Our first full day in Paris was truly one I will never forget. From the moment we woke up to going to sleep, the day was a non-stop adventure. We woke up early that morning to try the hotel breakfast, our first true Parisian breakfast, which mostly consisted of bread related items like croissants and toast. We followed up breakfast by navigating the metro line to our tour stop, which went surprisingly easy, as the train lines are very easy to understand. We arrived at our stop a little early into a cold and rainy Paris, so I made what I assume to be the first of many touristy purchases, being an Eiffel Tower sweatshirt. Afterall, what screams vacation more than buying overpriced merch from the city you visit? We then proceeded to wait fifteen minutes for our tour guide to show up, only for him to text us that he wasn’t going to show up until 2 PM, meaning we had three hours to ourselves before we had to go back. The group split off into smaller groups at this point, with my group going off down Boulevard de Clichy, a street full of sex shops and restaurants, creating a vibe I have never seen anywhere else. Adults and kids alike were walking right by the shops, who had their items directly in the street windows for anyone to see. Eventually we reached our destination, which was a carousel in front of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, a large cathedral. From there, we went to a local bakery, and ordered some french treats. I got a croissant and a chocolate filled pastry, which I took a picture of. This being my first real french meal, absolutely blew me away with how good it tasted, the texture, and how cheap it was. We then took the metro line over to the Arc De Triomphe, and explored the area, taking even more pictures. After an hour or so of riding the metro around to random stops we made our way back to the meetup place, in front of the Moulin Rouge. There we met our tour guide, Kevin, who took us around the 18th arrondissement for the next two hours. We started our tour going down the same road, with him talking to us about Josiphine Baker for the most part. There we learned about her accomplishments, partially in the war but more for the black people of France. Most old black Parisans actually dislike her despite what she did for them and the city. The reason for this is because, as Kevin put it, she was the equivalent of “I have a black friend” to the white people of Paris. What “I have a black friend” means is people use the fact that they know one person of color in order to excuse racist actions they make, as if they are friends with a black person, how could they hate any black people. The city of Paris famously welcomed Josiphine Baker and loved her, therefore how could there be any racial issues going on in the city was what the white people of Paris were using this as, making many black people resent her for that. After talking about Josiphine Baker, we were led through the region of Paris known as Little Africa, which is a predominantly black neighborhood. This area had a different vibe, as many different parts of the city do. In this part, there were lots of people standing on street corners, not going anywhere but just hanging out in the streets. Throughout the city, there is an unwritten rule to speak quietly and overall just kind of not make yourself noticeable in any way common in America, however this area did not have this rule. People were talking as loud as they wanted and overall the vibes of the area felt way more like an American city. After this, we ended the tour and were free to go our separate ways. From here, I went back to the hotel because I was still adjusting to the time and took a nap, which did not help adjusting. After that, we got a late dinner around 9:30. We found a small cafe online, and headed over. There I had the best pasta I’ve ever had for approximately $15, which is still shocking how cheap it was. The culture in the restaurant was certainly different as well, as the waitress smoked a cigarette with the customers as they ordered food. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep, finishing off one of the most memorable days of my life up to that point.