
Post #12
Paris
Friday, November 16th, 2018 through Sunday, November 18th, 2018
Friday, November 16th, 2018
Michaela and I woke up at 9:15 am and got ready, finished cleaning, took out trash, walked our bags down our 200 stairs, and down the street to a church where taxis are always waiting. We took a taxi to the airport and arrived around 10:45 am. We had to be about of the apartment by 10 but left a little after because we figured nobody would mind. Since 10:45 am we have just been sitting at the airport waiting to check in for our 7pm flight. We could not do much adventuring with all of our luggage so waiting is our best bet. We began to get nervous because flights have been delayed and some have even only let half of the passengers on (to keep the plane balanced) because of apparent high winds (our enemy when we tried to get here). However, we were the second one to check in for our flight and although it did get delayed 40 minutes (due to the plane arriving late) we made it on! We found it interesting that both the Rome and Florence airports have stairs going to the plane and then busses that bring you to the terminal, even though the planes are a normal size. The flight was supposed to be 1 hour and 50 minutes but was actually about 1 hour and 10 minutes. We were on Vueling again, the cheap airline that we *tried* to take to Florence but the seats were surprisingly spacious and the plane was nice. Unfortunately, once again the phone company (different company this time) lied to us and our Italian SIM cards DO NOT work here in Paris. We were also surprised that when we arrived in Paris (Orly Airport) from Florence we didn’t need to go through customs. Our bags came SO fast, my 2 bags were within the first 10 and Michaela’s were both within the first 20. From the baggage claim, we got in line for a taxi (we wanted to Uber but with no data, we couldn’t). We were almost to the front of the taxi line after waiting for a speedy 15 minutes when the man that was directing people started yelling and French and then pointed at us. Everyone in the line moved to the side and we got to cut the rest of the line to go in the big van taxi because of our excessive luggage, lol. The ride to the hotel was about 30 minutes and we arrived at about 11 pm. The hotel was great! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Paris - Canal de la Villette. We had two twin beds and pushed them together to make a king. We were exhausted and decided to order McDonalds Uber Eats delivery from the hotel WiFi, changed, let our parents know we were safe, and hit the hay!





Saturday, November 17th, 2018
It’s our last day of our trip! How the heck did time fly so fast? We woke up at 9 this morning, showered and got ready, went to the continental breakfast in the hotel, and took a taxi to the closest big bus stop. We hopped on the bus and went straight to the Louvre where we saw our girl Mona Lisa (among other things). From there we went to PAUL, and got a salami baguette sandwich and chocolate beignet (YUM- seriously, the beignet was amazing)!! We then got back on the bus until we got to the Arc de Triumph. From here we took some photos, looked around, and went to Ladurée for some macaroons and coffee!!! While we were enjoying our macaroons on the outdoor patio, we began to hear some very loud commotion (honking and yelling). Along the street right beside us was a large protest on a Main Street that leads from the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triumph. The road was closed and there were police with batons and shields all over. Realizing that we couldn’t get to the big bus stop (because streets were closed) to leave the area, nor could we call a taxi or Uber from a nearby street because we didn’t have SIM cards, we decided to just walk to the Eiffel Tower. I actually worked perfectly because we caught it just in time for sunset!
We spent the evening relaxing by the tower, enjoying the twinkle light shows every hour, and heading to a Starbucks to warm up a bit before our 9:00 pm time slot to head to the summit!! When I tell you I almost peed my pants, I ain’t lying! It was SO HIGH in an elevator with windows all around. We finally got out of the elevator to realize we were only on the SECOND FLOOR... only HALFWAY to the top. Yikes. We stepped out and I got some fresh air, but at this time it was 9:00 pm on the dot so the light show was happening. I hated it because it was a bunch of blinking and flashing and it was making me even more nervous- such a different experience from being on the ground and watching the beautiful light show. I was happy when 9:05 pm rolled around and finally the flashing stopped. From there we got in another elevator to go to the summit. When you come out of the elevator you’re indoors with windows all around, then you go upstairs and you’re out in the open air (with fencing all around)!!! I was FREAKING OUT!! I don’t think it would have been as bad if the wind wasn’t INSANE, but I felt like it would have blown me right off! At the top there was a booth to buy champagne, so of course I had to buy a glass in hopes of it taking the edge off a bit. I couldn’t believe that there was a booth selling champagne and even a souvenir shop on the top and second floor... who would’ve thought?! The views were amazingly gorgeous but I was just too nervous and it was just too windy to fully enjoy the sights. I was praising the lord when we touched ground.
After making it to the bottom we took a taxi back to the hotel around 11pm and we once again ordered delivery so we could eat while packing and getting ourselves ready for the trip home tomorrow! After we each took our showers we were beat and ready for our last sleep abroad!
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Saturday, November 18th, 2018
WE GO HOME TODAY! I cannot believe it!!
We woke up at 10 am, went downstairs for breakfast, and then hung out in our hotel room until check out at noon when we called a taxi to head to Charles de Gaulle Airport! The taxi ride was a quick 25 minutes and we got to the airport around 12:30 pm. Our flight is at 6:20 pm and check in starts 3 hours before the flight so we are just hanging around until then- something that we’ve gotten pretty good at through this trip!
We flew Norwegian and for some reason, their checked bags have to be under 44 pounds instead of the standard 50 pounds. Fortunately, one of my bags was overweight and the other was JUST underweight and the man let it go without charging me. Michaela on the other hand.... got away with murder. She was a hefty amount overweight, lol. Thankfully our flight went well and we were even surprised that it was only 6 and a half hours compared to 7 hours and 50 minutes which our tickets said. We were actually delayed on the runway for about 40 minutes but we ended up still arriving early!

Our seats were in the first row of coach so unfortunately we had no seats in front of us to store our carry on luggage and we didn’t even have an overhead bin. Getting settled while people were still boarding the plane right in front of us was a bit stressful but worked out. We were also a little disappointed that we had no tray tables because it made eating our meals and drinks that came with the seats extremely difficult to eat. Either way, the flight went well and we were the first ones off the plane, there was no line at customs, and the bags were pretty fast to come off the carousel!
Mom, dad, and Michaela’s mom were waiting for us right outside with Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffees for us!! It was amazing to see them and we all went to the 99 for dinner. It was so strange saying goodbye to Michaela when we got back to Grafton but was great to catch up with mom, dad, and Austin when we got home.
Being home is SO bittersweet and I’m just extremely relieved that everything worked out so well. This trip was really everything I could have hoped for and I am so happy that I decided to take this adventure. Europe, I cannot wait to come visit you again.