Blake Family in Paris

After having seen Jean in Vienna, I left very early on a Saturday morning in order to take two planes to get to Paris in time to meet my family. It was truly an interesting travelling experience, because I truly had no idea where I was going or what I was doing once I got to Paris. I knew I had to take the Paris city trains in order to get to Courbevoie where we were staying, but I had really only had one experience with Paris trains before, and I was not the one leading myself. Alas, I found myself on the RER trying to figure out what direction I wanted to go in. All ended up going well, except for a quick journey in the wrong direction, which I somehow realized. It could have ended quite badly had I not realized what direction I was going in. Things truly started going downhill when I finally made it to Courbevoie, which is an epic city-center outside of Paris. There are skyscrapers and signs and tourists, and I was so confused once I made it to the earth’s surface after having been underground in the metro. I had my cell phone, so I called the hotel, which was not helpful at all in telling me to walk towards the direction of the Arc de Triomphe. How was I supposed to see it from where I was standing? Of course, after the fact, it became very easy to see the Arc de Triomphe, but again that was after having walked around for an hour and a half trying to find a hotel. Finally, I was saved, after having asked a bunch of people on the city streets, because I ran straight into an information desk. The women there gave me some good directions, but I was still unable to find the hotel because it was in and around some corner. I finally gave up and went to ask a taxi driver to drive me. I got in his cab only to be kicked out because he said the hotel was right around the corner. Turns out, all of my being lost was typical for the day. As I was walking into the hotel, I ran into Mom and Scott who were coming back from a pseudo food search. They led me up to their room, which were some of the nicest accommodations I have had in France, and I was finally reunited with my family! After months of skyping with Mom and Dad, it was fantastic to actually see them. I have not been able to speak with Scott much, since he does not have internet at home, so it was amazing to catch up with him as well. After taking a bit of a nap in our hotel room, the family and I ventured off to find somewhere to eat. I thought it would be a good idea to take them down near the Eiffel Tower so they could see it twinkling at night. I was the navigator of the metro, which made me learn a lot, but also led to some familial disagreements with those who were without maps. We bought metro tickets, and we were off to find ourselves a place to eat. I decided to get us off the metro near the Louvre on the Seine, which was a perfect place for the rest of the family to see their first glimpses of Paris. Seeing everyone’s reactions made me realize how much I have become a bit numb to seeing things such as a chateaux or an incredibly famous museum. We made our way across the Seine, which was the perfect place to kind of see a bunch of the Paris sights from far away, all lit up. We then decided to walk along the Seine a bit in order to find some place to eat. We ended up choosing a very classy restaurant called “La Fregata” where Mom and I ate the most amazing boeuf bourgignon. It was a bit chilly that day, so it really hit the spot. I think everyone was happy to eat, finally, to be together, and to be in Paris. It was a superb night out! The next day, I was again the navigator, much to the pleasure of Scott’s humor. He decided to make many jokes about me making wrong turns and such, but definitely not in a mean way. I guess the twenty-two year old man will always be my big brother, who puts my scarves on top of my head and makes fun of me for taking wrong turns. On Sunday, we went to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, where we ended up arriving at the end of a mass at the basilica. Sacre Coeur and Montmartre are absolutely beautiful, and it was one of my dreams to go there. I am so glad I got to experience that with my family, even if the weather was definitely not amazing. After gallivanting around Monmartre and getting my boots soaked through, we set off to see Notre-Dame and Saint-Chapel. Again, at Notre Dame, we had a lot of luck and ended up arriving during an organ concert. We happened to be incredibly lucky, because along with all of the amazing things we saw, we were also able to hear many amazing sounds. It was a total sensory experience! Later that night, we set off to see the Eiffel Tower. Luckily, my parents were there, so they could afford the fee to take the elevator up to the top. We were not able to go all the way to the top, but we did get half way. The weather was so bad, that I think we were lucky to not have had the option to go to the top. It was cold and rainy, but also very beautiful to see the construction of such a masterpiece. Monday was my last day with my family in Paris. We went to the Arc de Triomphe, Les Invalides, and we also took a boat tour on the Seine. It was a day filled with joy and laughter, but it was cut way too short because I had to return to Nantes in order to be a student. It really gets in the way!