PARIS

My attempts at glamour have typically culminated in mortification. On a recent April in Paris, I had on some reasonably long for me acrylic nails, I got these for this trip specifically in an attempt at Glam with a capital G. My own nails are tiny thin circles that split at the ends like a flaky croissant once they grow past the fingertip. So, if I want to attempt the glam of a longish nail, I have got to fake it. 

So there I was, in a corner marche buying a bottle of water. 

Oops! 

I drop three coins on the terazzo floor during the euro exchange and bend to pick them up. My acrylic nail provides no leverage with the thick little metal coin however and instead of picking it up, I kind of scoot it along the slick shiny surface of the floor. An elder woman comes over and bends to pick the coins up and hand them back to me while making sad sympathetic eye contact. 

I merci’ed and scampered out of there feeling so awkward but also appreciative that someone noticed my dipshit dilemma and cared. Just writing this experience out freezes it in my mind and helps me process this shame. 

These small moments that operate outside of language are what travels are all about for me. Yes, while I enjoy seeing the big important major sights, these tiny fleeting bits of inter-human connection in new places are the things I most enjoy and remember, mortifying or not. Hopefully not though!