My friends and I frantically packed our backpacks on Friday as we prepared for our weekend trip to Paris. We took the Tube all the way to Heathrow Airport (now that we are seasoned underground navigators. The flight was relatively short, lasting only about an hour. It takes me more time to get to my summer home in New Hampshire than it does to get from England to France!

After we departed the airport, hilarity ensued  as our taxi driver, James (pronounced Jham in French),  persuaded us to sing along to an Alicia Keys’ song. After he dropped us off at the hotel and we unpacked, we explored the area of Vincennes a little bit.

The nice thing about staying in a city outside of Paris was that we got to immerse ourselves more in the French culture. We got our dinner from a family-owned shop and ate a festive meal of smelly cheese and bread back in our hotel. It rained all night, but cleared up for the morning.

Saturday was our day to explore Paris. I have never felt more content than I did having a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower. We did not even need a map to get around Paris. Every place we wanted to see was within walking distance and was visible in the skyline. In 11 hours, we visited the Louvre, Notre Dame, the “lock” bridge, the Arc de Triomph, and the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing how much we accomplished in one day.

I am back in England now and I still cannot believe that I was just in Paris. It feels too surreal. I have accomplished so many of my life dreams in such a short amount of time.

I was sad to leave, but as our plane departed from Charles de Gaulle airport today, I looked out the window and thought to myself, “We will always have Paris.”

-Maddie