UC Davis Professor Just Finished Sightseeing Near Bataclan Theater Before Attacks
DAVIS (CBS13) – What was supposed to be a dream trip to Paris turned into a nightmare for a UC Davis professor.
She was at the glistening Eiffel Tower one day – and watched it go dark the next.
"By Saturday, the lights were off the city was shut down," Madhavi Chander said. "It was just this incredibly somber sad feeling."
A mother and daughter were on vacation in the City of Light when a day of attacks left them forever changed.
"It does change my perspective because now I can appreciate, and when something happens in another place in the world I know how those people feel," Madhavi's daughter Anoushka said.
The girls had just finished sightseeing around the Bataclan concert hall before a night out on the town.
"It was the weekend and everybody was out, spilling outside the restaurants and the bars and the coffee shops," Madhavi said.
They were out at a jazz bar listening to music when the news came in.
"The table next to me they started talking about hostages being taken and it was all kind of unfolding as we were sitting there," Madhavi said.
Madhavi snapped a picture of the people next to her watching live feeds on their cell-phones of hostages overtaken at the Bataclan. The girls were just there.
"When terrorism strikes, that's one of the most devastating things you could ever imagine," Madhavi said.
But as she packed up to leave, Madhavi saw Parisians' pride shining again.
"The police are telling everybody, stay home. But by 4, 5 p.m. everybody was out. The coffee shops were full, people were having wine, they were sitting at restaurants. I mean, the Parisians are unstoppable."
