I still remember that the French boss of the company I used to work for asked me what my impression of Paris was. My first sentence was: “Romantic.” She smiled but didn’t give a definite answer, which made me very confused. Out of yearning for Europe, I also want to solve the mystery in my heart.
I boarded a flight from Hong Kong to Charles de Gaulle Airport. After a journey of more than 10 hours, I finally arrived at my destination. Before I could adjust to the time difference, I rushed to the hotel where I was staying. I arrived at around 4:00 p.m. local time, and I was staying in the city center of Paris, which was quite far from the airport. It turned out that I didn’t do enough research and didn’t estimate the exact time.
After leaving the airport, I was a bit stunned. Seeing 70% of the big black people and security guards carrying machine guns, I didn’t dare to breathe. Could something have happened? It was only later that I learned that due to the terrorist threat, the airport had strengthened its security. It took me a full 34 minutes to get from the airport to the REC light rail. One reason was that the exits were very complicated. Some were marked as exits but led to underground parking lots, while others were not exits at all. Secondly, French is extremely hard to understand. I couldn’t understand it at all. I originally thought that English could be used everywhere, but I didn’t know that France is a very proud nation. They don’t care to use English. At that moment, I was extremely flustered! It’s getting dark soon. I can’t even get out of the airport!
With so much luggage on my back, I quickly composed myself and made sure to get to the hotel! I found a map of Paris at the airport and followed it to the duty room. Inside the duty room, I asked a Latina attendant. Following her instructions, I still made three rounds before reaching the light rail. There were only two minutes left before I bought the ticket. I got on the train and only then did I dare to let out a long sigh of relief. On the train, I studied the map once, usually looking at the scenery outside. At that time, the rice in the suburbs of Paris had been harvested, and the straw was piled up in cylindrical circles, which was very distinctive, as if I had traveled back to the Middle Ages. However, the relaxation didn’t last long. Soon, I fell into tension. Thirty minutes later, the train entered the city center. I still had to take the subway to my accommodation near the Eiffel Tower. What made me even more confused was getting off the train and entering the subway station. I almost broke down. The Paris subway is said to be the second densest in the world, only after Tokyo, Japan. I was like I was in a maze, having no idea where to go and not even knowing how to buy a ticket. I couldn’t understand the metro map I got from the service counter. It was already dark by then and I was extremely anxious. I kept trying to ask an uncle in police uniform, but I couldn’t find a single one. The Paris metro is very dark inside. It has a history of over 200 years and there are many people of color coming and going, all tall and strong. My heart was in my throat. Besides fear, there was also curiosity. Why are there so many people of color in France?
I thought to myself, but my feet didn’t dare to stop even a step. I was wandering around aimlessly, looking for a way out. When I arrived at the subway ticket office, I wanted to buy a subway ticket. I could barely understand a little (French and English are a bit similar, so I could understand a little if I looked carefully). There are three types of subway tickets: single-entry, round-trip, and all-inclusive. I took a deep breath and bought a one-week all-inclusive ticket, thinking that if I couldn’t make it to the hotel in the evening, You can also come back. There’s no need to go too far. At worst, you can stay up all night at the subway entrance and figure out a way during the day. Then I calmed down, took a deep breath, and searched online (I rented global Wi-Fi, which was really a wise choice) to find the subway entrance next to my hotel. Following the direction of the subway line (although I couldn’t understand French, the arrows were still useful), I was about to board the subway. However, when I was desperately looking for a way out, there were actually two gypsy kids. I was about 13 or 14 years old. They were stealing things from my backpack. I immediately scolded them, but they wouldn’t give up and followed me. I ran fast in small steps while staring at them. We stood there for a long time and finally arrived at a ticket office (yes, there are ticket offices in the subway too, which made me so panicked at that time). There were uniformed staff on duty. I had no choice but to give up. After they left, I finally got on the subway at another entrance and headed for the area near the Eiffel Tower.
After passing through about ten or so stops, I finally reached my destination. The house signs in Paris are different from those in China. They are pasted on the houses and the font is very small. Unlike in China, they are not directly displayed at the intersections or on the gates, and can’t be seen on the ground at all. Fortunately, I met a particularly kind local Parisian on the road and he led me to the hotel I had booked online earlier. He also said, “Welcome to his country!” I was so grateful that I was moved to tears. The hotel was still very nice and beautiful. It included breakfast. The waiter was very polite and gave me the latest city map. He asked me where I was from. He said he had been to Hong Kong and had a good impression of China and so on. We had a brief chat. After returning to the room, I finally relaxed. After catching my breath, my heart started to stir again because I was staying close to the Eiffel Tower and wanted to have a look. So I asked the front desk and was told the route. I went straight there. Paris at night is very beautiful. I walked along the way, enjoying the scenery all the way. The locals’ life is really slow. They drink leisurely and chat leisurely. Of course, the Eiffel Tower is even more dazzling at night. At the moment I stood in front of it, I looked up at this exquisite building and felt that it was a worthwhile trip. The Eiffel Tower Square is very large and still retains the scene from many years ago. Many lovers, Tourists were cheering and leaping, sightseeing and partying. At that moment, I seemed to be part of it too, and the ecstasy that followed the excitement spread out.