September 22, 2018: Paris Day 1
I landed at Paris Charles de Gauelle airport at 8:30 in the morning. Navigating through the gigantic airport and walking alongside my fellow travelers, I was reminded of the luxury I have of being an english speaker. Getting around the airport in Paris wasn’t that difficult since most everything was translated to my native tongue and almost everyone spoke at least a little English. I can’t imagine how scary it might be to travel to a foreign country where you don’t even share the same alphabet. What a privilege it is to be able to freely travel without many worries. What a privilege it is to be American.
I met up with my mom, we bought SIM cards and exchanged our precious greenbacks for a more colorful currency, and began our trip to the beautiful city of Paris.
We jumped on the Paris metro and got to see the beautiful French countryside from the comfort of our train car. It had been awhile since I’ve relied solely on public transportation to get around on a vacation and I was nervous at the thought of getting lost in a foreign city. I wasn’t in the United States anymore, and I couldn’t expect even the simplest things like public transportation to be easy. I had to check my entitlement at the door, learn to rely on the kindness of the locals, and laugh at myself for the stupid mistakes I was going to make as a “typical tourist”.
After checking into the hotel, my mom and I went on a stroll along the canal to go see the gigantic metal sphere at the science and industry museum. Lining the canal were wide walkways littered with moms and their kids, businessmen, bikers, students, and lovers. Cafes were buzzing with energy from the caffeine in the espressos and the alcohol in the wine.
After a quick visit to the metal sculpture outside of the museum, we got back to the hotel just as it began to rain. We agreed to take a quick nap while we waited for the rain to let up, which happened to be perfect since both of us were feeling a little jet lagged.
Once the rain stopped and we were refreshed from our naps, we made our way via train to the Galeria Lafayette - a shopping center that houses a beautiful stained glass dome ceiling and a distant view of the Eiffel Tower.
Wandering the streets around the mall, we stumbled upon cute Parisian streets with cafes. We stopped into one of these sweet little restaurants and enjoyed a delicious gnocchi and risotto dinner.
The night was coming to an end so we took the scenic route down the narrow neighborhood streets of Paris back to the train station and back to the familiarity of our hotel.
We made a quick game plan for the next day, I taught my mom how to use Snapchat, and before long, we were fast asleep with anticipation of tomorrow’s adventure to the famous Palace of Versailles just outside of the city of Paris.
