Because I was one of the last people on the plane, I got bumped up to Premium economy – bigger seats, more room, better food, and free items including a sleep mask, socks, ear plugs, tooth brush & tooth paste, and a bottle of water. I was kind of surprised that they fed us dinner, as late as the flight left, but I am so glad they did. Here’s what they served us: Salad with smoked salmon, capers, dill, and lemon; chicken in white sauce with wild rice and veggies; apple sauce; bread with brie, and Napoleon cake. I got about 3 hours of sleep – not near as much as I had hoped, but still some.
We got into Paris about an hour early and it took a surprisingly short amount of time to go through customs and get my suitcase. I decided it would be fine to take the train, as I knew exactly what I had to do (I looked it up before hand). Unfortunately, there were fewer escalators than I thought there would be, which meant a lot more stairs. I had people offer to help me with them, but I was paranoid about them getting stolen so I just lugged them up and down myself. I had to switch trains at the Gare du Nord, which was super hectic and I couldn’t even get on the first train that came through.
After that, I got to the Gare de l’Est to wait for my TGV to Reims. I had 2.5 hours, and there were restaurants there, but I was not hungry. So I read. The train ride took about an hour and I tried to sleep. I wanted to look out the window, but my seat faced backward and looking out the window made me dizzy. After I got there, I walked to the apartment that I’m staying at until Monday. It’s on the 4th floor with no elevator, so I had to once again haul my suitcases up the stairs. Luckily, that should be the last time for a while. The apartment is small, and the outside door is hard to open, so I feel like I constantly look like I’m trying to break in, but it’s nice and the cat is adorable. Last night, I passed out about 7:30 and woke up a couple times between then and 1:30 am, but then slept straight through to 10:00 when I had an alarm set for. Once I was showered and dressed, I decided I wanted breakfast. I found a bagel place and figured out how to get there on Google Maps.
As I was walking around, though, I realized that New Years Day is a huge holiday here, and most businesses are closed. So, I found a bakery that was open and got a chocolate croissant and a water. The tap water is drinkable, but it is more mineral-y than I am used to, so it has a different taste to it. Once I got breakfast, I walked to the cathedral and ate breakfast in front of it.
That must be a gathering place – there were so many people and I loved watching the children run all over the place! There was one little boy that stuck his tongue out at me and so I did it back and he just cracked up. I continued exploring the city and even found my way back to the apartment! I saw so many restaurants that I want to try – Indian food, Mediterranean Kebabs, bistros…
They have a huge Christmas Carnival and I think it just started up for today. It’s right across the street, so I can hear it perfectly. I was too tired to explore it yesterday, but I think I may do that in a little while here. The town is beautiful, but a little chilly. It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m in France, even though I ordered breakfast in French and haven’t heard anyone speak English. It’ll sink in soon enough… Maybe. Well, that’s all for now. I’ll add some pictures to the photo page. Happy New Year everyone!
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Read more from Maggie at https://anadventureinreims.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/i-made-it/
Read more from Maggie at https://anadventureinreims.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/i-made-it/
To find out more about the Exchange program with the NEOMA Business School-Reims Campus, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/wcobreims
