Jen in the UK: Paris 1 of 2 READ THIS FIRST!

My first night in Paris was incredible! I got myself to the London St. Pancras terminal to catch the EuroStar to Paris, without any problems. It took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to Paris, and since the sun doesn’t set here until after 9pm, it was still light the whole journey. In fact, it was barely dusk when I arrived in Paris.

(This was the view from outside the window of the French country-side)

When I got off the EuroStar, I began to panic! Luckily I had 30 pounds still in my pocket, so I traded them for Euros, and headed to the Metro. I looked ahead on my journey, so I knew I needed to take the Bastille ligne 1, 5, or 8. I saw a sign for the Bastille ligne 5, so I just kept following those same signs. Everywhere I looked, everything was in FRENCH! I was really beginning to panic, wondering what in the world I was doing, going to a country where I didn’t know the language AND was traveling ALONE! I finally found the Metro line I was supposed to take, and followed the route map to make certain I was headed the right direction! I was so relieved the closer we got to the Bastille exit. When I finally emerged from the underground station, I slowly walked up the steps, turning all around, and thinking to myself, “Well, this is Paris!” I walked around looking for a street sign that said Rue St. Antoine, I finally found one that said faubourg rue St. Antoine, so I followed it. I got to the address where I was supposed to be staying, but there was a nightclub there, not a hotel! In my best French, the French that I taught myself on the train ride just an hour or two earlier, I said, “Bon soir, parlez-vous anglais?” The gentleman I was speaking to replied, “No.” YIKES! He was standing in the building where my hotel should have been and I didn’t know how to ask him where I was!!! I showed him the paper with the address of the hotel, and he made a very dramatic point in the opposite direction. I gathered I had walked in the opposite direction, making my error similar to that in Phoenix of being on an avenue instead of a street. Ughhh! Not a fun mistake hauling a bunch of luggage at 9:30p. I briskly walked all the way back where I started, kept going around the circle where I popped up from, and finally found the correct Rue St. Antoine. Meanwhile, my friends that I was supposed to call when I arrived were horribly worried, and I was getting so frustrated, because I couldn’t figure out how to dial out in a new country with my U.K. phone. I finally arrived at the correct location around 10pm. I was soooo relieved! I checked in with my friends, and went to the hotel to unpack and CRASH!

I had an excellent night sleep, and the following morning, my good friend set me up with a brief tour of the neighborhood and helped me acquire transit passes for the duration of my stay. He said “Au Revoir,” to me at the Batobus station, and watched me sail down the Seine headed to the next stop.

(My first view of the Eiffel Tower from the Batobus.)

The Batobus stops at most of the tourist attractions, but since this was my first time, I decided to take it all the way around first. I started on the river at the Jardin des plantes stop, so that’s where I started my walking tour as well. I walked several blocks and decided to take a bus. I was on a mission to catch the 73 bus, since Samantha Brown from the travel channel, as well as some guide books, highly recommended that line for sight-seeing. A few blocks later I made a transfer to another bus that should have led me to the 73, but several blocks into the journey, I realized I was taking it in the opposite direction. I decided to stay on and take it all the way around, but at the end of the line, the driver made us all get off. So, I found another line, and eventually found myself at the 73. Once again though, I was taking it in the wrong direction!!! Usually I have a really good sense of direction, but can’t quite seem to get it here yet. The 73 ended up taking me all the way to the Northwest of Paris, and then back again through the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees and Place de la Concorde. I exited the bus at Musee d’Orsay, which was also on the Batobus route. The museum was closed already, but I took some pictures and headed to Notre Dame on the Batobus. Notre Dame was beautiful from the outside. There’s a tour in English tomorrow that I’m going to try to catch so that I can see the inside, otherwise, I had considered going to church there on Sunday, so I can see what it’s like in action.