Day 5: We Arrive in Paris

     After spending our last night in London out late, waking up the next morning was anything but easy. Between waking up early to pack and rushing to King's Cross Station, we had our fair share of difficulties. Once we arrived though and passed security things began to settle down. Our train departed London at 10:25 AM and we were on our way to Paris. Almost all of us fell asleep, myself included, as we rolled through the English countryside. After coming through the tunnel however, members of our group began to awake and catch our their glimpse of France. We saw farms and villages throughout the open fields that we passed. It was interesting to contrast the different types of suburban architecture between France, England and America. Mike C was even lucky enough to snap a photo of a cow which is one of the items on our scavenger hunt list.

     The train ride was a short two and a half hour trip and all of us were excited to see our new destination as we pulled into Paris Nord Station. Hannah's sister was there to greet us and watch as we struggled to lug our bags up and down what seemed to be endless sets of stairs. We then took our very cramped metro ride to to hotel where the group settled into their respective rooms and then set off to explore the city. Up until this point we had done almost every activity as group, but this was the first time that we all branched out and did different things. Some napped, some got lost trying to find a nice place to eat, and some found themselves working out in their room because day passes to french gyms are way too expensive (spoiler alert: the latter was me).

     We were told that dinner usually took place much later than what we were used to back home so by the time it finally came around we we were starving. Four of us went to what the French consider to be an "American diner" which was simply diner booths, a juke box, New York City themed wallpaper, and classic rock music playing in the background. The menu consisted of burgers and hotdogs, which we all shared a good laugh over as we talked about how those must be the only two foods Parisians think we eat at home. The irony was that we were enjoying the food which only supported the stereotype. By the time we finished our meal it was around 10 PM so we said good night to one another and headed back to our rooms.

     I had thought that my day had come to an end but then at 10:30 my roommate Mike C had the great idea of going to see the Eiffel Tower at night. So he, Kyle and I hopped on the metro and headed off to see France's most iconic landmark. None of us had ever been to Paris before so seeing the tower was a first for all of us. The only word I can use to describe my experience is amazing. The tower was illuminated from top to bottom and we couldn't believe how massive the structure really is in person. We walked around for about 45 minutes taking photos from every angle we could think of. I'm sure we looked like typical tourists but there's really nothing else we wanted to do but capture what we were seeing. Once we were content with our photo-shoot, the three of us agreed that it was time to head back, but not before a quick stop to enjoy some crêpes.

     My last thought before laying down to sleep was: If the rest of Paris is as amazing as the Eiffel, then this city is going to be a lot of fun!