When I checked into my room, there was only one person already occupying a bed - Lachlan. He was from Australia, but he hasn't actually lived in one place for the last 3 years. He's a chronic traveler and climber, so it was amazing and inspiring to hear some of his experiences. We bonded pretty quickly as we realized we liked a lot of the same things, so it didn't take long before we actually felt like great friends. It was his fourth time in Paris and I had been there for 2 weeks, so we agreed to NOT go to the Eiffel Tower that night. Instead, we noticed our hostel was hosting a wine and cheese tasting party. But since they did a terrible job of advertising it, there were only five other people there and we quickly made friends with them. Between the seven of us, we managed to eat all the cheese and bread (and avoid paying for dinner!) before Lachlan and I caved and agreed to take the two Americans, Kyle and Amy, and the Russian, whose name I can't even attempt, to see the sparkling Eiffel Tower.
When we got there, my super saver mode took over and I opted out of climbing to the top. Instead, Lachlan and I sat on the grass below and tourist watched. The most amusing thing was watching people take pictures. Whenever one person had an original pose, everyone else copied them until another creative person came along to start a new trend. The best was when a group of American guys did a "keg stand" with a boxed wine they had brought. Everyone else just stared, judging whether or not they should even try that. After laughing at the few drunken attempts to drink from a bottle of wine while doing a handstand, the rest of our group had returned so we all headed back to the hostel.
The next morning I woke up early to take advantage of the complementary breakfast that ended at 8. I'm pretty sure it was only free because no one actually gets up in time; only three other people were there, and one of them was Lachlan who had asked me to wake him up. So we ate our fill of croissants and loaded up our pockets with the rest. We headed out that morning with no plan in mind, but it ended up being one of my favorite days. It also happened to be the day I accidentally left Paris.
We had only walked one block from our hostel when we found a huge outdoor book market. They had everything from antique manuscripts and maps, to children's books and unfortunately, Twilight.
We managed to spend a couple hours wandering the stalls, a good portion of which was chatting with one talkative seller about his collection of strictly Isaac Asimov novels. As we were getting ready to leave, I turned around to take a picture, and one book stood out to me. Propped up in a place of honor was L'Élégance du Hérisson. The English translation of the book is one of my favorites, so it has been a life goal of mine to find it and read it in its original language.
As we were leaving the book market, we ran into the Russian from the night before and two others, Johnny and Georgie, so we changed directions and followed them to the market they had heard about. It turned out to be the Marché aux Puces, one of the most famous flea markets. With hundreds of stalls, there was an overwhelming amount of kitschy garden gnomes, sterling silver spoons, and American army apparel that had been abandoned in the fields after World War II.
When it was finally nearing lunch time, we walked a couple blocks farther to find a supermarket and bakery. The amazing thing about France is how easy it is to find cheap food. When the 5 of us pitched in a few euros each, we were able to get two different cheeses, two baguettes, some ham, tomatoes, olives, a pie, and two bottles of wine. We carried our haul to a nearby park where we sat down for a picnic. Pictured: me, Lachlan, Russian, Johnny, and the key cards we used to slice the cheese. Not pictured: Georgie, one of the very rare lone travelers of the female variety. 
When a bird came and perched on Lachlan's knee and the bells of the little chapel nearby started ringing, Johnny summed up everyone's thoughts perfectly: "This feels like a scene from a movie I would never watch."
Unfortunately Johnny, Georgie, and the Russian all had to leave to catch their various planes, trains, and automobiles. It was then that we realized we had absolutely no idea where we were. We brought out a map of the city and traced our steps right off the bottom edge. Without knowing it, we had actually crossed the city's border into a cute suburb, Issy-les-Moulineaux. After pointing our comrades north and wishing them luck, Lachlan and I chose to stay in the small commune and explore. But lying in the sun with a feast in our stomachs, our plans of exploring were quickly abandoned in favor of reading our new French books. By the time I woke up from my unintentional nap, the chapel bells were signalling 6pm and we reluctantly left the charming park to find food.
That night, a Chinese couple initially joined us for a stroll along the Champs-Élysées, but when they wanted to go to the McDonald's, we parted ways and headed towards the Seine with our baguettes. Walking along the river, we witnessed what might have been the greatest cop chase ever. One incredibly inebriated man ran by us in a tattered Napoleonic army uniform, and two policemen on rollerblades were struggling to follow him on the cobblestone path. All three of them were tripping so often that it really looked like a slapstick comedy. After that our night couldn't possibly get any better, so we started the long trek back to our beds.
The next day I moved to my final hostel right down the street. When I walked in the door the first person I saw was Georgie. Apparently she and Johnny had both missed their buses the night before. Johnny chose to rent a scooter with some South African guys and take off on a road trip to Nice. Georgie chose the safer route, and together with Lachlan we all shared a great last day in Paris.
We first headed towards Place de la Bastille where the infamous prison once stood. The setting for the country's most important revolutionary act is now a roundabout with a monument in the center, but for a couple history buffs it was still really cool. Walking just a little farther down the street, we found a fresh food market, so of course we had a picnic. This time, we lounged in the grass next to the Seine with delicious fruits to go with our bread, and cheese. After satisfying our picnic quota for the day, we continued on a stroll through the fascinating district, le Marais. The cheap little vintage boutiques mixed with the haute couture department stores makes it the best shopping area in the city for everyone. That night, we decided to treat ourselves and eat dinner at a real restaurant. We sat on the terrace and split a bruschetta before each ordering one of the cheapest possible options. Since we were all leaving early in the morning, we had dessert at the restaurant and then headed straight back to the hostel. That night when I climbed into my bed and looked out the window, the Eiffel Tower was just lighting up, saying goodbye. 
When we parted ways at the train station, Lachlan just smiled and asked "You just got addicted to traveling didn't you?" And there's no doubt that's true. This trip has been amazing, and I can't wait to keep traveling and experiencing as much as I can in my lifetime.
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