Hello from PARIS! We are going to be here for the next four days. Today, we did some really cool and fun things that I can not wait to tell you about tomorrow! But today, you are going to find out how we got here, and what we did once we got here. It is so unreal here and I love the vibe I get! It honestly reminds me of New York in some ways, which I love. Anyways, keep reading below!
Monday, July 29th, 2019
We started today by waking up at around 7:30am to get ready for the day by packing our bags. We then went over to the villa to get our last free breakfast in Italy. The breakfast was again the same as the days before except instead of egg-puffed waffles, we had mini pancakes. The pancakes were nice and fluffy and kind of tasted like a non-glazed doughnut, in a way.
After breakfast, we went back to our villa and grabbed our stuff and headed down to the bus area where we met our driver who woulld take us to the airport. The drive from our villa to the Naples International Airport was about an hour long so I found myself falling asleep along the way.
At the airport, we waited in a long line to check our suitcases before walking to our gate. Along the way, we stopped at the World Duty Free Store to look around and found a giant pack of Chupa-Chups (italian lollipops). At our gate, we only had to wait a total of 15 minutes before the boarding process began. This airport is one of the ones where you have to go outside and climb the stairs into the plane. We walked down stairs to get to the ground level and up the plane steps to get into the plane.
It was about an 2 hr 20 min flight from Naples, Italy to the Paris- Charles De Gaulle airport. AirFrance (the first international, non-United, Southwest, etc, airline we have taken) served us sandwiches with tuna as our mid-flight lunch/snack. On the plane, I napped again and played the few games I have on my phone.
Upon arrival at the airport, we walked to the baggage claim to retrieve our suitcases and then to the tourism information booth to ask about museum passes and the metro pass. Then we went down to the train station and took a cycle of trains into Paris and our hotel.
We then walked about a block to our hotel, checked in (two separate rooms, one for me and Alex, and one for my parents), and hung out in there for a little bit before meeting up with my Uncle James and my cousin, Joshua. Due to all of our busy schedules at home and the fact that I am away at college for 8 months at a time, we rarely get to see them and we live in the same city! They were in Paris to see the end of the Tour de France and our trips just happened to be overlapping.
We met up on the Place de Concorde by the Luxor Obelisk and took Ubers to a restaurant for dinner. We ate at Le Relais de Entrecote which is unique in that it only serves one dish, meat with french fries and sauce and there is not a menu except for dessert and drinks. The food was absolutely amazing and probably the best meal I have had so far this trip! For dessert, I enjoyed a raspberry sorbet ice cream, which was very raspberry and absolutely delicious as well.
After our dinner we all took a night walk along the river and saw Paris by night. We walked across the river and in the direction of the Louvre, which we are going to try to visit later, and saw it in all its glory. The actual Museum building is very large and would probably take you a week to go through! (I am totally kidding, but seriously!) We also saw the Eiffel Tower lit up with the lights flashing, which happens every 30 minutes.
At the Louvre, we then each parted ways, my cousin and uncle on electric scooters you can rent, and us on foot to the metro station where we took a train to the nearest station by our hotel. We walked back towards our hotel, I went inside and up to our rooms, while my parents and brother walked down to the closest grocery store to see if it was open.
I then got ready for the night with a shower, writing this blog, and then turning in early (1 am compared to like 2 am) because I would not have internet due to maintenance happening at 1:30 am. Bonne nuit! (Good night in French! New country, new language!)
Thank you all so much for reading this blog. Stay tuned to tomorrow’s to hear about our (basic) tourist adventures and what I call my “Colosseum” moment! I am so excited to be here! It has been a bucket list place of mine for a little while now!
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