Frankfurt, Paris and Thoughts on Solo Travel
“Excuse me, do you speak English?” I asked him at the train stop.
“Oui, a little,” he said.
Grateful for a little communication, I slowed down and asked him to help me understand how the tickets worked at the train stop. Thousands of people were rushing past me with buds in their ears and I was getting hangry.
Ten minutes later I was sitting on a train, en route to the Bastille Opera house to meet a stranger who said she’s take me around her city to explore the neighborhoods where furniture used to be made.
I stood on the stairs watching people go by wondering, “Is it her? Maybe her? No. Her?”
Finally a small, adorable, older lady walked up to me in a rainbow coat and asked, “Maddy Moon?”
We walked around the neighborhoods and saw tons of old buildings where people were making wallpaper, wigs and mattresses. We walked through fruit markets, talked about her grandson, discussed the French Revolution and shared about our lives thus far.
One of my biggest desires in the work I do is to teach women to trust, surrender and live life to the fullest. When I think about the fact that I met a stranger in Paris for a few hours, walked around without any cellular data at least an hour away from my hotel, and enjoyed every minute of it, my heart hurts for those who won’t have that kind of experience because their fear is too great.
In my experience, people won’t do this kind of thing not out of fear of other people doing something bad, but more or less the anxiety of the known. Just anxiety. Nothing will actually happen to them, but the anxiety of being alone, of not understanding the language, and of not knowing your surroundings can be too tough to bear.
Y’all. You must learn to trust. You must learn to go with the flow, and trust everything will work out. It always does.
So far on my journey, whenever I’ve been confused about where I am or what’s happening, I ask around until I find somebody who’s happy to explain. When I’m confused about the massively complicated train system, I ask until someone can help explain it to me, or even better, help get me on the right train.
But here’s the thing, nobody is going to force you to get out of your comfort zone. Nobody is going to put a gun to your head and tell you that you have to go to Paris or Taiwan or Morocco. Nobody is going to make you explore even the state next door. But if I was to recommend one thing to get you on the fast track to growth, I would tell you to travel. I’ve worked with so many women who wouldn’t even dream of traveling by themselves, but I invite you to ask yourself, why? Why wouldn’t you? Do you really not believe that you’re capable of steering yourself to the right place, to find food, to rest when you need it, and to enjoy the sights you see?
If you want liberation in your body, mind and soul, there are so many beautiful things you can do now, wherever you are, but I invite you to create two movements of liberation within yourself: one for the immediate present and one for the future.
Right now, you can: hire a coach, journal, meditate, and do the deep inner work. In the future, you can: travel, go on a retreat, or have some other life-changing experience on the horizon for you.
During my first retreat, I had a woman attend who said she really wanted to move from New Jersey to California. Months later, she attended my second retreat with the same goal, with plans to visit but still no plans to move. After the second retreat finished, she finally made the commitment and it was such an amazing transformation to watch happen within her heart.
“My California trip is in March, and when I come home I am packing for a week and MOVING TO SAN DIEGO APRIL 2ND!! I decided it was time, and your retreat made this possible for me. I want to thank you SO much for that. It opened up my mind and I finally felt ready to take control of my life, and try something huge and move somewhere where I always wanted to live.”
If you’re ready to take a leap, and get out of your comfort zone take the first step by coming to my retreat in May, the Confidence Revival! Not only will you completely transform your confidence, you will find yourself taking leaps in areas you’ve been waiting to put into action. Stop waiting. Revive your confidence, boost your self-worth and finally say YES to what you want in life.
Come retreat with me HERE.
If you’re interested in reading more about my recent travels, here’s some insight:
For my European trip, I’m visiting four countries and six cities. So far, I’ve been to Frankfurt, Germany and Paris, France. Both of them have been incredible cities, and I’ve enjoyed them immensely.
Frankfurt
In Frankfurt, I walked around Bornheim, a charming historic area where you can see what the city looked like before War World II, crossed the Eiserner Steg, drank coffee in Sachsenhausen, visited the gorgeous Frankfurt Cathedral as well as St. Paul’s Church, dove into Berger Street for some pub action, went to the Palmgarden, saw the Frankfurt University campus and visited the Staedel Museum for some beautiful history. The second day was spent with Anne, an awesome // super sweet listener of the podcast who took me on an ultimate tour.
Frankfurt
In Frankfurt, I walked around Bornheim, a charming historic area where you can see what the city looked like before War World II, crossed the Eiserner Steg, drank coffee in Sachsenhausen, visited the gorgeous Frankfurt Cathedral as well as St. Paul’s Church, dove into Berger Street for some pub action, went to the Palmgarden, saw the Frankfurt University campus and visited the Staedel Museum for some beautiful history. The second day was spent with Anne, an awesome // super sweet listener of the podcast who took me on an ultimate tour.
Anne and I at the Palmgarden
Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen
Outside of the Frankfurt Hostel (perfect location by the way, if you're interested in going)
Frankfurt University Campus
Bornheim
Sausage, sauerkraut, schnitzel and green sauce with apple wine. Noms!
Frankfurt Cathedral // Dom
Inside the Frankfurt Cathedral
Paris
I’ve been in Paris for 4 days now and I’ve probably logged 25 miles of walking, as there is so much to see. I haven’t done too many of the touristy attractions, but of course I saw the Eiffel Tower, as well as ventured around with Anna (the women who agreed to take me to see the city via Paris Greeters), had a few macaroons, saw the Moulin Rouge and visited the Sacre Coeur.On the last full day, I saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, went to Shakespeare and Company (where Hemmingway would write) and met up with a podcast listener, Marcela, who took me to Paradis de Fruit. It was bon appetite! So yummy.
View from the top of Sacre Coeur
Moulin Rouge
Meeting with Marcela at Paradis de Fruit
Full disclosure: if you've been reading this, and now you're all like, "Oh my gosh, Maddy has the coolest life ever," then WAITTTT, stop right there. I want to be real with you always, so now that I've shared the highlight reels, I'll also let you in on the bloopers.
There was one point yesterday in Paris where I went from full throttle joy to, like, toddler-level "done" with everything. I was at the train station totally lost and my eyes filled with tears due to an oncoming tantrum I wanted to throw, but even in the midst of it all, I knew everything was fine. I was just really, really tired and my feet were killing me. Two train rides later, I was back to my room. All good!
Also, I've got to admit that Paris isn't quite what I imagined. It's super busy (and it's not even the tourist season), it smells kinda weird, there's lots of graffiti, it's insanely pricey ($20 for a simple salad) and it's semi-clean but not as much as I thought it would be.
My favourite part here is definitely the architecture, as every single building has so much beauty. The stereotype about French people eating tons of bread, cheese, wine and deli cuts is totally true. In fact, that's almost all that I can find widely available! Good thing it's delicious.
I really fell in love with Frankfurt, so I'm excited to loop back around towards the end of my trip to see Berlin and Cologne. But next, London! The city I've waited to visit since I could speak.
Have you been to Frankfurt or Paris? What did you love the most? Comment below!
{RETREAT}
Do you want to look at your past with absolute LOVE and gratitude instead of guilt and shame?Do you crave to wake up every morning knowing you’re not going to obsess over having the perfect body?Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be “that girl” who has confidence RADIATING out of her everywhere she goes?
The Confidence Revival is an intimate, all-inclusive gathering for a handful of women at a world-renown venue. Apply to come HERE.