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07 October 2014

Worst Vacation Day of My Life

whew, this is a toughy. Worst Vacation Day I can tell you for sure- it was just last month while traveling in Paris.

One day while we were there I woke up to an email from my boss telling me she was switching my break hours- meaning in the middle of the night, instead of discussing with me she just sent an email for me to wake up to. An email.  Typically I take my hours in the afternoon, to me this helps break up the day- which can be a very long one especially when I'm sharing a room with the kids. From that point I was a bit (this is me being nice) annoyed. I called them and told them no, I would still be taking my break in the afternoon. After much discussion this issue was settled and I was able to take my break at my normal time. yay!

Then we left to go to the Notre Dame. While walking towards our next train platform we realized a train was arriving right then. My boss rushed forward to make her way onto the train- now I can't run as much as I would like to right now because my leg is still a bum. and two, the trains in Paris come ridiculously often. Every 2-4 minutes. Like we really just should have waited.  Not only that but the trains all have two sets of doors- one on the actually train, and then another barrier on the platform. She runs ahead into a very packed car and I try to wedge my way on to the train just as both sets of doors are closing.  I legit thought I was about to die. They are warning signs EVERYWHERE saying not to do this- don't try and force the doors open, danger danger, death death and beyond. The worst part was no one even tried to help me- I forced my forearms in the doors pushed them open and obviously didn't die. Even so I could already feel bruises forming all over my arms. delicious.

see- two doors!
We get to Notre Dame all is well, blah blah, walk around, eat lunch, blah blah. Then I walk with them to the next chapel- Sainte Chapelle. At this point I was meant to split ways and go do my own thing, but the kids decided to flip their lives and act like hooligans. Since I'm a super nice person, I went ahead with them to help out for just a few minutes. I was going there anyways, figured it would be nice  to see the place. And that was all fine. Not my first plan but it worked out.

Finally I went on my merry way, and enjoyed a lovely historic walking tour in the area. As I finished my tour I sat down at a cafe to order a cup of tea, taste a bite of chocolate and read my book for a few minutes. To my horror, as I went to pay the place did not take a debit/credit card- only cash. Of course I had about 2 euros in my hand, not enough to pay and I completely broke down. Poor waiter spoke about as much English as I speak French (hint: it's not a lot). After graciously calming me down (the day had really gotten to me) he told me they could up-charge my card and give me the difference in cash. Amen.

And then to end my lovely day, after I put the kids to bed I decided to bathe, you know because I probably smelled like butt. I turned the shower on, waited a few minutes for it to get hot, stepped in and fell. My head slammed into the shower door (this was a good thing- if it had been the wall I probably would have knocked myself out). My upper thigh with my entire weight crashed into the very sharp ledge of the shower (why do people make stupid showers like these?!) and I sat on the shower floor and made sure I wasn't going to die, again. I was fine, pride bruised, butt very bruised, head with a small bump and eventually clean.


The bruise on my leg though, oh man- I think it just finally went away within the last week (over a month later!). It was massive and disgusting, hurt like no other,  and I totally should I have taken more pictures. I'm weird like that.

It was an awful day- one I hope to never repeat. I almost died a few times. fun. But despite the shenanigan and injuries, I still was able to see the famous Notre Dame and very gorgeous Sainte Chapelle.

 What was your worst vacation? Or your best? Continuing with #blogtober14!
Helene in Between

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8 comments:

  1. Oh no! sounds like a horrible experience. But as you say, at least you got to see the beauty of Paris

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  2. Ouch girl, that really sounds like a really painful day...poor you. BUt i'm glad you were still brave & went out to see the city & Notre Dame itself. Hope it never happens to you again. Take good care please!

    xo, Luchessa @ http://luchessa.org/

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  3. Holy crap that's a bad day! I gotta say you couldn't have paid me to pry those doors open though. I'm terrified of trains and automatically closing doors. And escalators.

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  4. It wasn't any fun getting hurt- glad that day is over!

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  5. I will try! Just glad all my bruises are finally gone.. Glad I was able to see the sites though, Paris is a beautiful city!

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  6. I think it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I deal with subway doors all the time in NY, but these ones were super intense. Paying attention to all warnings in the future!

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  7. OMG that's CRAZY girl!! I didn't realize the family you nannied for took you on vacation! That's kind of cool, right?

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  8. Yes, and no. It is definitely nice to see new places and travel, but at the end of the day it is still work and under their wants and wishes. I aim to be able to go back to all of these places with my own friends and family one day.

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