And Outside The Rain Fell...

Day 1 : Bangalore – Mumbai – Frankfurt – Paris

It was a day everyone had been waiting for, for as long as I had first announced it. Mom, Dad, Bro and Bhabhi, everyone had come to see me off at the airport. It is always an emotional moment, I try not to look back as it can get teary at times, but this time, it was all smiles and a hasty goodbye.

Mumbai was uneventful, and I stopped over at Raut’s place, a beautiful sea-facing apartment in Versova (thanks to Pritesh). Life looked awesome going forward. We reached airport far too early, and after all the security checks, we were all ready and set for boarding.

The extra weight we carried was all adjusted amongst ourselves, which meant we faced little problem checking in. A decent in-cabin dinner, a seat refused to recline, a sumptuous breakfast and an on-time flight, I had little to complain about.

And then, Frankfurt. Fraport. The size of the airport was mindboggling. Everything was sparkling, and there were miles and miles of shops, check-in gates, and few annoying security checks. And efficiency. Everything worked to the clock, and we actually were able to board our transit flight quite comfortably, with only one hour between the two flights. A pleasant surprise. What amazed me about the Europe I had seen so far(just one airport, rated to be amongst the best in the world) was the way technology comfortably imbibed in everything you did. Whether it was checking in yourself or your baggage shifting flights without requiring any intervention, it all works seamlessly.



We reached Paris’ Charles de Gaul airport, but not before catching a glimpse of the towering Eiffel on a clear Autumn day. Flights landed and took-off like almost a taxi service. And the airport was old, almost a labyrinth, and nearing dilapidation. A super quick transit rail took us from the airport to the RER station terminals, and luggage hardly ever proved to be a problem. We took the RER from CDG to Gurd de Nord, and it was then that our Paris experience started. Paris was around 17 degrees, pleasant, with a cold wind blowing across.


Thanks to our landlady, we decided to walk around the station, finding our way to our apartment. Armed with a map and our luggage, we followed what we could from the map, and asked directions in the little French we knew.

I’ve heard so much of the French being rude, and it was indeed a surprise when an old gentleman patiently explained the way to our apartment from the station, and almost backtracked on his cycle to ensure we were not lost! Blessed be he, cause indeed we were quite lost.

The buildings, of what we’ve seen, are rather similar. French windows, clean lines and two-toned buildings. I’ll try observing tomorrow in greater detail. Sigh. Thanks to the map, we reached our place fine, and it was everything as was promised.


Fully furnished, it already had everything we could have asked for all ready. There are some issues with the internet, nevertheless, the landlady has been most helpful and the place is delightful, clean, cosy and very comfortable.

We had to reach college in an hour and a half, and we did so after helping ourselves to a quick lunch of two servings of maggi. The first one had far too much water, the second a little too less masala, but it was amongst the most delicious meals I’ve ever had. What with the hunting around for the apartment in a totally unknown city for more than an hour!


We figured the quickest way to get to the college was taxi, but heck, it would cost too much! We hopped onto the Subway (which is different from the RER Metro system, and probably more connected) and paid almost INR 100 for a 8 minute ride to our college. It required one stop over at Gard de’ East, and switching trains.



Walking the Avenue de la Republique made me realize there is so much of the Cafe culture here, with one dotting every street and delightful Parisians smoking away and sipping on to their holy water. It’s a way of life here, I guess. Smokers are everywhere! And there are far too many. Cigarette butts line the road, but somehow, it fits in. Everything so far does. It just seems right.
ESCP-Europe in many ways reminded me of Jain College, and I’d confirm once I have more details on hand. We finished what little work we had and decided to walk back to our apartment, to save on money and to see Paris in the best way it can be seen- on foot.




And that’s when I realized how beautiful the city is. It was massive, full of people sporting fantastic hair-dos and spectacular clothes, where mopeds zipped by the streets amidst BMWs, yet stopped every so often to let pedestrians cross streets. Dedicated cycle tracks, brimming cafes, light rain, unafraid pigeons, beautiful women and superb cars- I knew I would like it here.
We reached home in what was the shortest way possible by foot, stopping every so often to check grocery prices or see if we could anything vegetarian. We picked up a few apples for tomorrow’s breakfast. And came back to clean up a room that was thoroughly messed up. Katia, our landlady, was rather sweet, effortless handed us out instructions on everything we might need and promised to sort out our internet problems soon. She seemed good.

We settled in finally. To our home. In Paris. In the heart of Paris. The feeling is beginning to sink in. To stay in Paris is awesome.

But home was home. We rounded up the day with Lemon rice prepared by yours’ truly and TarDi, made more delicious by a hunger, a body clock fighting to fit in. And we watched Dil Chahta Hai.

Eurotrip has begun.

And how!