Today we are going for a short vacation in Paris, France. We are at the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport and about to check-in. The process is pretty easy. We proceed to the security screening area and look for our gate number. We sit there for probably an hour and a half before boarding our Air France flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport. The airline serves small bags of Galettes cookies, which are buttery and sweet. The flight is smooth for the most part, with almost no turbulence.
Leaving Charles de Gaulle Airport
We land in Paris a couple hours later. I am exhausted and happy. Surprisingly, we do not have to go through customs. Instead, we proceed toward the exit, where our chauffeur from Paris Chauffeurs awaits us. The ride costs 99 euros to the Apartments du Louvre Le Marais in Etienne Marcel in Paris.
I have never been in a Mercedes-Benz minibus before. When we get inside the taxi, the chauffeur gives us some candy. He gives us some gummies and some sour candy. They call candy “bonbon,” which means cookies in Haitian Creole. I find it confusing, but I am excited to learn about a different culture. I am very thankful because I really need something like that. The ride takes over an hour and a half because of road closures due to strikes against the government. The people are protesting President Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. My baby brother and I fall asleep on the way there. We are too tired from the trip.
Just a few minutes before we arrive, I wake up and notice it is raining. So, I start to wonder how we would get out, but at the same time, I do not care because I love the rain. Once we arrive, Mr. Paul parks on the other side of the road. I look across the street and see a typical European building with several stories. We use a security code to get in, and a woman at the front desk greets us. The woman is amiable, has an upbeat attitude, and she is fluent in English. She explains that someone is still cleaning our apartment. She suggests that we return in a couple of hours. In the meantime, she gives us a locker to put our stuff. We pay Mr. Paul, and he leaves.
We leave the building, and it is raining heavily. The rain makes the temperature extra cold. We notice several shops in the surrounding area, including several restaurants. We rush into one of the closest restaurants, Les Turbines. Once inside the café, my mom calls an old friend in France to meet us there. My siblings and I order some chicken tenders with veggies. My mom orders a salad, toast with salmon, eggs, and pomegranate seeds. My dad gets some coffee in a tiny cup, almost the size of a toy cup. When my mom’s friend comes, he orders a sandwich and starts a conversation. Surprisingly he is fluent in English and French, of course. While they are conversing, I fall asleep because I am so tired. Finally, I cannot take it anymore.
After eating, my mom’s friend offers to show us where to catch the hop-on and hop-off buses. We see the Eiffel Tower from a distance. We walk a few blocks on a paved road closed to traffic. It has shops, cafés, and Musee de L’illusion. After he shows us where to get on the bus, we say goodbye and return to the apartment. I am so happy because I can finally relax and finish my meal.
Apartments du Louvre Le Marais
The apartment has a nicely decorated entrance with a tiny elevator, big enough for luggage. It has a spiral staircase with hardwood flooring. Our apartment is a fully furnished two-bedroom, two-bath, full kitchen, and nicely decorated living room. It costs about $900 for two nights, but the location makes it worth the money.
Sightseeing in Paris, France
That same afternoon, we head out for our hop-on hop-off bus tour, which takes us on The Avenue des Champs-Élysées near the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame de Paris, the Catholic Cathedral that caught fire in April of 2019. The tour also includes a view of the tunnel where Princess Diana died and a memorial in her honor located a few feet from the Bateaux Mouches, a river cruise. We have an Eiffel Tower tour scheduled this afternoon, but we cannot find the meet-up point, so we will miss it. We are frustrated because the tour costs over $400 for all of us. Unfortunately, the company does not want to refund the money. However, they agree to give us half off a future tour. So, we learn our lesson; do not pay a private tour company beforehand. We get off the bus and walk around before eating at Café Kleber.
French Food
To me, the café is surprisingly like a fancy restaurant. The host is a middle-aged man dressed in a fancy black suit. He welcomes us with an infectious smile. The tables are decorated with white tablecloths and fancy wine glasses. My baby brother and I order chicken nuggets with steamed veggies. The chicken nuggets are more like chicken tenders but more flat and meaty. My brother and mom order a sandwich, and my dad orders an omelet. We also order some hot chocolate that comes in a tiny mug. It is creamy and satisfying. I love it. The bathrooms are tiny and only have one stall. Not only is the bathroom small, but the hallway leading to the bathroom is very narrow.
After we eat, we see this souvenir shop. We look around, but we do not buy anything. It is getting late, and the tour bus is no longer operating. So, we catch a taxi back to our apartment, which takes about 30 minutes. The next day we plan to meet our cousins. We watch a few shows in French and go to bed.
Eiffel Tower
It’s morning, and we are getting ready to go out. We eat something small and walk to the hop-on hop-off. While we are waiting, we go inside the same souvenir shop. This time, my mom buys a pretty dress with the word “Paris” and a bag for my little cousin. She also gets a soccer ball for my other cousin with the word “France.” Returning outside, we see the same people waiting for the bus. The woman, a tour guide for the bus company, says, “The bus is probably not coming.” She says we can follow her to the metro if we want to go to the Eiffel Tower. We do just that. I mean, what else are we going to do? It is not like we know the area. This is our first time in Paris. We follow her to a metro station and ride two different metro lines.
Once we get off, we are near the river, not too far from the Tower. We continue to walk. I think we are lost because we are taking forever. Eventually, we find it. We decide to take the tour since we have tickets for the Bateaux Mouche. When we get to the boat, my mom’s cousin calls and says she is next to the Eiffel Tower. My mom wonders if we should make her wait for two hours or if we should go meet her. Making her wait would be rude and inconsiderate. After all, she travels from outside Paris with her children during protests and road closures. Moreover, the boat tour ticket is good for two years. Therefore, we decide to go meet her.
We walk for about 25 minutes to the front of the Eiffel Tower. Then, we go from the left side of the Tower to the right side and back to the left side. Finally, we go to the front and are about to cross the street when my mom sees them. I do not see them at first because I have never met them. We wave from across the street. We hug, we laugh, and we make jokes. Even with the language barrier, we manage to have fun. The kids speak French, and we speak English, but my mom and auntie communicate in Creole. I am timid the whole time I am with them. She takes us to a small food stand and says, “Kids, choose anything you want; I am paying.” We buy some churros and all sorts of candies. Then, walk a few feet to a souvenir shop.
We go across the street to the Palais de Tokyo, which is the museum across the street from the Tower. When we arrive, a man sings “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams. He also has a boom box radio, and the music is deafening. However, I really like the other songs he is singing. He has a small container for donations. My cousin gives him one euro. While my mom is talking to her cousin, my brothers play tag with our cousins. I have no idea how they manage to communicate, but they look like they are having a lot of fun.
It gets dark; I wonder when my mom will finish her conversation. She has not seen her cousin in 20 years, so they must catch up on many things. Then, the Eiffel Tower lights come on one section at a time. Then, we go to the top of the stairs to take pictures of the Tower. Did you know that professional photographers need prior authorization before taking a picture of the Tower when it is lit up if they want to use the image professionally? This is because the lights are protected by copyright.
Leaving Paris, France
We get up early the following day because a driver is taking us to the airport at ten. So, we collect all of our stuff and clean up. Then, we head out. Our taxi driver was already there, and it is Mr. Paul. I am delighted it is him. There is traffic, but the ride is shorter than before. We get to the airport in about 30 minutes. My mom pays Mr. Paul; we say our goodbyes and thank him.
Once inside, we proceed to the EasyJet counter to check in for our boarding passes. That is when the lady says our flight to Budapest was canceled. We are shocked. She says it got canceled five months ago. We must buy new tickets with another airline and request a refund later. Our new flight costs more than five times our canceled flight. Fortunately, we can recover all our expenses thanks to European laws, but they do not tell us that. They tell us we can request a refund for the cost of our original tickets, but thanks to the internet, we find out they are also liable for our new tickets with Lufthansa. It will be another 12 hours before our flight leaves for Budapest. While waiting for our flight, we visit several restaurants where we eat the best croissant in the world. It is sweet, buttery, crunchy, and moist, all at the same time. The gates are filled with the military, police, and police dogs due to protests around France. It feels scary because the airport is on high alert, and we do not want to get stuck in France.
After waiting for what feels like hours, we are exhausted and frustrated. It is finally time to board our Lufthansa flight to Munich, Germany, then Budapest. It is past 10 pm, and we are tired. We sit as a family on our flight to Germany, but we are not so lucky on our connecting flight to Budapest. We are all given different seat numbers since it is a last-minute booking and a full flight. Tonight I get to experience one of the most beautiful acts of kindness from other passengers who give up their seats one by one without anyone asking so we can sit as a family. First, the man sitting on my mom’s right offers to give my baby brother his seat so they could sit together. She is touched and thanks the man for his act of kindness. The woman on my mom’s left notices the man was very kind and mentions it. My mom tells the woman she is traveling with three children, and we are all separated. At this point, the woman offers her seat to me. After that woman gets up, another woman behind them says she will provide her seat for the third child. It is a teary moment indeed. Three exceptional individuals with big hearts offer their seats at the front of the place to sit in the back so a family can sit together. Other passengers look in awe and smile. It is indeed a happy moment. To those three passengers, I say thank you sincerely.
It is a smooth flight with zero turbulence. I do not think it took more than an hour to get there. We land in Budapest shortly after midnight, then take a taxi to my aunt’s house.
When we get to her house, she gives each of us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She also buys some doughnuts and provides us with some milk. The airlines delivered the rest of our luggage while we were in France. So, my mom decides to take our gifts out and pack our stuff to go home. My auntie promises to mail the gifts to France for us. After less than two hours of sleep, we say our goodbyes and thank her. Then, we head back to the airport.
Heading back to the U.S
After a short layover in London, we board our flight back to the U.S., which will take 10 hours. After landing, I am drained and thankful for a safe flight. My auntie mails the gifts to France, but they never make it to my cousins. Both the airlines and our travel insurance refuse to refund the money. The airline that caused my mom and my brother to spend the entire trip without their bags refunded less than $120 for the inconvenience. What a joke, uh!
That was my European trip; I hope you enjoyed it as I did. I also hope you continue to read my blogs. Thank you!
See you on my next adventure! We are going to spend summer vacation in Paris.
