Another day, another city. Today I left the cute little cities of Belgium for the bright lights of Paris. To avoid paying the expensive reservation for the high-speed train, I took the regional trains which ended up taking three times longer. At the train station, I met a guy from California and we worked together to figure out the confusing metro station and find our way to our hostels. Mine was on the outskirts of Paris, so I had to ride one of the metro lines to the end and then walk a further 15 minutes to get there (and of course I got lost for about an hour in the neighborhoods). The place I stayed at was a guesthouse run by a Korean family and upon arriving they give you a cup which you must hold on to for your entire stay (they even have a little basket by each bed to keep it in). As I was putting my stuff away in my room, I met my dorm mate Raphael from Chile who was just about to head out and invited me to tag along. So I joined him and an American named Mathew and off we were to the Eiffel Tower! Getting off the metro and suddenly seeing it looming overhead was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Throughout the 2 hours of waiting to get up to the first level of the tower I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The entire time we were approached by people trying to sell us miniature Eiffel Towers and eventually we gave in to the temptation. Just as we got to the first level, the sun was setting so we paused and gazed out at this incredible sight. Another hour in line and we were up to the very top of the tower! The view was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, with Paris stretching out as far as the eye could see in every direction. After we had marveled at the view long enough, we rode back down and crossed a bridge to marvel again as the Eiffel Tower sparkled in the distance. I couldn't've asked for a better first night in Paris and as we rode the metro home I knew my stay here would be a mind-blowing experience.