and ran to the shuttle which just about departed by the time I hopped in. All in 10 mins.
I easily found my hostel from the center of town. It was around 10 mins walk. But first, a detour to a minimart, the chocolates were so cheap: a block for 25kr — that’s like 1euro, would have cost twice that in Australia!
Alice Apartments was probably the prettiest pensione I’ve ever seen! It has a Renaissance like painting on a wall, white floorboards, french style windows separating me from the other room-mate (who I never got to see), and Turkish style sofa, uber-comfy with the hugest pillows ever! It was 6 PM.
Sun was still high and won’t set till around 8:30 pm or so. Rushed to the Old Town, I was mesmerised by the cobble-stoned streets, the vast open plaza surrounded by colorful art nouveau, baroque and gothic style buildings. It’s like a fairytale setting.
Crossed the bridge to the other side of the river… the sun was setting leaving an afterglow blush of indigo on the east. West was a golden explosion through the clouds. All made a dramatic effect on the castles, the bridge, the towers — all of which were later lit in the night magnificently.
Despite the crowds spilling into the streets, it was still magical. I couldn’t stop taking photos! It started to drizzled. almost midnight, I made my way back to the hostel. On the way, I stopped for white Russian (which costs three times less compared to Iceland) — at a dance club. Wrong dance club. But it was fun watching the women, they were very beautiful!
