France July 2014 Day 1
July 24 2014
London, England to Paris, France
On Thursday, July 24 2014 I woke up at 5:12 AM… and watched T.V. Then, around 6:30 I left with mother, who as you know is Leanne Fredrick and not a morning person, to go to Saint Pancras Station. That was to get a train which would take us to France. So, at around 11:30 we arrived at a train station in France!
We went to France because I was going to meet my good friend: Olivia Jackson, along with her parents Carolyn and Jay. We were in France at 12:00 noon, the Jacksons wouldn’t arrive until around 3:30. I was hungry, tired, and grumpy; for those reason we ate at a Japanese restaurant, because that should be everyone’s first stop when they go to France *sarcasm*. Admittedly the food was tres bon (very good). Even after the food I wasn’t it the best of moods because it was hot, I was wearing long jeans, and I was carrying a very heavy side bag. We couldn’t get into the flat/apartment I would stay in until the Jacksons arrived; for hours we sat in the shade in a local park.
I practiced French on Duolingo (an excellent language learning app and website) and did quite well. Mom drew the street lamps and we talked irregularly. Then… we got the call… The Jacksons had arrived! For the first time in over a year I saw her and I think I talked non-stop for pretty much the rest of the day.
We dropped off our luggage at the flat. (We have a brilliant place. One bedroom with a queen sized bed, two beds in the other room which is the main room with a kitchenette, table, and door to a toilet. Connecting to the bedroom is a beautiful shower and sink, but no toilet. In all there are four rooms, three beds, a shower, and a toilet.) I changed into shorts and we (Olivia, Jay, Carolyn, Mom, and I) went to see the Eiffel Tower. There was a mile long line to get in and cigarette butts all over the ground. None the less it was a beautiful sight. But… I was hungry again.
I wasn’t the only one, so we went to a five star cafe that I found on yelp, but it was closing in five minutes. We journeyed down a busy street full of highly recommended restaurants. All were packed. Every. Single. One.
We ate (finally) at a delicious restaurant called Giromondo. It was quiet, cool, and delicious. Olivia got steak and I got pasta, both were delicious! When we left it was 10:00, we entered at 8:00 but because it was down stairs all forms of time were forgotten.
We took a peak at the lit up Eiffel Tower, quite a sight. Mom departed for her traveller’s hostel. Home we went, it was 11:00 before we got back and 12:30 before an sleep was had.
Pictures to come.
Write more soon,
Emeline
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Great write up Emeline. It was a lovely day. I found the irregularity of the available Metro stops to be troublesome getting back to my traveler’s hostel, but made it eventually. Unfortunately it was really warm in my bunk. But the price was good and location convenient. It was fantastic to see the Jackson and spend some time together.