Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? We all know someone who just does too much to the point where it's literally too much. But how about a city -- a whole city -- doing too much? Yes, in case you're wondering...I'm talking about Paris: the City of Paris, France doing way too much. Le sigh - let's get into it. Ready? Deep breath, let's go.
I loved Paris and was excited to return based on my prior two visits there. My first visit was in 2012 to attend the Watch the Throne concert and then in 2015, I visited again with a friend to attend a J. Cole concert. This third trip to Paris was to cover Paris Fashion Week. What's more exciting than that?! Yet, rather than covering any runways, I ended up on the run, literally -- in Paris. The so-called "City of Love" really showed out this time.
Literally, in a blink of an eye things went all the way downhill and as cliche as it sounds, it all happened so fast! It all started when my friend, Jaycee, met my travel partner and me in Paris. Things were going great. We arrived safely at our meetup spot, rode together to our lodging, got settled in and delighted ourselves in trying "Parisian tacos" (yum yum).
Fast forward to us going to see the Eiffel Tower, which is a must-see for first-time visitors. We were there catching the beautiful sparkle of the Eiffel Tower; everything was going just fine or for you wordsmiths, copacetic - ha! And then here comes some ol' raggedy fella talking a bunch of gibberish. This fella gets one step too close to Jaycee and before we know it, he threw a glass bottle, snatched Jaycee's phone from her hand and dashed off like Sonic! Jaycee automatically goes into Usain Bolt mode and starts chasing this fella and I go into full speed after Jaycee. #SwiperNooooSwiping!
"Bolting" down the pedestrian path along the Seine River and up flights of stairs, we almost caught the phone bandit until he jumped into a dense patch of bushes never to be seen again. Straight action scene all the way to the police station! From the swipe to the chase, and then attempting to translate the entire incident to the French police, it was too, too much. And truthfully, had we been able to catch up with the bandit, who knows what else would've ensued. In retrospect, I think we were safer not getting any closer to him than he had already been to us.
Long story short, always try to be aware of your surroundings and trust your gut! Especially when you're traveling, remove yourself from any situation or from around anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable, especially when they're in your personal space. #TrustYourGut
***A fellow traveler abroad recently gave account of a similar swipe attempt but had a phone grip, which prevented the swiper from taking off with her phone.***
Other than the swiping incident, our remaining days in Paris were filled with eating; going to see ol' girl, Mona Lisa, at the Louvre Museum; and otherwise exploring the city as much as possible. Yes, it's true -- the Mona Lisa is much smaller in person than expected! But the Louvre itself is massive and there's so much more to see than just the Mona Lisa.
Fortunately, Paris is the sort of city where you are likely to stumble upon something exciting or beautiful and be so awestruck that you can completely forget about any other cares (or worries) you may have had at the moment. So, although the phone theft was traumatizing, we tried to make the most of our time in Paris. Take a look at our gorgeous pics below!
See yaa Paris - hopefully, next time you'll be on your very best behavior! <3
“Pay attention. Follow your intuition, [Yaa Aba]. Speak up."