Arrival

Correction to the last post-- We'll actually be in Belgium for 3 days.

So...
I've been in Paris the past few days and WOW what an experience!

From the beginning:

Flew Swedish airways on the way over, stopping to transfer flights in Stockholm.

1) The stewardesses and the pilot are GIANTS...especially compared to my last experience on a plane, in which I flew China Eastern Air.

2) The stewardesses are in fact so tall they don't wear heels, opting instead for practical black flat-soled boots, and can reach across the 4 seat row to hand each other things (like a pot of hot tea). They also don't need to work two to a cart and never use the kickstand on the carts (unlike the diminutive stewardesses on CEA.

3) I was ACTUALLY FULL after the dinner they served, which turned out to be better than decent...also different from my last flight with CEA where I had to hold myself back from asking for a second tray.

4) There were tons of children on my flight and therefore lots of crying. I'm sure if the plane was mostly Americans I'd have heard more complaints, but as it was everyone was surprisingly tolerant and very helpful. Free toys and all that from the stewardesses. A testament to the child-central culture :)

Stockholm airport is lovely-- all floor to ceiling windows and reddish wood floors. Employees also get around on scooters, going about their business while gliding silently across the scuffed floor.

I met a Swedish girl named Nichole at Newark airport, an American girl and her cousin on the plane to Stockholm, and an Indonesian girl named Mary with whom I waited at Stockholm airport for a transfer flight to Paris. One of the best parts of traveling is definitely meeting people along the way...not just getting to your destination.

After arriving in Paris and meeting Raph, I found out Air France had lost his luggage but would reimburse him up to 100 euros for "necessities." Then after lugging the bags out of the RER and into the street, we headed towards the DHL office where Raph's grandmother had mailed his cousin's apartment key, which we needed because we'd be staying at said apartment. Unfortunately after walking all that way (in a light drizzle), we found out that the package code Raph had was incorrect and they wouldn't give us the package.

By then, night had fallen and he needed to find a place to buy a sim card for his cell so we could call his father and ask for the correct code. This journey took quite a while (but then it's all an adventure so who cares?) and it was getting rather wet out but finally we were victorious and I learned the importance of knowing how to say "I'm with him" when employees mistakenly think I need assistance. After this, it was pretty smooth sailing.

We got back to DHL, he called his dad for the code, we got the key and the lady at the desk called a cab for us. The cab driver also gave Raph tips on where to go and when. We got to the apartment and aside from having to lug everything up 6 flights of stairs, it was all good. Quentin's (Raph's cousin) apartment is actually quite cozy and funnily enough, many doors (including the door to the apt) have the doorknob in the middle of the door. Incidentally, this door is also painted green. Any short, hairy-footed creatures come to mind?

Pictures and descriptions of the following days coming soon!
Much love and happy new year <3