Episode 10 - Disneyland!!
Riding Space Mountain 10 times and meeting the son of a Tunisian archaeologist
A long weekend with great company and great food.
Friday 10/20/2023
This is a continuation of Friday evening from the previous Blog 9.
HOORAY! The crowd is roaring in anticipation.
It was Tatiana’s turn to visit me in Paris this weekend (after I visited her in London last weekend), and it was quite the exciting time. But before we get into that, a few clarifications for all of my amazing readers so you have some context:
Tatiana and I are not dating.
Tatiana and I will never date. That would be an actual catastrophe. We are way too different for that to ever work. We get sick of each after more than a few hours together lol.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. But give him a poisoned fish, and feed him for the rest of his life.
Ok, glad we got that out the way.
Let’s continue!
Tatiana arrived from the Eurostar, where I had arrived back less to Paris less than a week prior! Of course, I had a sign waiting for her by the exit of the train. Was it written on the back of a French A1 worksheet?
Perhaps.
I will accept nominations for “friend of the year” at this time.
We immediately headed to the metro station to head over to Gibbles’s (Gibbles = Gibs, basically any word that starts with a “J” sound is fair game, hi gibs!!) and Annabel’s apartment for a kickback with the gang. Tatiana was telling me about this guy who was hitting on her on the Eurostar, and she gave him a fake phone number.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
It was smooth sailing to southern Paris. Gibasaurus Rex and Annabel live near a place called “The Goblins” (what a sick name), and it was raining when we got off the train. Everyone got to meet Tatiana (she was very excited to meet them all after reading my blog!), and we all chilled for about 2 hours.
Harry and I had a wonderful heart to heart. Harry you’re amazing!
After a couple hours and too much wine, it was time to head home. Smooth sailing and a nice walk back from the metro station. Tatiana finally got to see my studio apartment.
The Lair of Dennis is the place to be!
Saturday 10/21
That wine was not a good idea. I woke up at 8 a.m. to study for my midterm exam at 11, and let me tell you, my body was not happy.
Good thing I’m 20.
I grinded for an hour and a half before leaving for Sciences Po because my loud habits kept waking up Tatiana. It’s been a while since I lived with another person.
The exam went well, I finished 30 minutes early and then biked back to the apartment. Apparently, I had locked her in accidentally because when I locked the door from the outside, she was not unable to unlock it from the inside. Long story short, she was stuck inside my apartment for 3 hours while I was studying at Sciences Po and taking the exam.
What a terrible door design. I have never in my entire life seen a door that you couldn’t unlock from the inside. Talk about a fire hazard.
Basically, it was not the greatest of mornings for Tatiana or myself.
Tatiana left for a walk as soon as I got back, then I did some more work and writing in my apartment. We met up at a cafe to discuss what happened and how to survive living with each other for the next 2 nights. The problem was resolved, and a crisis was averted!
I also met this chill old guy at the bar who’s the son of the Tunisian archaeologist and makes plays from traditional Russian literature. He apparently even lived in Omsk (middle of nowhere central Russia) for 2 months. What a guy.
Tatiana and I then walked over to Emma’s apartment to meet her, Harry, and Gibolopolis to go thrifting! We waited for the WiFi man to show up for 30 minutes, talking in the meantime. Emma, Harry, and I drank tea from cups that were so big, they were effectively bowls with handles. It was lovely.
The WiFi man never showed up, so we met Gibs outside of Emma’s apartment (they had quite the night the night before!) and we proceeded to go
SHOPPING!
It has been a really long time since I’ve been shopping, and Harry was my personal stylist. I was able to use my 50 euro birthday gift from the girls on this sick find:
It is so warm and amazing. I love it so much!
Later, we headed over to a big warehouse which was basically like the Bins in LA, where there are racks and racks of clothing and it was all 10 euro a kilo. Makes the math really easy to calculate the prices from the scale when they weigh the clothes!
Tatiana and I walked around the really cool neighborhood later and found a limited-time only Harry Potter store where I got a butter beer. Don’t worry, Mama, there is no alcohol in it!
We walked around some more to the Pompidou Centre, where they have delicious crepes (thank you for showing me that crepe place, Manon!) and a sick view of the city from the top. There was also an amazing Mario mural, and Tatiana snapped this gem.
After the Pompidou Centre, we met back up with the gang at a pizza shop that Emma recommended very highly. That recommendation was extremely worth it. Emma, that pizza was amazing! I had an amazing Australian conversation with Annabel and laughed so many times. What a great time.
We all were super tired at this point and basically went home. Tatiana and I went with Gibbles and Annabel to near their apartment because there was a board game store nearby (where you buy a drink and play new board games), but the selection was bad and we weren’t in the mood to learn a new game.
We metroed home, I read a bit while Tatiana was doing some Excel (of course), and then we watched White Chicks (Tatiana calls it a “shitty” movie but I loved it), which is basically about 2 black FBI agents that pose as rich, snobby white chicks in the Hamptons.
It is now a top 10 movie for me. It was the exact kind of brain dead comedy I needed at the moment. The scene where they chase the pickpocket is worthy of an Oscar.
Sunday 10/22
Slept in today, then it was off to Disneyland! The happiest place in the world won’t wait.
We headed over to a cafe for breakfast, then to Place de la Nation to take the train. It was about a 45 minute train ride, during which Tatiana and I played a game of Scrabble on my phone.
Tatiana witnessed the full might of a Gavrilenko mind playing Scrabble. Twas’ an easy win.
Disneyland was unreal. Here are the highlights:
The real world did not exist in Disneyland. Everything is a paradise and there is nothing to focus on except the park. The designers did an amazing job on each minuscule detail!
The Captain Jack Sparrow actor was amazing. I was completely convinced he was really. He did talk in a French accent, though. I thought we would get soaked on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride because there was a boat, but I stayed drier than a cactus in Death Valley.
We met a father-son duo from California. It has been a while since I met Americans. They were super nice!
We walked 13 miles all over the park, seeing pretty much everything there. It was an extremely successful trip!
Tatiana and I finessed a cheap popcorn from the popcorn sellers late at night. They wanted 8 euros, and we gave them 1 euro 60 cents and smiled nicely, asking for the popcorn. They succumbed to our wishes with a defeated posture. I’m pretty sure the popcorn lady was trying to embezzle money from Disneyland, because she was insisting on having us pay in cash “for herself”.
Tatiana and I rode HyperSpace mountain 10 times. From 7:30 pm until the park closed at 10, we rode the ride, exited the station, walked around to the line again. Rinse and repeat. By the 3rd time, the only purpose of my existence was the hit 10 rides before the park closed.
There are too many pictures to add here, so look at the end of the post to see them all!
We headed home after seeing the Disneyland Castle blow up with fireworks (the castle didn’t blow up, but the fireworks did). It was a fast train ride home, during which I read the first 2 chapters of When McKinsey Comes to Town.
That book is making me reconsider consulting. I sense an existential crisis on the way, but I’m kicking that can down the road.
Tatiana and I were starving at this point, so we visited the kebab shop that is my #1 restaurant in Paris at the moment. 7 euro 50 for a kebab and so many fries is the
Greatest. Deal. Ever!
Now I have 2 more stamps on my card. 5 more, and I get a free kebab! I also officially met Hasen, the really cool Tunisian guy that works at the kebab shop (the kebab shop is called Urban Grill). Hasen is dope.
Tatiana and I ate our yummy kebabs in the store, then we walked across the street and passed out pretty much immediately. Disneyland is hard work.
Monday 10/23
We slept in until 10 today, then Tatiana and I did some work while drinking amazing coffee from my even more amazing coffee machine.
Nespresso machines are the greatest invention ever made. Jaywalking is a close second.
We walked over to a cafe for brunch, where they served the most delicious tomato soup known to made. The bread was super yummy as well. Tatiana left after a bit to go to Barry’s (her intense running class?), while I prepped for 2 upcoming interviews I have on Wednesday.
I also read another chapter of When McKinsey Comes to Town. Yikes.
I took the subway to the Louvre (it was pouring rain) and met Tatiana in a Prêt nearby. Seems she can’t escape the British influence, even across the Channel. We walked around the Louvre, then headed toward Notre Dame to meet Anna and walk around a bit more.
Along the way, I found a Russian store and immediately entered. I proceeded to talk to the staff for 15 minutes because I have been deprived of Russian conversation for the last few days. I bought some yummy Russian crackers, Tatiana got Russian shot glasses (I had to translate), and Svetlana and Nikolai (the two folks working there) said they were very impressed by my Russian.
Score!
We met up with Anna, who was wearing a lovely British rain outfit. We walked to a a cafe where a bunch of writers used to frequent, and the guy at the front begrudgingly let us look inside. Somehow, Anna managed to convince the security guard at Sciences Po to let her in despite not going there (she goes to Sorbonne), so our campus had an invader for about 15 minutes.
I also saw Manon in the garden. Fantastic!
Ben lived right around the corner, so we stopped by to say hi. That “stop by and say hi” turned into a 30 minute visit as we saw the vital work he does in HR at BNP Paribas. I’m convinced that if he left the company, the entire banking system in Europe would collapse. My dad would call him “overworked and underpaid”.
I biked home quickly to prepare for a tech consulting coffee chat while Tatiana took the bus. I nailed the coffee chat, got kebabs for Tatiana and myself, helped her pack for her Eurostar train, and then it was off to the train station! The weekend visit completely flew by.
I biked to Sciences Po while calling Papa and got some great work done in the library. I met Joe after his class, and we biked over to meet Emma and Gibbles for a pint. Joe’s bike was a complete POS, so we had to park a couple times to find a new one.
Great job, Velib Metropole!
The pint was lovely. I love Paree.
I walked home and called my tour guide mentor Will (hi Will!!). It was super awesome to catch up with him and compare our study abroad experiences. He and I are both planning on living abroad for a bit after graduating because we loved being abroad so much. He also recommended I visit Morocco to do some solo traveling. I might just book tickets, we‘ll see.
What a weekend!
Some more pictures:
Best boyfriend in the world <3 love you to Disneyland and back #noregretsinthisrelationship