After a total travel time of 72 hours, 38 of which were spent sitting in airports, we finally touched down in Paris. Note – getting the cheapest flight because of the crazy stopovers is definitely not worth it. Sleeping on airport lounges sucks and the combination of repetitive music and constant announcements will drive you crazy. Once we had touched down in Paris, I remember leaving the airport and having the sudden realisation that I was alone in a non-english speaking country, and quite frankly – I was terrified. If it wasn’t for my navigation-savvy travel buddies who got us to our airbnb I might have crawled into a ball on the airport floor and cried. I’m hopeless at navigation and this is something I definitely realised whilst travelling.
Paris was beautiful. The first time I stepped out of the train station and into the middle of the city I was gobsmacked. The building were incredible, and so detailed. Growing up in Australia meant I had never seen anything nearly as old as this, I couldn’t stop looking up. My favourite thing about the city was the gardens. From Paris we ventured down to Lyon, a student city located in the central east of France. It was really nice to experience a city that wasn’t so populated with other tourists. We got a really authentic experience here and spent our days walking through the city over to the old-town and trekking through the park which was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen – I felt like I was in Narnia.
Recommendations: If you know any locals in Paris take advantage of it!! We found it a little hard to find places to go that weren’t so directly targeted at tourists. One day we got lost through the backstreets and stumbled across a little Patisserie, where we found the best almond croissants ever. I also wish we had a few more days to explore the city, since it is so big. The woman that come up to you under the eiffel tower saying they are taking donations for the disabled are gypsies! Don’t give them any money and clutch onto your wallet, they will try and snake it. Note – if a restaurant/cafe/patisserie is populated with locals – you know its a good one. You must go to Lyon parc de la tête d’or. It’s amazing. You won’t regret it, I promise.
Love, Asha
