We had our first week of class last week, where we've learned about international business from our A&M professor leading the trip, and the inner workings of the European Union from a professor at the college we're staying at- Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB). It really has been interesting and definitely broadens my perspective when I hear "we" being referred to as the EU instead of the United States. We had our first test today... why does school have to get in the way of everything?! (Just kidding...)
Our entire group of A&M students decided to travel to Paris the first weekend... our flight leaving at 6 AM on Thursday morning. It seemed like a great idea at the time when we were booking the flight, so we would have 3 full days in Paris. Only after did we learn that the metro system doesn't run that early in the morning to take us into town. After researching multiple bus routes and other connecting forms of transportation that were the cheapest, we realized that we needed to catch the 2:03 am bus outside our hotel. Note to self: Book flights AFTER transportation to the airport has been accounted for! Never again will I set an alarm for 1:30 am.
But what DID make everything worth it was getting the watch the breathtakingly beautiful sky as the sun rose outside the airplane window on the flight. (Sunrises are my FAVORITE.) I had honestly been a little stressed/overwhelmed the past few days with adapting to a new environment, planning a trip to another country (side note: I feel like I've been forced to grow up so much in the past week learning to become a competent traveler!) and the plane ride was a beautiful reminder that the God of Katy, Texas is the same God of Barcelona, Spain and his faithfulness is steadfast and constant. I spent the hour energized and overwhelmed by our huge God in adoration that I couldn't even sleep! One of the sweetest quiet times I've had. I love how He romances us.
Still so much to cover so I'm gonna speed this along. Subway system is pretty crazy in Paris, so it took awhile to get to our stop that dropped us off as close to our hotel in Gennevilliers (outside Paris on the NW side). We tried to navigate to our hotel from the screenshot we had taken off of googlemaps (none of us use our iphone's 3G network in Europe bc its super expensive! Life is going to feel so convenient when we get back to the states!) which was supposed to be a 10 minute walk. After walking around sketchy industrial area for over an hour, we asked sweet mechanics in a parking lot where Companile hotel was and they kindly pointed us in the opposite direction from googlemaps directions. We got to the hotel exhausted around 10:30 am, having been up since 1 pm, only for
Later that day we took the metro into Paris and I had my first crepe at a restaurant facing the Eiffel Tower, and we watched people walk by and played "Guess the occupation." That was quite entertaining. At night we went on the Fat Tire Bike Tour of Paris (if you're in Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, and London, DO THIS!) and I was surprised to see some aggie friends working there for a summer internship! The tour was a blast, and hit amazing spots like the Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Acadamy Francaise, yummy icecream, and a boat cruise that passed the Eiffle Tour at night (fun fact: it sparkles at night on the hour!) And the CRAZIEST thing happened- the girl collecting our money for the tour was my pine cove counselor from 11th grade and she knew my name. Her name was O Deer O Deer and I flipped out.
Spent the next day at the Louvre Museum (Mona Lisa, Napoleon’s apartments, Winged Victory, etc.) and later walked along Champs-Elysees and took pictures by the Arc de Triomph.
At night we went to the Sacre Coeur, a beautiful cathedral that’s the tallest point in the city with an incredible view. We enjoyed an incredible dinner where I got to experience my first Ratatouille and topped it off with some Crème Brulee to end my last night in Paris with a bang.
Things I’ve learned:
- Don’t ever book a flight for 6 am. Ever. There has to be another way.
- Immerse yourself in other’s cultures but not the French’s when it comes to hygiene.
- Football:America :: Soccer:Spain :: Rugby:France
- Tour guides with tall sticks with weird objects on the top to keep their group together are annoying and pushy and not very nice.
- CELL PHONES CAN MESS UP SUBWAY PASSES AND HOTEL KEYS... We may or may not have been locked out of our hotel room at midnight on a rainy night. (Luckily we eventually found a phone number in an old email to call for problems after hours!) And I may or may not have jumped across subway entrance things behind people due to the inactivated card. #rebel
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