Travelling and arriving in Paris
So everyone, as you have probably seen in the news, read in the press and on social media, or even heard on the radio, on Friday the 13th, there were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, that we are still talking about today. Since this is a travel blog, I am not going to talk about them, but I want to tell you more about this beautiful city that has been submerged into darkness for the last few days. I'm going to talk about the last time I stayed in Paris which was honestly one of the best trips of my life, as I wandered the Parisian streets independently. This time was different from other occasions I had been because I wanted to discover the city on my own with just my backpack.
I had been living in France, in Saint Nazaire, enjoying my Erasmus year. I had spent the whole year wanting to discover the capital of the country I was living in and discover other parts of Europe whilst I was there. Cologne (Germany) was the final destination of my trip because I was going to spend a couple of days there visiting a friend, and since I had two weeks holiday, I wasn't going to waste them so I decided to spend some time in Paris too. I was really lucky because I knew someone who lived there who kindly let me stay with them and made me feel really welcome for the three nights I spent there. The plan was simple: go to Paris on my own so I could do everything I wanted to over a couple of days, so I had the freedom to make my own plans.
Because I was a student, the trip had to be 'low cost' as possible. To start, I looked for trains, buses, planes, any type of transport that would get me from Saint Nazaire or Nantes (which is the biggest city closest to where I live), to Paris. Finally, because I was used to doing it in France, I used BlaBlaCar, which is undoubtedly the standard 'low cost' option. The journey from Saint Navaire cost 30 euros, and I was lucky from the moment we set off. The woman driving was so nice, which made the trip a lot more enjoyable. As I knew from using BlaBlaCar, throughout the journey, we passed through many different cities. So throughout the trip, we picked up and dropped off five different passengers, most of them were chatty, but a few of them went out of there way to advise me about different things to do in Paris so that I could really make the most of it.
The city of light
When we arrived in Paris, and after paying the driver, I had to first go to the house where I was going to be staying. So I headed out and went into the first metro station I found. I have to say I was pretty surprised. As a newbie to the system, I paid for a one-way ticket with no idea about the offers they had for multiple journeys, thus ruining my quest to spend as little as possible! I would have solved the problem if I had read before buying, but I didn't want to be late and after travelling all day, I wanted to get to my host house as quickly as possible. I learnt the hard way, and started heading for the outskirts of the city, to Vincennes, where they were waiting for me. Going from west to east through the city, it was probably the longest journey that I would have to do on the metro. It was easy once I got to the stop Château de Vincennes.
Once I got to the house and after thanking thanking my hosts again and again for letting me spend a few days there, I remember that they talked wonders about this city that they obviously loved so much. They looked after me so much, and although I already knew them, I had never had a close relationship with them, but that changed instantly and I'm sure we will be close friends for the rest of our lives. We ate a Quiche Lorraine, a very typically French dish and although I had bought loads from the supermarket next to where I live in Saint Nazaire, I thought this one was the nicest I had ever eaten. They had just moved to an apartment on the outskirts of Paris and although everything was in place, they pulled out a sofa bed for me in the lounge where I could sleep. I also remember they got out some different cheeses for me to try and some other typical French foods that I had never heard of before. She was Spanish and he was French (they were a couple), we talked about everything, jumping from one language to another. We also talked about Real Madrid's victory over Bayern Munich (the three of us support Madrid). They gave me a map of the city and lots of advice and tips to get around the city easily. They told me the things I couldn't miss out on, and the things that weren't really worth visiting either. They were really good to me. They must have trusted me too, the next day they were going away so they gave me the keys to the apartment so I could stay there on my own. So my first night in Paris, after spending a great day with Ana and Sebas, I got into bed and relaxed after a long day of travelling so I could recharge for another day of fun.
A big hug for Ana and Sebas.
Thanks a million again!
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- Español: Viaje y llegada a París
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