Bonjour encore a Paris!
After a grueling two weeks of tests and papers and projects and presentations and what have you, the worst of the semester is over and spring break has begun (and it really couldn't have come at a better time). So yesterday, Emily and I packed up all our things, moved out of our room, and shipped off to our first stop: la belle ville qu'ils appellent Paris. And I must say that although I've come to love Rome, Paris is still one of my favorite places in the whole world... and thus, as the song goes, "j'ai deux amours."
It's been almost a year since the first time I set foot in this marvelous city, and although traveling was as difficult and unpredictable as ever, I couldn't be happier to be here. Our flight out of Rome didn't leave until 6:50 p.m., so we took our time packing and went out to get our last gelatto fix for the next two weeks. The weather was gorgeous, which made it difficult to go, but after schlepping our bags to the metro station, taking the subway all the way to the end of line A, and grabbing the last two seats on an incredibly cramped bus to Ciampino aeroport, we were more than ready to leave.
Then, upon arrival at Beauvais aeroport (where the cold, rainy weather provided quite the contrast to the sunny, blue-skied Rome), we met Tony, our shuttle driver. Ohhhh, Tony. The best thing that I can say for him is that he was very enthusiastic about his customers, namely Emily, me, and a whole family from Spain. We spent what felt like ages waiting while Tony gathered everyone together and sorted everything out, and then dashed through the rain and into the van. Another tight fit. Em and I, who oh-so-luckily got put in the front seat, were exhausted and tried to get comfortable so as to nap for the 45-minute drive to Paris center. But Tony had other plans...
As soon as the door was closed, Tony (who spoke moderate English and moderately horrible Spanish) decided that we needed some music to pump us up (as if arriving in Paris were a high school football game). He began asking loudly "What you like? You like Indian? You like American Pop? You like techno?" while simultaneously doing all of the following: driving the van, shifting gears, flipping through a pile of CDs on his dashboard, typing our destination(s) into his GPS system, and attempting to engage us in a broken conversation about the sorry state of American politics. Needless to say, Em and I were too afraid to sleep, seeing as he was just inches away from swerving us off the highway and into a muddy ditch. So while Tony gesticulated and yapped at what seemed to be an unnecessarily high decibel level, he continued switching the music from "Killing Me Softly" to Barry White to 50 Cent to crazy Lebanese dance music, each time turning the volume up a bit more.
By the end of our journey, the car was vibrating with the music and Em and I had nervously laughed ourselves into such a stupor that our jaws were sore. I think that if the ride had lasted any longer than it did, I may have thrown a tantrum. However, we thankfully arrived to our destination safely, albeit a little frazzled, and definitely ready for bed.
Thus, in truth, we've only left our little apartment between the 11th and 20th arrondissement (also known as Belleville) once today in order to buy some fabulous French groceries, but from what I've seen (and heard) of our neighborhood, we're in a great location. This area is very quaint and community oriented, and certainly not as overrun with tourists as some other parts of the city. I'm extremely excited to wander and explore. This is Emily's first time here, so besides going to all the monuments and museums she would like to see, I have no agenda. Je suis ici pour detendre.
So now that we've eaten some scrambled eggs with toast and raspberry jam, drunk a few cups of tea, and figured out how in the world to work the gadgets in this apartment, the sun is poking out from the clouds and I believe it is time for us weary travelers to venture out into the world. Paris is calling, you know.
A bientot!
