Paris: Day One

I decided at the last minute not to get a hotel in Reykjavik.  I did not want to worry about getting transportation at 3am for my 6am flight.  I figured the only way to calm my nerves was to hang out at the airport with the rest of the youngsters.  I read beforehand that you could check in at midnight, and that’s what I did.  I found a spot and put my head down until it was time to head to my gate.  I was exhausted but I knew I could knock out peacefully on my 3 hour flight to Paris.  Once we landed I went to catch the RER B train to the city.  Can you believe what happened next?  The train stopped running after two stops out of the airport.  I was confused since my French is still horrible, but people on the train explained to the other passengers what was going on.  Some people got off and got ubers.  I was still skeptical that our train would eventually start moving.  I decided to wait it out.  I think if we had moved further along, I would have considered other options, but I did not want to blow my budget already on a pricey cab ride.  I waited for 30 minutes.  Luckily they did make another announcement, but it was not good news.  They still did not have clearance to move forward and were not sure when they were allowed to.  More people got off, but I stayed on and knocked out for a bit.  I felt they would move one way or another since it is a popular train line but this was altering my plans for the day. 

I had waited for a full hour before the conductor announced we were ready to go.  I booked the same hotel as I had back in December, (by Gare du Nord).  Once I checked in my room I quickly showered and got ready for my day. 

I ended up getting to Musée Rodin around 3pm.  Pretty late in the day considering most museums close around 5:45pm.  I figured I would take my time there since I probably would not be able to knock out another museum.  There was a pretty big crowd already ahead of me.  It made me nervous that I wouldn’t be able to see much, but luckily it was moving along.  Part of the exhibitions were also in the garden.  There were times I felt a bit jammed inside, but outside was a different story.  Everyone had more room to enjoy the statues.  I completely fell in love with Rodin’s work and admired the Gates of Hell up close.  Since it was very hot that day, I decided to sit down for a bit at the café.  Unfortunately, I had time for one glass of rosé before the museum closed.  I managed to see as much as I could.  So much for that train mishap earlier.

My friend in Paris contacted me to meet up around 6:30pm.  I started heading towards his direction and even picked up a bottle of white wine for us.  I think I would like to do a French wine tasting in the near future since I’ve done a couple in Italy.  It would give me a chance to compare the two...