11.10.21

I did so many different things today in Paris!

I had a very relaxing morning. I walked to The Mosque of Paris (the largest in France) and enjoyed a Moroccan tea and pastry and read in the tea room

I then decided to do the “hamman” or the Turkish baths. It was a very interesting but very cool experience. I changed into my swimming suit (though it was customary to not wear a top) and went into a super hot sauna steam room. Everyone got buckets and water to wash ourselves with, unfortunately I did not bring soap. The steam opened up my skin pores and drew out the dirt so while I was scrubbing my skin it was very gross to see all the dirt coming off, I didn’t realize I was that dirty!

We were then laid in tables where a worker scrubbed our bodies down, rather vigorously, and then we rinsed off the remaining dirt in the shower. We were then given massages which was a little exposing as it was in the middle of a large community room, but exposure aside it was very relaxing and definitely something I needed at this point in my travels! This overall was a very cool experience and I really enjoyed immersing myself in a culture so different from my own for a couple hours. I left the hamman feeling so clean and refreshed- my skin was so soft and glowy! I then had a traditional Moroccan lunch of vegetables and couscous and of course mint tea.

I left the Mosque around 1 and headed to a Paris pastry making workshop I had booked! This was a lot of fun. I was in a group of about 7 other English speakers (from Canada and the US) and we were guided by a pastry chef on how to make crème brûlée, chocolate tarts, babas, and Madeline’s! The desserts came out so good and I really loved learning about French pastry making and it is something I have never done before

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After the workshop, I went to the European National Photography Museum. It featured works by Samuel Fosso. I really admired his unique style of portraits and I stayed in this small gallery for over an hour. I have found the photography is something I am really interested in!

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I then walked to meet Joanna at a vegan restaurant/store for dinner. I had a very fast vegan Mac and cheese and bought a lot of vegan goods from the store.

She then took me to her favorite view of Paris which was up the Montmartre Hill. Paris was so gorgeous to see at night and I would prefer this authentic view over buying a ticket for the Eiffel Tower. We sadly said our goodbyes. We both knew we would keep in touch and meet later on in life, as our relationship was connection was so genuine and strong.

We left around 11pm, but my night was far from over! I went to the Moulin Rouge Cabaret show! The show was very cool- so many colors and crazy tricks, and theatrical synchronized dancing. There was an incredible roller skating act and a woman jumping in a pool of snakes! A very memorial and authentically Parisian experience.

I was exhausted by the time the show ended and sleepily made my way home by metro- getting back to my hostel around 2am where I promptly fell asleep.