I didn't sleep on the plane, which was definitely a mistake. I really meant to, but I was too excited, and the people seated next to me were too interesting. I had the window seat, and in the seats to my right were an elderly couple. After a few hours of conversation, I discovered that they not only were from only a few towns over from my house, but also had each lived quite successful and eventful lives, even before they retired and decided to travel the world. With sixty years of marriage and multiple careers (including motivational speaker, state politician, judge, soldier, and charity organizer) behind them, they had sage advice to give and were very willing to chat. I could have listened to them describe their travels all day; from breakfasts on the African Savannah to climbing Machu Picchu, this couple had really done it all, it seemed ("Except Australia," they were quick to tell me. "It's the only continent we haven't been to yet!"). But eventually we parted ways, as they headed off to a cruise through the arctic circle and I headed off to France.
My first experience with transportation in France was taking the train from Charles de Gaulle Airport into Paris itself. There was a long line of people trying to buy tickets from the machines at the station in the airport, and an even longer ride into the city, but eventually I and the other people from my program that I meet up with made it to Cite Internationale, the campus we'll be living at during our time in France.
The train system in Paris is actually made of two separate systems, similar to how Chicago has both the Metra and CTA. Paris has the RER, the commuter trains, and the Metro, the train lines within the city itself. Each system has several lines that go different places, but everything is pretty well connected if you're willing to navigate it. Fortunately, RER line B has stops both in the airport and literally right across the street from our campus, so that part of the journey was far less confusing than it could have been.
One VERY IMPORTANT tip about the trains, though: do NOT leave your bags unattended. If you realize that you're missing something, call the train operators. The reason I mention this is because some other traveler didn't, and Paris takes things like unattended suitcases very seriously (I assume because Paris has been the target of terror before).
On my way home from getting a new phone SIM card and dinner on my first day in the city, three police officers boarded our train car. A thing about Paris police: they carry machine guns. It's a little intimidating, which I suppose is the point, but still. They asked if the suitcase belonged to anyone, and how long it had been on the train (all in French, of course- my understanding of this came exclusively from context clues and a friend's translation). After someone responded that the bag had been on the train for the last bunch of stops, the police sort-of loosely surrounded the suitcase and just chatted with the other passengers. After one officer reached for the emergency break, a bunch of Parisians all moaned or made grumbly noises, to which the officer laughed and replied in rapid-fire French. Apparently whatever he said was hilarious, because everyone who understood it laughed, and at the next stop, after reconfirming that the bag had been left abandoned for awhile, the officer pulled the emergency brake and ushered everyone both off of the train and out of the station. While the officers themselves admitted that it was probably just some tourist's forgotten suitcase, but they nevertheless closed everything down and called it in as a potential bomb.
We didn't want to walk from the stop back to our dorms, so we did what many people of my generation tend to do: we called an Uber. Finally, to conclude the series of wonderful, weird, and worrisome transportation events, the car that picked us up was none other than a BMW.
All in all, it was an interesting way to be introduced to the city.
Update:
The gap between the RER train and the train platform just outside my dorm is unusually wide, and the other day someone fell into it. The train is automatic, so it ran him over and he lost his leg. Fortunately, I wasn't there for this, but one of the other students saw it happen. Please use caution.
Also, though this blog post focuses on trains and planes, I've actually taken the tram a lot, too, which I didn't know existed at the time I made this post. More than that, though, I've walked; Paris is a very much a pedestrian city. Many tourists wear really high heels, because Paris is a fashion hot spot, but much of the city is cobblestone, which usually doesn't mix well with heels. If you plan on visiting, I'd recommend bringing shoes that you can move in; trust me, you'll want to be able to go see things!