{"id":3061,"date":"2022-12-06T15:10:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T05:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2022-12-06T15:10:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T05:10:57","slug":"this-could-only-happen-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3061","title":{"rendered":"This Could Only Happen To Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">I always get lost. I planned to spend the day in Chartres. Leaving early and giving myself lots of time I grabbed my pre-paid tickets, slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed the spiral staircase that hugged me closely as I descended to the tiny foyer of my delightful hotel in Montparnasse. I had pored over google maps in my room that morning and found a way to walk the short way to the Gare Montparnasse, Paris, the local railway station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Striding out boldly, I followed the directions on the screen of my phone. As I walked my eyes took in beautiful old gates and sweet little balcony gardens overflowing with flowers. The sun was shining and the trees showed off their brand-new Spring foliage. Shiny bicycles complete with baskets and stylish short-skirted young women atop them sped in every direction, skilfully avoiding the cars and motorbikes that darted wildly down the narrow roads. Everyone headed confidently to their destination. I turned into a street beside the railway embankment, feeling full of pride for my navigating skills and muttered \u2018how good am I?\u2019 to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">I kept walking, oddly there was no station in sight. According to google the station should be right there. Bloody google! It\u2019s never right! I sauntered on, inwardly confident of my plan, but when the street turned into another road and the trainline veered away I stopped. My train was due to leave in twenty-five minutes. I had come to Paris just to see Chartres Cathedral, so it was unthinkable to miss that train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">My mind went crazy at that point, I silently berated myself, \u2018I am in Paris, I am clearly lost, I don\u2019t speak much French, there is no one around, and I obviously can\u2019t read maps.\u2019 Sweat started gathering on my neck and forehead, my heart began racing, my breathing was fast, my eyes clouded over and the panic set in. I cannot miss that train. Not knowing where I should go, I backtracked and walked so fast, I was almost running as I tried remembering the landmarks I had walked by. Up and down streets, turning left then right then retracing my steps looking for anything I could recognise. Nothing. I could feel the anxious dampness under my backpack as my mind offered me many mad and stupid suggestions about what an idiot I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">It was at that point I spied the hotel just down the street on the opposite corner to where I thought it should be. Relieved, I walked towards it. Somehow, I had done a huge circle and landed back where I had started. \u2018This could only happen to me,\u2019 I sighed as I saw a taxi and hailed it. Thankfully the driver responded, I climbed in and requested \u2018Gare Montparnasse s\u2019il vous plait,\u2019 brightly and sat back in the seat feeling relieved but hot, sweaty and frustrated by my experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Within three minutes we were at the destination, I paid the exorbitant fare and said \u2018Merci.\u2019 The driver looked at me quite bemused then drove off. I raced up to the station and was confronted by dozens of platforms and a maze of thoroughfares. I had not imagined anything like this. I had five minutes. I spun around to see if I could see anything that may help me. I checked my ticket, nothing. Taking some deep breaths, I decided to let my instinct guide me, that was all I had. I silenced my mind and repeated a mantra learnt long ago, \u2018All will be well.\u2019 I settled immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">As the train to Chartres pulled slowly away from the platform, I sank into my seat and watched the city disappear past my window. My instinct had not failed me. I passed the test; I had finally listened and could claim my reward. My hero\u2019s journey complete I was on my way to Chartres. My Holy Grail now in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Dreaming of handling Gare Montparnasse with confidence? Check out this guide first, here; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raileurope.com\/en-au\/destinations\/stations\/paris-gare-montparnasse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.raileurope.com\/en-au\/destinations\/stations\/paris-gare-montparnasse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"> If you&#8217;re loving MAC travel writing, catch more travel stories here; <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7\">https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I always get lost. I planned to spend the day in Chartres. Leaving early and giving myself lots of time I grabbed my pre-paid tickets, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[252,224,251,8,17,16,10],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travelarium","tag-instinct","tag-maggie-mclaren","tag-montparnasse","tag-mountain-ash-chapter","tag-travel-writing","tag-travelarium","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-Nn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1183,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1183","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":0},"title":"Melbourne, In Pictures","author":"Kylie Eklund-Denman","date":"June 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Melbourne is my home. It is a city of many faces with a big personality. It is edgy, yet sophisticated. Always changing, but familiar. The city has abundant excellent restaurants and bars, spoiling Melburnians with choice. Lively laneways are frequented by citizens and visitors from a myriad of diverse backgrounds.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travelarium&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travelarium","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Morris-Journalism-2-of-20-2-scaled-e1654593856152.jpeg?fit=942%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Morris-Journalism-2-of-20-2-scaled-e1654593856152.jpeg?fit=942%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Morris-Journalism-2-of-20-2-scaled-e1654593856152.jpeg?fit=942%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Morris-Journalism-2-of-20-2-scaled-e1654593856152.jpeg?fit=942%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4279,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4279","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":1},"title":"Monkeys and Social Media","author":"Kylie Eklund-Denman","date":"March 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Jigokudani Monkey Park, in Nagano, Japan. The park is famous for the Japanese macaque monkeys who live there, and bathe in the onsen, a natural mineral hot spring. During the winter, when temperatures plunge to -8\u2103 and there is substantial snowfall, they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travelarium&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travelarium","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_6325-rotated-e1710377419476.jpeg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_6325-rotated-e1710377419476.jpeg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_6325-rotated-e1710377419476.jpeg?fit=600%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1852,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1852","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":2},"title":"Lightscape, A Psychedelic Winter Wonderland\ufffc","author":"Kylie Eklund-Denman","date":"July 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The deep resonance of digeridoo welcomes you through the gates of Lightscape, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. 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Trying to smile for the photo, it just looks like a grimace. Well that\u2019s probably nothing to do with my hair. Just my resting bitch face\u2019s unfortunate inability to Turn that Frown Upside Down. 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What started out as a gin distillery and small bar is currently in the process of growing into an impressive tourist destination.\u00a0Actually, what started out in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travelarium&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travelarium","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_7541-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_7541-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_7541-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_7541-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG_7541-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/clement-dellandrea-LX5pvhCm0lQ-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3063,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions\/3063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}