We arrived at Paris CDG after flying on the tiniest aeroplane and found our way through the huge airport, picking up a tourist map as we went. The signs for the train station were quite easy to follow, but we soon started to regret taking so many bags! We purchased two Paris Viste passes for 60 euros each which would give us unlimited access to trains and the Metro for five days, perfect for our stay.
After Rome, we were quite good at working out the metro systems (so we thought) and figured out we needed a train to Gare Du Nord. The metro ended up being so much more confusing than we first thought and although I had written down directions to the hotel, we just couldn't seem to get the right district. I had my first experience as a proper foreigner when I tried to get directions from some barmen who could barely speak a word of English. We ended up going back and fourth before being sent in the complete wrong direction by a tourist information desk! Eventually after many more metro rides we made it to our hostel, a little after being told to be really careful because it's a pretty dodgy area eek!
The hostel was ok.. we knew we would be getting what we paid for and as long as we were safe we knew we would be able to manage. When we arrived at the front of the hotel there were gangs of French men hanging around which was quite scary. At first we felt really intimidated by them but then one of them helped us find the entrance so we felt much more at ease. As we were starving we dropped our bags off and headed straight to Mcdonald's (one we'd stumbled upon on our many metro journeys) before heading back for an early night to plan our next day.
Our first hostel experience
Tips for travel
- Look out for the free city/metro maps you can pick up at the airport
- Watch out for ticket touts in the metros - they try and give you 'free' metro passes and then expect money for them - just ignore them!
- Ask people if they speak English first - we learned this the hard way after blabbering on to people who looked very confused! We didn't realise how many people spoke little English so made sure to ask them first.
- Pickpockets - I was quite wary in the metro stations about my bag as it had everything important in it, especially as we were looking like complete tourists.
- Plan ahead with train tickets - buying the Paris Viste passes saved us a lot of time and money buying separate tickets.
- Ignore 'helpful' people in the street, a lot of them are scams. Just go with your gut instinct and if it doesn't feel right ignore them.
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