As far as the start of a trip to a brand new country, I’d say this was a near perfect start! There’s always an adjustment period when going somewhere for the first time or meeting new people, let alone both, and we definitely experienced that. From some of us running late and having to meet up with the group after we’d started to misadventures on the metro.

Our trip opened with the Toot Bus, a fun name for sure, which took us to all the major locations in Paris. Starting at Notre Dame, we saw the amazing historical cathedral from the outside. It was definitely a sight to behold. Afterwards, to buy time for the rest of the group to catch up, we went to the museum dedicated to the people deported from Paris during it’s Nazi occupation in World War II. I never knew what role France played in sending Jews and political prisoners to camps, so it was great to learn something new about France, even if it was more sobering than the rest. It’s important not to ignore the darker parts of history just because of the prettier, more interesting features.

This trip allowed the group to catch up with each other, and our first day in Paris officially began with everyone together. Before hopping back on the Toot Bus we tried taking a peak at Shakespeare and Co., and while I was disappointed it is not Sylvia Beach’s original store, due to her closing it during WWII and never reopening it, that didn’t seem to stop other people. The line stretched far beyond the door, and not wanting to wait in the line only to be in the cramped walkways of the actual store, we decided to move on.

Next, we went to the Eiffel tower. According to the information shared by the Toot Bus, the most photographed and most visited monument in the world, despite it’s less than stellar with the Parisians when it was first put up. If only they could see it now. We stayed to take some pictures and overheard a man busking and playing the harmonica. He was very good and it really helped the atmosphere.

The Arch de Triomphe was an impressive sight to see, and the history behind it definitely peaked our interest. Me and two other students spent our lunch period trying to find out how much of it had been built before Napoleon’s. From our research, we found it had been constructed up to the second tier, the one which completes the arched entrance. This slightly disappointed me, as I thought it would be funny if Napoleon died before his arch was even an arch.

Our final destination for the day was a river cruise on the Seine. While the blazing sun made it uncomfortable, and I came out of it with a nasty sun burn, this was beautiful. Seeing all the monuments of Paris from the water gave an entirely different perspective of the city. Afterwards, we returned to our hotel for a little while before heading out for dinner.

Now here’s where the day got interesting. A classmate had spotted a restaurant earlier in the day while we were out, so we took a 30 minute metro ride over there. This is when we learned that, when travelling in a group of 8, it’s a good idea to make a reservation ahead of time. Shocker, I know. We waited an hour to be seated and have food, spending some of the time in a park close to the restaurant. Afterwards, on the metro ride back, we learned something new about the Paris Metro. Some of the trains, you have to open yourself, and after a certain time of day they must change how long the doors stay open, as this time it was about a five second period before the doors closed. This change, which we didn’t know about, led to one of us almost getting stuck in the door and two of us getting left behind by the metro. To reunite, the rest of us ended up getting off the metro at the next stop and getting back on when the next train, which our remaining two friends had gotten on. We got back to the hotel at midnight, exhausted from the day and our metro adventure, but overjoyed to be in Paris and excited for what’s to come.

Going to all the major monuments, even if just outside them, was a great start to the trip, letting us marvel at the sights everyone goes to Paris for before we really begin focusing on the purpose of our study abroad trip. And our nighttime activities really helped break the ice between the group and brought us closer together. I can’t wait for what comes next, Paris!