PARIS!: Day 1

We stayed on a street called Rue Lepic. It was epic.

Two years ago, I was a junior in high school discussing with my dad where we should go on my senior trip. He decided a while ago to take each of his kids on a trip when they graduated high school. We initially planned on hitting New York City, but then the opportunity to go to the city of my dreams presented itself.

It's a place I've longed to see since I was little. It's why I took French in high school. It's on the top of my bucket list. Paris.

My great Aunt Jeanie lives in the countryside of Paris, and all the right things lined up for Dad, my grandpa, and I to visit. And then... Covid. So, we postponed a year. And then... still Covid. So, we postponed another year. And then... on July 14, 2022, we finally hopped on a flight to none other than the city of love. And here's how it went:

We got to the airport 3 hours early, and our flight had been delayed, so Dad ran around trying to get information and was very stressed. It ended up working out just fine. We split some appetizers at Ruby Tuesday, then chatted with one of the airport staff. Dad expressed his concerns to her about our very short layover in Atlanta, and she told us to say that Grandpa needed a wheelchair (which comes with an escort) because that would get us off the plane and through the airport faster. So we took her advice. And it was hilarious. For context, last month, Grandpa competed in a 100m race, and all of a sudden he's being pushed in a wheelchair.

Everywhere we go, Dad knows someone. I'm not exaggerating. He's been to Paris multiple times to visit his aunt, and once, he saw someone he knew there. Grandpa didn't believe him. So, he went up and talked to the chick. He was across the world. Yet, he still knew someone. So, of course, he knew someone on both our flight to Atlanta AND to Paris. Granted, it was the same guy on both flights. But still.

We got awesome seats in the front of our cabin, so we had plenty of leg room (not that I need it). No window seat, though :( (I LOVE THE WINDOW SEAT). I had a migraine (a very frequent part of my life), but I slept quite comfortably with the 4 pillows Dad managed to stuff into his 20L backpack. Dad is legitimately asleep in this photo. We had been on the plane for 10 minutes.

We arrived in Paris around 12:00 p.m. Paris time. Six hours ahead of Knoxville. We spent $300 on Covid tests before we left because it was a policy in order to get into Paris. Yet, not one person asked to see our results. What a waste. But we did get through customs super quickly. So, that was nice.

We had a very kind taxi driver, and we arrived at our Airbnb apartment 2 hours earlier than the owner was expecting us. We didn't have a data signal or WiFi, so a VERY generous server at the restaurant beside our apartment, La Rughetta, let Dad use his hotspot to get in contact with our Airbnb owner. (And people say the French are mean. As IF.)

While we waited, we walked around our little village, Montmartre. We saw tourists on tours stopping at this building with a big blue door directly across the street from our building and listening to the guide talk about its significance. Turns out, it was Van Gogh's apartment. VINCENT VAN GOGH. He literally painted some of his most famous works inside there. Crazy.

I took a picture of pretty much every street and every building. You could call me a tad camera happy. Then, I figured out the perfect settings to leave my camera on to capture the clear blue sky and the rich cream color of the buildings. Turns out, every street and building in Paris is equally picture-worthy, so after day 2, I had enough scenery photos.

Then, we shared an authentic French baguette right before we were let into the apartment. We got changed and headed up the hill to Sacré-Cœur. On our way, we looked at the beautiful portraits that artists were painting and drawing of customers in Montmartre. They were epic (just like our street, Rue Lepic).

We walked around inside and outside of Sacré-Cœur, a gorgeous Catholic church named after the "sacred heart" of Jesus. The best part was a man standing in the pews who was designated to shush people over a microphone (there are signs telling you to be silent out of respect) and make sure people sitting in the pews aren't on their phones. I love that it is kept sacred and that the workers ensure that its purpose is respected.

This is where Dad and I's photo journey really began. For every picture of me, there is a reference photo of Dad that I took so he would know how I wanted the picture. He stood where I was going to stand, I adjusted the camera settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, and focus) to what best fit the scenery, and I snapped the picture. Then, we swapped places, he took my picture, and we played around with angles. By the end of the trip, we both got the hang of our part, and the pictures I have of each of us will forever hold a special place in my heart. And I mean, come on. He should get an award for that. He's responsible for the my favorite pictures in the world existing. And he did it with the happiest heart, enthusiasm, and patience. He wins.

After Sacré-Cœur, we ate chicken kabobs and cheesy potatoes at Breizh Café. So delicious. Fun fact about Paris: pretty much everybody eats outside. And the chairs often face the street so you can people watch. I LOVED that part. Dad and I are people watching connoisseurs. People also sit at their tables for a super long time. And everyone smokes cigarettes. But it's Paris. So, it's somehow classy.

Then, I took a nap before getting some French ice cream. It's just regular ice cream. But it's in France. So it's special by default. And that was the end of day 1. Stay tuned.

Daily Stats:

- steps: 11,117

- miles: 4.5

- flights: 6

- pastries: 0

PARIS! photo album