Im on the other side of the world, and I STILL got it!!!!!!

So on Tuesday night in Paris, two of my friends and I wanted to go see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. It was getting late, and we didn’t think we would have time to catch the Metro (more like figure out how to use the right Metro systems to get there before the lights shut off) So we decided to walk across a bridge in order to get a better view of the Tower and Notre Dame. After we cross the bridge, we walked along the banks of the Siene. It is very beautiful at night. So as we walk, we hear some music. As we get closer to the sound, we realize that these locals are having a dance party! Apparently, this is a nightly occurrence, because on the banks, there are several tiny semi-circle ampetheaters. (That is the best way I can describe it.) The first circle had a small live band, and people were dancing a slow Polka type dance as a group. I wanted to join in, but I didn’t see a cute boy who I could dance with, so we moved on to the next circle. And it was a good thing we did! In this one, couples were dancing a form of Tango. So my friends and I sit down to listen and watch the locals do their thing. Then, across the way, I see a very good looking French man. He is tall dark and very handsome! I joke to my friends and say, “He should ask me to dance.” But he didn’t. Then my friends tell me that I should ask HIM to dance! I saw him look over at me several times, but I was NOT about to go do it! But Jocelyn teaches me some French phrases, and they both encourage me to ask him! I am too scared, but I still practice my French, “Excuse me sir, would you like to dance with me? But I don’t know how to dance…. Do you speak English?” (I would type in French, but I would butcher the spelling) So after I practice this about 100 times, I finally get up the courage to go over and talk to him and ask him to dance. Once I ask him “Would you like to dance?” He gets up and replies in French. I’m not sure what he said exactly, but I assumed it meant “yes”. So then I tell him that I don’t know how to dance this dance, and he replies again in French. So now is the scary part…. “Do you speak English?” And he replies, “Yes I do”. At this point, I am so stoked! The butterflies in my stomach were now slowly going away. So for the next few minutes he teaches me how to dance. He said that he was not a very good dancer, but I thought he did a great job at teaching me. After the song, he asked me for another dance. I was able to pick it up pretty quickly. It was so much fun! After our second dance, he invites me to sit down on the steps to talk for a while. He asked me about California and said that he would like to visit someday. I learned that he has lived in Paris his whole life, and that he doesn’t even have a driver’s license. (You don’t really need one in the city cuz the Metro is so convenient. And driving there would be sooooooo scary! Those streets are small, and the drivers are nuts! They are worse than LA drivers!) I also learned that he is going to school for a degree in Math. So he is good looking AND smart!!! But unfortunately, it was getting late, and me and my friends needed to get back to the hotel. So I thanked him for the dance, and said goodbye. And like a true Parisian, he bid me adue’ with a kiss on each cheek! So does the count as a kiss from a Frenchman? Can I check that off of my European Bucket List?

But I had such a fun time dancing with Irwin! And even if it was a bit cliché, it was so quintessentially romantic to dance with a handsome foreigner under the stars on the banks of the Siene in Paris. I will remember this for the rest of my life, and am thankful for my two new friends for encouraging me to be bold and go for it!

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Devon Does Europe!

And when I get a faster internet connection, I will upload the video! But the connection in this Brussels hotel is slower than molasses!