Written a few hours ago before my nap:
With a four-hour train trip from Paris to
Bordeaux ahead of me, I thought I’d do something productive and update
everyone.
Leaving Sydney yesterday was hard saying
goodbye to the family and Matt. But, I did it. And then found myself very alone
in a busy airport. And that’s when my first accident occurred. I had left it
almost to the last minute to go through customs, but when I got there, I forgot
I still had the Swiss army knife my dad had given me in the front pocket of my
handbag (it’s always there). It wasn’t a big deal, I just had to hand it over
to them, but it was enough to make me power walk to my flight. I ended up
starting down the wrong way to gate 58, instead going towards gates 1-40. After
realising, I turned around and headed in the right direction, this time my pace
being more like one of those Olympic walkers as they were announcing the final
call for my flight. Hoping I wasn’t going to be that embarrassing person whose
name is called over the PA system, I made it with plenty of time! When I got on
the flight, there were still quite a few people to get on after me.
Leaving
The family
The first flight Sydney to Abu Dhabi was
painful. The flight itself was very good, little turbulence and smoothing
sailing. But, I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t even make it through an entire film (I
tried Hope Springs, the Parent Trap, and Space Jam). I’d always get about ¾ of
the way through before becoming frustrated with my lack of sleep. More than
half of the time was spent just sitting in my seat with my eyes closed hoping
my body would get the hint and just die into a deep sleep. But, alas, I did
not. And when I disembarked at Abu Dhabi after 14 hours, I could feel my eyes
voluntarily closing from soreness. We then had a 2-½ hour wait for our
connecting flight. I did a bit of shopping, just for magazines/food, but most
of the shops were so out of my price range, I didn’t even bother looking.
The flight to Paris was much better.
Although having more turbulence than the first, it was nighttime and so
everyone was asleep. It was also much shorted, being only 8 hours. I didn’t
sleep again, but because of the quiet, found it much easier to sit with my eyes
closed and found that provided them some relief. Flying into Paris was foggy! I
had a window seat and couldn’t see anything! No city lights, I thought we were
still up in the air when I saw a bright light and realised it was one of the
landing lights and we were actually right about to land.
Disembarking there was fun. Excitement,
nerves and adrenaline had kind of started to kick back in. We collected luggage
and just missed the 10am train to Bordeaux. So we just chilled in a café at the
airport for 2 hours for the next one. That gave some of us a chance to try out
our French. It was weird getting used everyone speaking French, picking up bits
of conversations as we walked past. I ordered a hot chocolate in French (my
first purchase in French!). Whilst waiting for our train to Bordeaux in the
freezing cold, we met a Hungarian girl who could speak French so spent a while
testing our French with her. It wasn’t as hard as I thought – it just takes a
lot of effort to distinguish between the roll of sounds that makes a sentence.
The group at Charles de Gaulle train station/airport (minus Andrew)
So, now, we’re on a train in the relative
warmth, waiting to get off at the other end. One of my housemates, Lea
(actually, they’re both called Lea), is picking me up. She’s also said she’s
prepared some lunch for me for when I arrive! I can’t wait to get settled in. And
then crash into the longest sleep ever.
View from the train
ATM:
I've made it to the apartment which is typically french. Very tall and my room is at the very top. It wouldn't matter how many pastries I ate this year, those stairs will keep me in shape for life. I've had a nap and a shower and am about to unpack and then go to bed. I'll post photos of the place tomorrow!
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