As soon as I stepped out of the plane, something was enormously different in the air compared to home. Everyone was speaking French and I had entered a world with the metric system and organization. Everything made sense. It was efficient and had a flow to it. We hired a taxi driver who took us to our hotel. I found the road signs intriguing as they went over 3 digits for the speed limits. Throughout the drive, I could hear the taxi driver mutter some French curses as people on the road made poor decisions. At the onset of the city, there was a nervous feeling within me about encountering the unknown. And as soon as we got to the city center, I felt like I was not worthy of this marvel and all of its moving parts before me. And I wanted to measure up to the city’s splendor–I knew I had to up my sophistication as well as my wardrobe game. Once we made it to our hotel, we put most of the baggage in the room and then prepared to explore this resplendent city.

First Day In Paris (Jour Un)

So when you change time zones and arrive in the morning hours, you have to make yourself stay up until past dinner so you can adjust to the local time faster. Some of us would’ve already pulled an all-nighter by this time, as it was technically the same day due to the time zone change, but after seeing the beauty of the city, it was like we’d been reborn anew and I discovered I wasn’t tired at all.

Jardins Du Luxembourg

The first of many exquisite parks we’d visit in Europe, Jardins Du Luxembourg was breathtaking. I found myself looking around seeing a bunch of French people enjoying their day and thinking to myself “so this is how free time is spent here–not bad.” Wait why were there so many adults relaxing by the water features seemingly enjoying the view? Did they actually escape their work cubicles to get some fresh air? And there was definitely a fashion sense unlike no other I have ever seen. It was inspiring in a way.

First Meal in France

We were hungry. After what seemed like a three-mile walk through the streets of Paris, we finally found a local bistro with classic French fare that would be good for a first meal experience. I ordered my first meal in French! It was thrilling! It was fun to speak in a foreign language in the country of origin. I had never done that with French before–only Spanish in Mexico. I ordered carbonara pasta and frites. Carbo load with a bit of ham! It was delicious. It may have been a betrayal of my vegetarian values–but I’d do it again.

First Night at the Hotel

After our time out, we got hit by the jetlag and by the fact we did indeed stay up for 18 hours, so we had to call it early. This hotel in particular had a very small elevator that all of us cramped in to fit. We also had four twin beds, I opted for the window, Ronan went for the one right next to me, and my dad slept one bed apart. His snoring volume was reduced a bit by that three-foot space increase, all while I’m staying up a bit using my phone, here’s another subtopic:

Wifi in Europe

Before the trip, we weren’t planning on getting an overseas internet plan, simply because I could talk through discord with some of my friends quickly by text, but then we realized it was more prudent to have it anyway. There were a few quirks to the European wifi, especially in places like Nîmes, Firenze, and Bracieux which I will touch upon later. While we were out and about, most of the time unless we were in a cafe, I didn’t have any data, my dad being the only one who had it.