Arrival - Saturday's Story

So we had a 9 PM flight out of Philadelphia on US Airways. Guess what happened? Delayed! Considering the little bit of snow we had earlier in the day, it was only mildly surprising to hear that the delay was caused by mechanical problems instead. Our original plane had issues with the landing gear (glad we detected that one before take-off) and the replacement place took about 2 hours to get prepped and delivered to the gate. During the delay, I bumped into 3 other classmates who were making the trip to Paris. We tried to use the extra time to catch up on some studying, but ended up chatting about the trip or being distracted by anything that walked past us. We finally got in the air around midnight and landed in Paris around 12:30 PM Paris time. The length of the flight wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. I did expect a little more leg room on a trans-continental flight. I'll know better next time.

We arrived at the lovely Holiday Inn Republique around 2:00, just in time for check in. Most of us received free upgrades for some reason or another. After getting settled in the rooms, we joined up with a few other Temple folks to grab dinner at the Cafe Republique. The big hit at dinner was the Croque Madame (hot ham and cheese with fried egg) or the Croque Monsieur (same sandwich minus the egg). I opted for the roasted chicken which just happened to come with, you guessed it, French Fries.

After dinner we headed down to the Eiffel Tower, or the Tour Eiffel as it's known in Paris. Seeing Paris at night was quite amazing. The buildings are just absolutely beautiful, like nothing I've ever seen in the states. The Louvre and it's pyramid-styled entrance were incredible to see at night. The Tour Eiffel was absolutely stunning. We waited for about 45 minutes to travel up to the 3rd floor of the tower. The 1st and 2nd floors are lower in the tower; the 3rd floor is all the way up. We had the chance to take a few photos from the top of the tower. The view is incredible and I now understand why so many guys propose to their lady friends up there. After descending the tower, we enjoyed chocolate crepes and hot chocolate at the foot of the Tour Eiffel. Nothing more Parisian than that huh?

We headed back to the hotel, worn out and ready to catch up on some sleep. But after a quick nap in the cab, and a realization that it was barely 10:00 PM, we decided to wander the neighborhood. We found a very nice cafe and had a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. All in all, a great first day in Paris.