Welcome to Europe...
Shaan Kapoor
The date was June 28th, 2:45 pm, at SFO airport. I was about to go to Paris and London for the first time ever. As my parents and I boarded the plane, I started getting more excited than ever. The closer we got to Europe, the more I anticipated the trip. After about a 9 ½ hour flight, we finally arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). The drive to our hotel was about an hour, so I decided not to waste time. All I did during the drive was take pictures of literally everything we drove past.
“Shaan, why are you taking a photo of a brick wall?” said my Mother.
“It ain’t just any brick wall, it’s a Parisian brick wall,” I responded.
My mother replied with a sigh, “Fine you do you.”
Once we arrived at our hotel, they told us our room wasn’t yet ready. Since we had such horrible food on the flight, we decided we would go to eat. Where we stayed was probably the best little neighborhood to stay in Paris. If you are ever in Paris, I recommend you go and stay at Le Pavillion de la Reine in Le Marais. We were right next to so many cute little French restaurants and shops. Together as a family, my mother, father, and I walked across the little park plaza to a restaurant where I ate a juicy halibut dish.
After we ate, I wanted some crepes, so I asked my parents where we could get some good crepes.
“Let’s ask the hotel guys,” my father said.
“Good idea!” I said.
So we went back to the hotel. The staff there said that some of the best places to get crepes might actually be at a little cart near the Eiffel Tower. We then decided to take an Uber to see the beautiful Eiffel Tower at night… and eat crepes. The moment we arrived there, our first reaction was, “Woooooowwww!” but not at the tower, at the number of people staring at the tower. As I took my first bite of the chocolatey Nutella crepe, the 300-meter tall tower started to glow. The lights on the tower are like nothing you will ever see. Everyone started cheering like someone had won the Superbowl. I rushed to grab my camera. After I took one picture this happened…
“Camera Low Battery!”
I panicked that I used almost all the battery that was left to take a few more photos before I have to switch to my phone. I kid you not, my finger did not leave the shutter button for almost a minute. I took way too many pictures.
Once we got back to our hotel room, we all just fell right to bed. We had such a tiring day, all we wanted to do was sleep, and so we did. The next morning, I decided to sleep in like I always do, but my mom and dad went to grab us some croissants for breakfast. By the time I woke up, it was already 10:45 am CET (Central European Time) and we had a booking to go see the Louvre at noon. I still needed to eat, shower, and brush my teeth, and by the time I’m done with that it would be 11:30 am… ok so maybe that is enough time. Once again, the lovely staff at the hotel suggested to us that we go by train so that we won’t get stuck in traffic in Uber. Being a kid who lives in an area where trains aren’t used much, I wanted to experience going on the underground. Although the train was still stuffed with people who had B.O. the overall experience of using the underground train was honestly, quite fun.
After the 30 min train ride, we finally reached the Musée du Louvre. As we walked in through the intricately carved entrance, my mother was getting more and more excited to see the Mona Lisa and other amazing art, because she is an artist herself. Since our tour was actually at 12:30 and the noon tour was already full, my parents and I decided to take some photos while we waited. Fast forward 30 min, we were inside the beautiful Musée du Louvre. As per our hotel’s recommendation, we first went to see Mrs. Mona Lisa. These are just a few of the things I had to say…
“So small!!”
“That smile is harder to do than I thought!”
“Again, why are there so many people!?”
Once my parents and I finally got out of that crowded room, we went to go see a few more artworks, and of course, we had to get souvenirs.
After three whole days in Paris, we had eaten so much bread like croissants that I couldn’t eat anymore bread for another two months. We had an early train to catch to London, but my mom wanted to do one more thing. She made our whole family wake up at 5:00 am to see the sunrise at the Eiffel Tower. We were the only ones there. After we took so many pictures, it was time for us to leave. Although I had so much fun in Paris, I was extremely filled with joy to see London.
Our Eurostar train left at around 9:00, so we quickly packed our bags and boarded the train which we almost missed. Even though they moved us to worse seats, the train was smooth and within no time we were in the majestic city of London. I was so excited to explore the history of this wonderful city. Before we started our British adventure, I had to tell my parents a few things.
“NO MORE MUSEUMS! Except for Madame Tussauds.”
“Let’s take it easy with the amount of food we eat, ok?”
“You also need to have fun. I am definitely going to enjoy my time here, but you should.”
“Ok, that's reasonable,” said my Mom.
“Yes, sir!” my Dad said.
Our first day in London, all we wanted to do was just relax, so we did. We only did two things that day: eat at Dishoom and watch a play called The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. Both the places we went to were just outstanding. There is nothing like eating Indian comfort food, and watching an English slap-stick comedy play. On our second of five days in London, we went to go and see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Although the place smelled like a horse’s fecal matter, the experience of seeing the guards and the palace was just amazing. There was music being played in the background while the guards marched their way. We were trying to find the best spot to see all the action, but again, there were so many people!! Thanks to one of kind police gentleman, he let all the kids and teens step in slightly further to see what was happening. Unlike the rude policeman on the other side, he was funny, kind, and had charisma. He was the one who made the whole guard changing experience amazing.
While walking to get some food, we ran into some of our friends who live back in The Bay. We went to go and eat at a place which is now my favorite restaurant in the world, Nando’s. If you are ever in London and want a better version of KFC, go to Nando’s.
Day three of the London trip had come. My father is an Indian boy who loves cricket and got me into it as well. Our favorite international team is India. The Cricket World Cup only happens once every four years. Coincidentally, the same time we were in England, the Cricket World Cup was taking place there. My father was slightly reluctant to go see India play because it would be too expensive, but I pushed him to go. Partially because I also wanted to see the game. The only game which we wanted to see was in Leeds, which is about an hour and a half train ride from London, but we didn’t let that stop us from going. The moment we got to the stadium my dad’s face lit up, and I could tell he was happy. My dad grew up in India, and sharing this experience was something I always wanted to do. Every time India did something good, both of us would stand up and cheer. I felt even more happy knowing the fact that my father was happy and having fun. Since all the jerseys that I wanted were sold out, I got an India Cricket flag and an ICC (International Cricket Council) hat. We had to leave right before the person we wanted to see go in to bat, but it’s okay because India still won that game anyway!
The rest of our days in London, all we did was eat, shop, and sleep. I can’t thank my parents enough for taking me on this trip of a lifetime. I loved both places a lot, but I did like London a little bit more. I have made a promise to myself: I will be moving to London in the future, attending college there, and buying a place in Paris. This trip was absolutely incredible and I owe it all to my parents and the amazing people in both Paris and London. If you ever are struggling to find a place to visit, I 100% recommend Paris and London over anywhere else.
