Another embarrassing moment from my first trip to Paris:

I got lost on my first night (while looking for the hotel), but I decided to make the most of it by strolling along the Left Bank and meandering aimlessly through the streets.

Before long, I came across Christmas lights near a major boulevard…

It was getting late, and I still had no idea how to get to the hotel. I was having a hard time reading the map, and this area was REALLY busy–the street was jampacked with traffic–so I approached a tall man with glasses and asked him, in French, if he spoke English. He said he did.

“Oh, good,” I replied. “Do you happen to know what street this is?”

He blinked. He looked around.

“Madame,” he said, incredulous. “This is the famous Champs-Elysees!”

Oops.

I wasn’t sure what to say. Admittedly, I felt pretty stupid for my blunder.

Finally, I said something along the lines of “Huh. I had no idea” and walked off.

SIDE NOTE: I truly hope that man didn’t think I was unimpressed by his city’s beautiful, sprawling boulevard (that’s in, like, every movie about Paris ever).

-Notes from my first trip to Paris (November 2011)