Wanderlust, the strong desire to travel and explore the world. We have all contemplated packing our bags and buying a one-way ticket to our dream destination, but then reality hits and you realize you can't really afford it right now. Well, I am about to brighten your day by letting you know you can afford it. Traveling for cheap in this day and age is as easy as becoming a "model" (s/o to all my Instagram models out there, keep doing you booboo you promote those waist trainers). All jokes aside the way my bank account is set up, money is a scarce resource, but I needed to feed my travel urge. I wasn't about to let money stop me from making the most out of my time here in Europe. Luckily, Google was there to help me plan my trip and I was able to put together a travel plan to France that was both affordable and safe. My alarm rang at exactly 5:00 am on Friday morning and I got up immediately (note: this does not happen often I usually hit the snooze button 4 times before actually getting up); I mean who wouldn't wake up excited knowing that in a few hours they would be traveling through France. My first stop was Toulouse. For those who may be unfamiliar with the French city of Toulouse, it's located on the bank of the Garonne River in the south-west of France. Apparently it's the fourth largest city in France, I must confess, trying to pack for this trip was the hardest thing I had to do.
How does one decide what #ootd to slay in when you simply have "nothing" to wear (Kim Kardashian, I feel you girl). I managed to shove half of my closet in a travel size bag but of course as soon as I got to the Estacion de Norte in Barcelona to catch my bus, I realized I had forgotten to pack my new suede Zara heels which I got for only 20€. Guys, I'm tall don't worry I don't need heels, 5"2 is tall right?Anyway, continuing on with my journey, I had the luxury to sit next to a gentleman who smelled like 500 packs of cigarettes mixed with 10-day old underwear. Being the discrete person I am not, I legit looked at him like that little girl in the purple shirt sitting on the car seat meme. But, then again I did pay 6€ for my Megabus trip from Barcelona to Toulouse so I couldn't really complain.After a 5-hour bus ride through breathtaking scenery of mountains, I arrived at Matabiau Gare Routiere bus terminal. I was overwhelmed with excitement and could not wait to explore the city. During my day and a half stay I managed to stick to my budget of 25€ including food and a small purchase from KIKO by Milano. When traveling on a budget finding cheap eats and cheap accommodations is a major key. The path to a successful travel experience is being open-minded and resourceful. Three weeks prior to my trip I had met a group of students from Toulouse in Barcelona who offered to exchange homes for a few days. Hence, why my trip was so cheap I was able to connect with locals and save about 80€ on accommodations alone. My train to Paris was departing Toulouse at 4:00 pm and off course I made it 5 minutes prior to my departure; arriving early would be completely out of character for me. The 6 hours train ride was by far the most comfortable traveling experience I've had in Europe. The seats were big enough to sleep and get school work done, they even had an onboard French coffee shop which had the best marshmallow hot chocolate I have ever tasted in my entire life and it only cost 2.50€.
I arrived in Paris at exactly 10:00 pm. The friends I had met from Toulouse had family who lived in central Paris and offered to let me crash at their place. Paris is not cheap, especially accommodations. If you are a student or a backpacker couch surfing or youth hostels is your most affordable option. I spent about 10€ on trains in total during my two-day stay in Paris I visited Champs-Elysees, La Tour Eiffel, Place Charles de Gaulle, and Musee Du Louvre among many other places. It only took two days to fall in love with the beautiful city of Paris, my trip was short and sweet but best of all it was cheap!
Travel Plan Details
Barcelona- Toulouse Megabus 6€.
On road lunch 4€.
Food and Leisure in Toulouse 25€
Toulouse- Paris iDTGV train 32€
Accommodations in Paris
Accommodations in Paris
Food and Leisure 30€
Transportation from Paris to Orly Aiport 7€
Paris- Barcelona Flight Vueling Airlines 40€
I use fareandcompare.com to book all my flights To fly within Europe Vueling, Iberia and Ryanair airlines are the cheapest
Total Cost for a 4 day 3 night Trip through France:
154€
I apologize for the lack of pictures, my cell phone cracked and of course I forgot to backup my pictures. Thank you so much for readings!
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