Paris Stole My Heart

Bonjour!
I finally have internet so I can update you on my life. Of all the things I've heard and seen about Paris, nothing compared to actually being there. Lets just say I never want to go home (sorry mom). It was beautiful, magical, full of far too many things to do, and better than I ever imagined. We were actually sad to leave it and go to Tour (though we're not anymore).


So we arrived at Charles de Gualle about 7AM. I was able to sleep for a few hours on the flight over so that helped a little bit. At the airport it was pretty easy to navigate. It took us no time at all to get our passports stamped, baggage claim was quick (though the french man I sat next to on the plane was telling me it can be a nightmare), and customs was nonexistant. Apparently the French don't really care what you bring in. After that we headed to where the taxis were and we were able to get a ride immediately. Pretty much it was the easiest airport visit ever.

Nine of us were on the same flight from Charlotte to Pairs; Cathy, Maria, both Ericas, Daniel, Kelsey, Wendy, Jess, and Morgan. Laura was flying in at the same time, but we didn't see her at the airport. We later found out that her flight came in 30 minutes late. We had two cabs of people and it took about an hour and a half to get to the MIJE. 30 Euros each! Dr. Persels was waiting for us and after we dropped out baggage off, he gave us some general directions around the area. Paris is actually pretty hard to get lost in as long as you know where the Seine is (unless you're Erica D). We were all starving because airplane food is terrible, so we walked over to a cafe and got breakfast. I had a croissant and an espresso. Maria and Daniel got eggs.


So you know how people say that Parisians are rude? We haven't had any problems with them at all. I'm not sure if its because we all speak enough french that they don't think we're incompetent or what, but everyone was very nice to us. Un petit mysterie n'est pas? So in my book, the parisians are quite alright.


After we left the cafe, we decided to take one of the boat tours (Point-Neuf) on the Seine. Erica S. and Jess both took one last time they was in Paris and said it was a good way to see the sights and get an idea of where we were. It was less that a 10 minute walk from our hostel to Notre Dame, and the boat pickup was close to there. I don't know if I've ever seen a more beautiful building. It is truly awe inspiring. So we took our time walking to the boat and by the time we got there (12:05) they were closed until 1:30 for lunch. We sat in a little park for a little while and Erica D. and Maria listened in on a Spanish tour (our tri-lingual girls). We were right next to one of the lock bridges. Love locks are locks that couples can hook  onto one of several bridges in Paris. It is supposed to eternally lock away your love and you throw the key into the Seine. It was cool to look at all the different types of locks and the initials or dates that people had put on them. We were all jealous that none of us could do it. Someday perhaps.


We then decided to go see the Bastille, which turned out to be in the opposite direction that we were going, but we were able to walk around the Place de Justice, l'Hotel de Ville (town hall), and this cool park next to another large church. We stopped at a TOBAC, which is a convient store, for waters and somewhere between there and the Place de Justice, we lost Erica D.! On her first time out of the country she was lost with no phone and little knowldge of where she was. We tried to retrace our steps and find her, but no luck. Since we were all planning on going to the boat we ended up hoping she would meet us there. She didn't. We did end up finding her, but not until we were going to dinner. So it was scary at the time, but now we all laugh at it.


The boat ride was very nice. Some of the main sights we saw were the Louvre, Tuileries Gardens Musee d'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Assemblee Nationale, la Tour Eiffel, Trocadero, Notre Dame, l'Hotel de Ville, and the Bastille. We also got info on most of the bridges that we passed under. I'm not going to put the pictures from this here, but I'll make another post going into detail about what they told us soon. The tour was given in French and English, so it was fun to try to understand what they were saying before they translated it.


By the time we got off of the boat, it was late enough that we could check into the MIJE. Daniel, Laura, and Morgan were all there when we got back also. I was in a room on the second with Morgan and Kelsey. The rest of the girls, other than Cathy, were in a room on the 4th floor. The boys were in a room next to us. The MIJE was a pretty nice hostel in the Marais. There was securite for the door and we had to be buzzed in, so it was pretty safe.


We went out to buy towels, shampoo and cell phones. After everyone had showered, us girls went and grabbed a beer at a cafe around the corner to kill time before dinner and so that our "stomachs [wouldn't] eat our spines" (Jess' way of saying she's hungry). We had dinner at a creperie in the latin quarter, about 15 minutes walk from the hostel. Erica was finally found and Zach's flight had come in from Croatia. So our big happy family was all together for dinner. I had a spinach, goat cheese crepe with some sort of sauce on it and a Leffe, my new favorite beer. Dr. Persels ordered a sweet and a bitter cider for the table to share. This is the drink that it traditionally served with crepes. It kind of tasted like alcoholic sparkling cider. C'est bon. For dessert, Jess and I split a chocolate and banana crepe.

After dinner Maria, Morgan, Laura and I walked around the Latin Quarter and finally found a cafe to have a drink. It was right on the corner of three intersecting streets and was a great place to relax and people watch. Our waiter was super friendly and we had a good time joking with him. We got back to the MIJE about 12 and we all were asleep pretty quick. It was one of the longest days of my life, but it was a great start to the trip.

So that was day 1. Paris was amazing and our days there were jam packed. I wouldn't trade it for the world.


If you want to know more about a certain part of my trip, feel free to ask!

  


A bientot!