The day before I was set to leave for France, I was doing some last minute shopping and happened to find a vintage Tour de France t-shirt. To me, that was a sign, and I had to have it. That last minute purchase has come in incredibly handy so far during my trip, and everyday I realize that I might have picked the best time ever to be here–that’s what all the local friends I make tell me too.
This month has already been so exciting. I had the opportunity to wear my Tour de France shirt twice already–as I watched France win both World Cup matches it competed in while I was here. It’s the only article of clothing I own with the French flag on it, so it was the closest soccer appropriate gear I had. It’s proven to be quite lucky! Defeating both Uruguay and Belgium, France has advanced to the final, and will compete against Croatia this Sunday.
As I watched the exciting and intense match against Belgium a few days ago with some friends at a cafe near our residence, I actually met some kind French women! I was able to communicate with them in French, but of course, they wanted to flex their knowledge of the English language for us. During the game, one woman asked us, “Hey, isn’t the Super Bowl your version of the World Cup in America?”. Of course, I know that’s not exactly accurate, but in that moment, my heart swelled and a tear the shape of the Vince Lombardi trophy rolled down my face. Go birds!!!!!!!!
In addition to all the excitement and commotion, I have enjoyed doing as the Parisians do and ducking into shops on the street to catch my breath from walking and cool off in the air conditioning while browsing for a while. One of my favorite stores here has been “Kilo Shop”, a thrift store with huge locations around Paris where clothing, shoes, and accessories are extremely affordable and priced by the kilo. I got my new favorite pair of shoes ever–a wicked awesome pair of red birks–at Kilo Shop for 20 bucks! They were in excellent condition and one of the first great finds of my Paris trip. I noticed that in Kilo Shop, there are rarely any tourists, and the French people I’ve seen on my stops in look like they spend hours leisurely browsing through vintage finds and listening to music.
