En route to Paris

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Bonjour!

I made it to Paris, France safe and sound at 8am Monday morning. It is now Thursday. I thought that I would have updated my blog sooner, but thanks to jet lag, a lack of internet cafes and having fun, here is entry number one.

Monday, May 16th
I flew from Toronto to Paris on Air France, and it the flight was excellent. Even the flight meal wasn’t bad. It was still airplane food, and therefore not great, but it did have definite French elements to it: a baguette, cheese and a small bottle of complementary wine. Each seat had its own tv with a variety of movies to choose from. Unfortunately the only two English movies that were playing were Season of the Witch (starring Nicholas Cage) and No Strings Attached (or Sex Friends, as the French like to call it). I opted to nap instead.

Charles de Gaul airport is huge. Much bigger and more confusing than the last time I was in Paris, which makes me think I flew into one of the smaller airports like Orly. Luckily everything is well marked; to I didn’t feel too intimidated.

Paris transportation is vast and comprehensive, so I was able to take a fairly straightforward transit ride directly from the airport to my hostel. Take note, Toronto. However one thing could be improved about the metro – escalators. Lugging my heavy suitcase up and down stairs was exhausting. No wonder the French are thin.

I’m staying in the Opera area of the city. It’s in walking distance of downtown Paris (about 30 or 40 minutes) and just south of Montmatre.

Being jet lagged, I didn’t do too much on day one. I walked around Montmatre and got an excellent view of the city from the steps of the Sacre Coeur. I also visited the Café de Deux Moulins – from the movie Amile. In the evening I went out with my roommate from Italy, whose name I have already forgotten. We had a drink in the Latin Quarter with a Parisian friend of hers. I was impressed with my French that I was actually able to understand most of the conversation and contribute some.

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