A Plane, a train, and a bus ride to Paris

I woke up SUPER NERVOUS the day I flew out of Rome.  We had to get up early because we were driving back to Rome from Milan.  A five hour drive is NOT the ideal situation to catch a flight.  Of course anything can happen, and I thought of every scenario.  Luckily my bff knew I would be a mess, so we quickly checked out of our apartment and hit the road.

Our drive there was fine until we got closer to the airport.  That’s when it started to rain HARD.  I tried to remain calm but my friend kept talking to me to get my mind off of the weather.  Once I arrived at the airport, she helped me with my luggage and even waited in line with me for a bit at the ticket counter.  We hugged goodbye and then I was on my own.

I killed some time with a glass of wine at a restaurant and bought a souvenir for my mom.  I felt a sudden urge of guilt since I forgot to get something for her in Milan.  Hopefully she’ll understand…

I boarded my flight and off I went.  Luckily the rain wasn’t severe and I landed two hours later in Paris.  By now it was after 6:30pm and I wanted to reach out to my Parisan friends to see if they would put me up for the night.  Unfortunately, they were not available.  I found a spot at a café and tried booking a hotel at the airport.  After a frustrating 40 minutes I settled on a good price for a hotel but wasn’t quite sure where it was.  I knew I made a costly mistake.  My hotel was an hour and a half away from the airport!  I had to catch my train.

I rode the train for a while.  It was now dark and I had no idea where I was going.  Once I got off a stop I had to catch a bus.  I have never done this before in Paris.  According to google maps I had to ride through 17 stops before I get off!  Oh my goodness.  Traveling with a suitcase didn’t help either.  I felt so exposed.  I couldn’t hide the fact that I was a tourist.

To make matters worse, my stop was at the end of the line for this bus route.  I finally got off on a nearly empty bus and saw a Holiday Inn.  I did not know where my hotel was, but I knew I was near.  I went inside and asked the concierge if they had an idea.  Luckily my hotel was right behind the Holiday Inn.  I felt relieved.

I checked in and got to my room.  It was now 10pm.  I still had no idea what part of Paris I was at.  I asked the front desk man if I was still in Paris and he looked at me strangely.  “You are in the Business district of Paris”, he replied.  My hotel was a French version of an extended stay.  It had a small fridge and stovetop.  I actually was impressed because it was very roomy and wide.  I decided to venture out in the morning and call it a night.  I was exhausted.