The Arrival

I flew out of Dulles at 5pm yesterday.  Given that it was my first time flying (I don't count a flight to LA when I was three) it was surprisingly easy.  Security was a breeze, finding my gate wasn't any trouble, and boarding went totally fine.  The flying itself was easy too, even with the turbulence.  Of course, turbulence is nothing compared to some of the roller coasters I've ridden.  My only real complaint was the food.  Good god I wouldn't feed that stuff to someone I hated.  I think prisons buy something higher quality than that!  Apart from the food though, the flight was fine.  I didn't get more than an hour or so of sleep so as I write this I can feel myself becoming increasingly tired.

When we arrived it was very cloudy over Paris and descending through the clouds was beautiful.  It was bright and sunny on top then completely white in the middle and below that only a few translucent wispy clouds blocked the view of the patchwork countryside.  It was definitely an interesting landing.


Going through customs and picking up luggage was simple and then my group all boarded a taxi-van that drove us to the place we're living.  And I have to say, if I ever even remotely entertained the idea of driving in Paris, that ride got rid of it.  There are motorcycles weaving through cars, near hits, slamming brakes, stop and go, honking horns, and parking lot highways.  It was terrifying.  I think I'll be sticking to mass transit for this trip.


Once we got into the city proper it was definitely a great experience though.  We drove past dozens of bistros, fromagers, boutiques, and parks.  We crossed the Seine behind Notre Dame and entered the Latin Quarter.  On our way to the Foyer (that's where I'm staying) we passed the Panthéon and Luxembourg Gardens and finally arrived.  


I'm currently unpacked and lying in bed wondering what to do.  It's 12:30pm here so I feel like I should do something, but after all the travel I'm pretty exhausted.  We have a meeting at 6pm tonight then I'm going to be calling it an early night.  No doubt about it.