The highlight of my journey was to be Paris,the city I'd always longed to see.But now I was frightened to travel without a companion.I steeled myself and went anyway.I arrived at the train station in Paris panicked.Pulling my red suitcase behind me,I was pushed by sweaty travelers . On my first Metro ride, I encountered a clumsy pickpocket.I melted him with a look,and he eased his hand from my purse to fade into the crowded car. At my stop,I carried my heavy suitcase up the steep stairs and froze in confusion.Somewhere in this confusing city my hotel was hidden,but suddenly I couldn't read my own directions.I stopped two people.Both greeted me with that Parisian face that said:"Yes, I speak English,but you'll have to struggle with your French if you want to talk to me." When I finally found the hotel,my heart was pounding. Then when I saw my room.I couldn't stay.Could I? The wallpaper looked like it had been through a fire.The bathroom was down the hall,and the window looked out onto the brick wall of another building.Welcome to Paris.It was my third week away from home and my kids,and I had arrived in the most romantic city in the world, alone, lonely and very scared. The most important thing I did in Paris happened at that moment.I knew that if I didn't go out,right then,and find a place to have dinner,I would hide in this place my entire time in Paris. I might never learn to enjoy the world as a single individual.So I went out.Evening in Paris was light and warm.I strolled along a winding path,listening to birds sing,watching children float toy sailboats in a huge fountain.Paris was beautiful.And I was here alone but suddenly not lonely.My sense of accomplishment at overcoming my fear had left me feeling free,not abandoned. During my week's stay in Paris.I did everything there was to do,and it was the greatest week of my European vacation.I returned home a believer in the healing power of solitary travel.Traveling alone makes up for its problems by demanding self-reliance and building the kind of confidence that serves the single life well.Certainly Paris became my metaphor for _ life's challenges on my own.Now when I meet an obstacle I just say to myself: If I can go to Paris,I can go anywhere. What did the author learn from her solitary trip in Paris?
Solitary travel can heal people's wounds. Traveling alone brings about many problems. Traveling alone helps people become independent and confident. Solitary travel in Paris makes it not a challenge to go anywhere.