First Day in Paris

Greetings from Paris, France!

            I am happy to finally be off the plane and to have experienced the city for the first time. So far everything has been great. Security was nice to me at the airports, even allowing me to check my overweight bag without paying extra costs! I enjoyed meeting 5 other girls who will be in my classes in London, so my first flight and layover went by quickly. For my 9 and a half hour flight, I took Tylenol pm and crashed before they even served dinner! I slept for 7 and ½ hours, so the flight felt like only an hour. Probably the fastest anyone has ever made it to Paris from the States.

            I checked in at the hotel at 1pm then went out to look at the local area with the 5 girls I met on the plane. It was very difficult to order food in French! I kept feeling so stupid. When the cashier asked me if I wanted that particular Panini, I said “Si!” instead of “Oui.” Fortunately he laughed as if it was a joke. After lunch, we walked through a small shopping mall that was located by the hotel. So far I have met very pleasant French people. It is a big city mentality and everyone seems to be in a rush, but when asked a polite question most people are willing to help.

            Part of the difficulty with using the simple French is people ask too many questions. I almost wish I could just say I want this and I pay then they hand it over. But it seems like they want to ask us things that really aren’t necessary. Then again, I have no clue what they say so it could be important. One guy entered the elevator with my group and asked if we were going up or down. None of us knew those words but then he pointed and I pointed down. That is my limited ability of communication.

            At night we took a boat down the river Seine. I didn’t know what to expect other than cold, but it was very beautiful. I understand why they call Paris “The City of Lights.” It is truly wonderful to see such grand buildings lit up and watch the lights reflect over the water. Afterwards, we were going to go to the college side of town and eat cheap food. The place they headed was a long walk and led us past the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was hard to walk past it; I just wanted to admire it forever. The place we were headed was closed so we went to a fancier French style restaurant and ate a 2-course meal. Our supposedly cheap dinner ended up costing us 14 Euros which is around 21 dollars. It was worth it though. The experience was wonderful. I tried escargot for the first time. It was delicious. I only had one snail off of my friend’s plate and loved it. It was not rubbery and the sauce gave it a fabulous flavor. Somehow, French food seems to have richness in its sauces unlike any other food I have ever tasted.

            I am looking forward to tomorrow. I will visit the Eiffel Tower along with other popular monuments. I get to also see where the guillotine was placed during the French Revolution! Bon nuit mon amies (goodnight my friends).