France and I did not start off on a good foot...

So my adventure to Paris began a lot sooner than I anticipated, but these thing are supposed to happen right? Well, as i mentioned I took the train from Geneva to grenoble with plans to watch the individual time trial stage then move on to the finish in Paris. Firstly, the train ride through the Swiss and French countryside was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately I was on the opposite side of the river and mountain view, but I could still appreciate it from the other row. When we arrived at chamberly we had to switch from train to autobus for the remainder of the journey. Something about water, boats, and construction. I'm not too sure how they all connect to my trip but that's okay. I got off the train with plans to just follow those in front of me who were on the train, but somewhere along the way i lost all the passengers and got out to the buses and was REALLY lost! I couldnt find the bus to grenoble and knew i only had a few minutes before I'd be stuck. I just happened to notice more buses and one that, thankfully, said grreenoble. I hopped on the crowded bus and in an hour or so, arrived in Grenoble. We passed the university which had some seriously incredible architecture and took up a few blocks to make a square around another block.... If that makes the remotest sense. Regardless, it was stunning! But i soon found out that would be all i would see of this city, which I definitely misjudged and thought would be more of a rural, countryside town. It was more of a little city with big buildings, lots of traffic, and lots of people. Anyways, Thinking i was smart and knowing that things would be hectic for the tour, i decided to check out that train situation for saturday. Good thing i did. Already exhausted from walking, and running, around Geneva and nearly missing my train, I just wanted to relax and take a nap. The lady behind the counter had other plans for me when she informed me that all the trains to Paris were booked for saturday. I should have known. My only option was to hop on a train in an hour and arrive in paris at 11:30 that night. I mean, great thing about the eurail pass is that I could easily do this, but it also meant I would have to find a place to stay in a city that was about to hold it's biggest sporting event of the year in 2 days... Right. So of course, i freak. With no euros (there wasn't even an ATM in the station!) or internet, i frantically call Dad and Michele for help. I figured my last resort would be to simply sleep in the train station but when i got to paris later on that night I learnt that would have been so not cool. It reeked of urine and was definitely creepy. Anyways, let's stay on track (like a train... Haha!). I board the train and cry most of the way there. Tired, frustrated, and simply worn out, i wanted out. I didn't think i could handle it and the fear of the unknown was starting to get to me. I anticipated some bumps in the road, but i just hoped this wouldn't be the beginning of several terrible obstacles. Thanks to the quick work of my fabulous travel agent sister in-law, my dad and brandi managed to book me a hotel for the night in the vicinity of the Eiffel tower. Yet even with this problem solved, i still felt at unease. Knowing that i needed a pick-me-up and a motivator, i called the one person i knew could do just that - Michele. In the past year, Michele has helped me not only adjust, but enjoy my time in pomeroy and without her, I'm certain I would have moved back home after one week in Pomeroy, but also never came to Europe. When i found out i would be going at this trip alone, Michele encouraged me to just go and helped me get there. So I knew she could help me out in this dilemma. Needless to say, she revived me and i went from overwhelmed and crying to laughing and ready to take on the world. I eventually go on my next train after my connection in Lyon and it didn't take very long after my arrival into Paris Gare Lyon for that revival to dissipate. As I mentioned the station smelt of urine and gave me an eery vibe... Mostly because besides the people getting off the train there was no one to be seen. This posed a rather imminent problem: how was i supposed to get to my hotel without any money or even a map of the city. Now i REALLY freaked out. I circled the station a few times looking for someone with some official identification and found none. All i could think of was the advice from friends who said the french will just not help you or steal your money -- neither of which i wanted to encounter. Now I was just plain pissed off. "Why did i do this to myself?" I thought, "I could be back home at the beach or enjoying visiting with friends in Boston! Why do i always take the hard way out!" i called my dad in a frenzy and he did his best to calm me down... Which unfortunately wasn't working. I discovered there were stairs that led to the metro but when i looked at the map my eyes bugged. It was Iike T times 20 and i definitely had no idea where to begin or even what station would bring me to the hotel. This left me with no option but to try to find a taxi that would accept my debit card knowing it was going to cost probably more than my hostel for the 2 nights i originally planned to stay in paris. Yet when i walked outside, there wasn't even a taxi in sight. What the hell! Now i was doomed. I was breaking down more and more by the second and i couldn't believe it. I began mentally preparing to have to sleep in the train station while dad tried to convince me "there's a way out of every situation like this!" i happened to notice a white van with a younger man in it and it had some sort of security sign on the drivers side. I decided to try my luck and find out if he knew of the hotel i had written down and the address i was given. In my best French, I asked and in his best english he helped me find my way. Karma was finally catching up to me. Using his radio, he got directions (in English!) for me to the hotel via the train and went so far as to show me exactly how to get there on the map. But not only that, when i explained i had no euros to pay for a ticket and my debit card wouldn't work, he used his key and let me through all the gates that led to the train i needed to catch to make it to my hotel. I couldn't say "merci beaucoup" enough for him to truly understand how grateful i was. I made it on the train and surprisingly to the right station. I even got my first glimpse of the eiffel tower when i happened to look out the window and it lit up and sparkled against the night sky. For some reason, this station had an information booth that had people working there and so i asked if they could help me find the hotel. Luckily, they actually helped and i made my way there. Though a little sketchy, i made it to the hotel unharmed and checked in. At last i was safe and sound. I couldn't believe the events of the day. I took a shower, put on a very bad French tv show, and fell fast asleep. I was so glad the day was over.