Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

“Peux-je m’asseoir ici?”

We had just gotten to Paris. We were too late to take the metro, our first Uber driver never showed up, and we ended up having to hail a cab. It was right around 10:30 p.m., and the first French I got to speak in the city was asking our driver if I could sit in the front seat since my three friends were sitting in the back.

I told him where we wanted to go, and we got there eventually: our penthouse Airbnb with ants in the kitchen and a showerhead that rested in the tub instead of being attached to anything. It was perfect.

Admittedly, the 103 steps we had to climb to get up to it were a little bit of a downer.

From our balcony, we could just see the top of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, poking over the buildings around us.

Our weekend trip to Paris marked my third time visiting the city, and little of the awe I experienced my first time has worn off in the last two trips. My French has gotten better since the last time, and for the first time, I felt like I could really communicate with people when I needed to.

We packed a lot into our two full days and three nights. We hit Notre Dame, Les Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and, on our final evening, Montmartre for a spectacular view of the city.

We had some wonderful pasta Saturday night and enjoyed the common Parisian breakfast of orange juice, a hot drink and a croissant Saturday and Sunday morning. My friends tried escargot. As a vegetarian, I abstained. (Would I have tried even if I wasn’t? Probably not.)

I enjoyed visiting the city without any real schedule or obligations. It was refreshing after some of the rigorously scheduled trips I’ve taken in the past. We meandered around the city on our own time.

I loved it just as much as always, and I was happy to be able to share the city with my small group of six friends, most of whom were visiting for the first time. I can’t wait to find myself on one of Paris’ beautiful, narrow streets again soon.