Friday, March 22 marked the first day of our adventure in Paris. After spending seven long hours on the plane, we were met with golden warmth and fresh Parisian air that made us forget our post-airplane stink.
After some airport chaos, Global Works met us with a huge bus and snacks for the one-hour bus ride to the city. Many napped, but we all got up to see the beautiful Haussmannian architecture.
We took a quick break to drop off bags at the hostel and made our way to lunch. There were so many shops, boulangeries, cafes, and restaurants along the way. The roads are crowded, and it was hard getting used to that paired with the passing cars (people in Paris are NOT good drivers).
For lunch, the majority of us had lamb, chicken, or vegetarian falafel that was nothing short of amazing. To eat, we walked five minutes away to a local park where we learned about the fresh drinking water pumps in each park around the city. Apparently, one pump even has sparkling water.
People in Paris, French speakers especially, speak very softly, making for a peaceful picnic. The scenery was also gorgeous; butterflies and pigeons surrounded us while we ate, and sun also felt so good.
After lunch, we circled up and created a poster for everyone to sign that stated our norms for the trip. Some included:
- be respectful
- have an open mind
- be a steward of your environment
After lunch we picnicked in a park and got to talk about what we will do on the trip and about our Global Works leaders. From there we went back to our hostel and had some time to get situated and change our clothes before heading out to walk around Paris. Everyone was dressed in their best site-seeing and picture-ready outfits.
Our first stop was the Notre-Dame, where we read about the history of the building and the importance of its restoration. After that we walked over to the Shakespeare and Company Café, which is definitely a popular spot to sit down, judging by the line out the door.
We continued on to the flower market, which was the perfect opportunity for photos. Once everyone was done with their mini photoshoots we made our way over to the Louvre. We got to see beautiful artwork spanning from the Mona Lisa to ancient Egyptian artifacts. To end the night we had dinner at another hostel’s attached restaurant and arrived back at our hostel, around 9:30, to debrief on tomorrow’s events.
