Chapter 8

Billy continued to spend time at the apartment with Cecilia and Mariah, much to Elia’s chagrin. She mostly just ignored him but she tried but failed to stop the resentment from growing. The next two weeks seemed to fly by and before she knew it she was heading to Paris. She travelled alongside Jazmin going out although her sister would be staying a few days after her departure. It was a short flight, only about an hour.

She’d packed three different cameras with her, telling an amused Jazmin that she wanted to be prepared for whatever situation that may present itself to her. Her DSLR was the one she planned to use the most and by the time they’d gone through Charles de Gaulle airport and had met up with Carlos she was already carrying it around her neck.

“Bienvenue à Paris!” He declared proudly.

To Elia’s amusement, the drive from the airport to Carlo’s apartment seemed to take almost as long as the flight, and it was a while before they reached the city itself. Most of the journey seemed to only give a view of the graffiti-covered walls/fences that lined each side of the roadway. Finally, though the city began to manifest itself ahead of them and their surroundings went from quiet, to busy to bustling, the Paris she’d expected and had been waiting for, the one she’d seen in photos and paintings, chic and elegant. The excitement began to fill her, it was a beautiful sight and she couldn’t wait to go and explore as much as she could. It had already been agreed that she would go off to do what she wanted for a few hours giving Jazmin and Carlos some time to themselves and now that it was all there in front of her, she was itching to begin.

On they drove through the wide streets lined with old pale and white stone buildings, it wasn’t completely different to London of course but on the other hand, it was. Maybe it was her giddy excitement and the bias of knowing she was in one of the most loved and famous cities in the world but to her, it looked and felt just, different! All that was missing to make the feeling complete was music, one of those many old-style songs she knew existed, the type that sang about the magic and mystique of ‘The city of love’ Her excitement heightened as the streets became cobble and she spotted an iconic red metro sign as they passed. They soon left the cobbles behind though as Carlos continued on and turned into the smaller refined riverside street that then led to his apartment building. The interior matched the exterior. An elegant four bedroom apartment with white decor and pine flooring overlooking an ivy-covered courtyard one side and a view of the nearby Seine river on the other. It was beautiful. Elia didn’t admire it for too long though, once settled she gathered together what she needed to go out and begin photographing. Carlos, however, regarded her with surprise at seeing her ready to go with her camera and her oversize bag containing lenses etc.

“Have you even unpacked?” He asked.

Elia giggled

“A little bit,” She told him. “I’ll finish the rest later though, for now, I’ll leave you two in peace.”

“Will you be alright on your own?” He asked, concerned. “Do you need a map or want directions to somewhere in particular?”

“Where’s the nearest metro station?” Elia asked

“It’s Pont Marie” He replied. “It’s not far but you’ll have to walk around in a half circle to reach it.” With that, he got a pen and paper and wrote down the directions for her to follow

“Got it!” She confirmed with a smile. “Think I can get by on that for now, the metro will have all the info I need, I should be fine with that.”

“Well, you call or text if you need anything.” Jazmin insisted before she left. “And remember to be back before seven, that’s when Christina will be arriving.”

The metro station wasn’t too hard to find, photographing as she went she made her way down and after finding her bearings made her way across toward Montmartre. It was pretty crowded in places but Elia happily strolled the picturesque and often quirky streets. Numerous artists dotted about the place with their drawings and paintings displayed. After spending a while wandering she stopped off in a sweet looking little cafe. connecting to Wi-Fi she logged onto WhatsApp and began messaging.

“I’m in Paris!” She gushed to her friend and fellow theatre performer, Rachel. “In Montmartre of all places in a gorgeous little Parisian cafe. Wish you were here!”

Elia smiled to herself as she tucked into the cake she’d purchased. Rachel replied before she’d even finished.

“U jammy beggar!” She wrote Elia couldn’t help but giggle as she read it. She could hear Rachel’s Huddersfield tone in the message and a few moments later another message from her came through.

“Paris is still on our itinerary, and I’ll expect you to be our tour guide!” Her friend insisted.

Elia let out another giggle. the two of them had a plan to travel around Europe together, seeing as much as they could as inexpensively as possible. Paris had always been on their stop off list, for Elia especially. Rachel, of course, was also keen but was more enamoured with Bavaria, Germany.