Bonjour!

I finally made it to Evry, France!

It was a long flight - about seven hours to be exact - and it was awesome! They give you a pretty large meal shotly after taking off. There was a main course choice (I had beef with mashed potatoes, yum!) and they also brought you bread, water, hot chocolate, a small serving of cheese, lemon pound cake, tapicoa pudding, AND a curried chicken with rice side dish. I obviously could not finish it at all but it was great that they give you such an array of food and you don't have to worry about ordering in French since they automatically give it to you. It was great! I couldn't sleep on the plane at all because on the back of the seat in front of you, there is a monitor to watch a ton of movies - even recent ones, tv shows, listen to music, and even watch the flight from a camera attached to the outside of the plane. The best part was that it was all free! Then, at around 5:30am Freance time, they gave us orange juice, a muffin, and yogurt for breakfast. :) At one point, Erin and I even explored the plane and went to the second level and saw the beds where people can lay all the way down and sleep on the plane if they want. It is a HUGE plane! Finally, around 6:30, we landed in France at Charles de Gualle airport!

After getting our baggage, next thing Erin and me had to do was tackle the metro. We bought our ticket and checked the maps and everything and got on the first metro. After changing to the green line, we thought we were golden and figured it all out...but, we realized there was actually two different green lines that we could have chosen and of course, we were on the wrong one. Did I mention that we looked hilarious trying to lug our GIGANTIC suitcases up and down the stairs in the metro! For some reason there was not an elevator to be found anywhere, and I think the French people felt bad for us so people kept helping us carry our luggage up the stairs...probably because they probably saw Erin and me wtaking turns waiting with the luggage at the bottom of the stairs while we carry one bag up at a time. It was quite the ordeal, So, after finding our way to the correct exit after a lot of connections, we made it to the right station. We couldn't find a taxi anywhere though, so we just walked to the school and followed the signs. It was only about a seven minute walk but I am sure it was entertaining to watch us haul our huge suitcases on the bumpy sidewalks....while it was raining! At one point, we had to stop because we had to roll up our pants because they were pretty soaked with mud on the bottom. It was quite an adventure to say the least!

Finally made it to the school and got our dorm rooms and unpacked and got all settled in. :) Jet lag definitely settled in though because me and Erin's two hour nap turned into a four hour nap! haha. We finally got up and explored outside, and the weather ended up being beautiful, nice and sunny! We walked to the mall, called "Evry 2" which is only about a fifteen minute walk. If there is one thing that Erin and I can find, it is a mall, and we had a blast getting to look around all the cute French clothes stores and see the popular French fashions. It was a lot like malls in America, but everything was in French and there was a pastry/sandwich/cafe/dessert place at literally every corner in the mall! ...And of course we had to get a pastry after grabbing some dinner. It was delicious :)

The french suburbs are peaceful and pretty, but I cannot wait to spend the day in Paris tomorrow!!!! It is going to be great! We are planning on leaving to take the metro in the morning after going on a run. I am so excited to see Paris for the first time. I'll definitely write all about Paris in tomorrow's blog! :)

Overall it has been a great day and I cannot believe I am actually here!

Au Revoir,

Tori