Time to visit the fashion capital of the world: PARIS, France. To say that I was excited was an understatement.
Wake up call Friday morning: 3 am.
Bed time Thursday night: 12 am.
Running on three hours of sleep, having to be at the bus station at 4:30 because we 1. were unfamiliar with the bus system and how it would get us to the airport and 2. our flight was leaving Barcelona El Prat at 7 am! Waking up at 3 was not hard at all, I felt like a million EURO! I took a taxi to the bus station because it was still dark out and met my friends to look for the bus. Luckily, we found the correct station and sprinted to the bus to get on.Our flight was through Vueling Air which had scheduled a strike on Friday. Some flights were affected, ours however, was not. THANK GOD.
As we arrived at the airport we had our carry on bags measured (they are very strict with the measurements) and got on the plane. It went very smoothly and I don't even think they checked our passports!
After the hour and a half plane ride we arrived in Paris ready to embark on our adventure. Looking out the window as we were towed to our gate, it was snowing: Beautiful! After getting off the plane we walked around to find a bus that would take us further in to the city and to our hotel. Only problem: we can't speak French to ask anyone how to do that.
Check in time at our hotel was not until 2 p.m. though and by this time it was only 10. After taking the bus in to the city as far as it would go it left us off at Arc De Triomphe. Which, so happens, is where I live in Barcelona, right by the Arc De Triomf. From there we found the closest metro and headed to the area of the hotel to eat and waste time until it was time to check in. We stopped at a fast food restaurant called "Quick" I got a chicken sandwich and french fries and my friends got burgers. I have to say, after not eating fast food for a long time, it was good, just this once. We sat at the table for about two hours before we left to see if we could check in to the hotel early.
From "Quick" we walked up and around and down exploring Montmarte (pronounced Mont-mart) and then finally arrived to our hotel: Hotel Des Arts. By that time it was about 1:30 and we were lucky enough to be able to check in early.
Walking up the spiral staircase we found our room on the third floor, the third room. As we opened the door and looked inside, we all said to ourselves: WHAT have we got ourselves in to. The beds looked like they have been sitting there for 400 years, the mirror had a layer of dust on it. We did have a table with a red table cloth on it and the bathroom was attached to our room, so we were thankful for that. HOWEVER, there was NO WAY I was sleeping underneath those covers of that bed. Who knows what would be crawling around underneath those.
After putting our stuff down, it was time for siesta, we had been up since three, walking around until our legs could fall off: we were exhausted. But first, pastries at the local pastry shop.As we walked out the door the man who checked us in came out and asked for our keys to our room. Slightly confused we asked him why. He pointed at the rules in English and we red them. Apparently it was the policy of the hotel that the guests leave the keys whenever they go out and when they return, pick them back up. Okay, weird. (We went back up, grabbed our valuables to take with us, and hid our luggage). Then gave him the keys.
When our siesta was over we headed in to the city to grab dinner and look at the Eiffle Tower at night. The Metro station was about a block away from us and inside there was an American flag painted on the wall: we were RIGHT where we belong.
Looking at the Eiffle Tower at night was absolutley breathtaking. Pictures do not do the tower justice, it simply is just beautiful. The lights illuminating the wood of the Tower and shining out in to the sky lighting it up like a firework was magical. It was snowing, windy and freezing, but so worth it to be there. When we were done gazing at the Eiffle Tower we wandered around to find a cute cafe to eat at. Just a few blocks from the tower we ate at this cute cafe. I ate the best mozzarella and tomato salad that I've ever eaten for my appetizer and a delicious grilled steak as my entree (first time eating steak since I've been in Europe). At dinner we met a United Flight Crew who was based out of New York, but had a layover in Paris for the night. They sat next to us and we talked with them telling them all about our experiences in Europe thus far and they shared stories about their lives. Talking to them seemed like we were talking to our friends parents, they were so down to earth and had families of their own. The Captain told us we reminded him of his daughters and showed us pictures of them. As we were finishing dinner our waitress came to us and said that the Captain had paid for our dinner. I can't explain how grateful I was to not only have good company to get to know and talk to, but now someone whose paid for our dinner out of the kindness of their heart? Some people in this world really do make it a great place. Americans really do take care of each other.
By the time dinner was over it was about 11 p.m. and we were exhausted. Which brings me to another point that I love about Europe. When Europeans go out to eat dinner, it's a time to talk and spend time with those you came with. It is perfectly normal to stay at the restaurant for 2-3 hours for a meal without the waitress asking you to leave or giving you hints to go. In fact, it's encouraged, and I love it! It's so relaxing to be able to just sit and talk and not have to worry about being rushed off. Just one of the many things that show that it's such a slower paced life over here and I couldn't love it more!
Anyway, after dinner we decided to call it a night and get some rest before our first full day in Paris.
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