Arrival in Reims

I made it to my room in Reims, France, where I am now! It was a long journey...delayed plane from Atlanta to Philadelphia, running through the airport to catch the connection to Paris. And then successfully boarding the plane only to wait 3 hours to take off! (This was due to a lady on the plane who had lost her paperwork and demanded to get off of the plane. My first impression was that she had boarded despite not having papers & I thought she'd had to be bodily removed from the plane! It wasn't quite so dramatic as I'd imagined, once I got the story straight.) In my exhausted state, I was already missing my familiar home and second-guessing my decision to leave. Thinking maybe I wish I'd demanded off of that plane too!

Thankfully, I was seated next to a very kind French girl, called "V." I can't imagine a better person to have been placed beside me for those hours. She struck up a conversation with me while we waited. She'd just spent many months studying away from her home, in Spain and in the U.S. Unfortunately it was more difficult for us to understand each other in French than in English; and I think neither of us were quite yet ready to switch to speaking French. So in her accented English, she told me about her region, recommended favorite museums and monuments, discussed French politics, answered any questions I came up with, and was just plain eager to help.

V had a train to run after, so we parted at customs; but after she missed it, we met again while in line to buy train tickets. She offered to help me, and after we had both gotten tickets (on our own!), we sat together with our luggage and ate lunch. She even showed me to my train platform, and there we said "bonne chance" (good luck) and "au revoir!" 

Even though I had worried about having to change trains, the only difficult thing about riding the train from Paris to Reims was having a huge, 50 lb suitcase to lug up those few steps! But the French gentlemen were gracious enough to help me haul my bag, and so I and my luggage made it to Reims.

...Where I managed to get lost. I was very unable to decipher the lines of the Reims bus system. After taking one bus ride (one I was instructed to take by the train station worker), I had no clue where to go next. Thank God, I was rescued again - one lady finally took pity on me and led me to the correct bus stop. And from there I just walked down the street to get to my lodgings. I was so happy to have somewhere to put my bags and take a shower! But I think I will venture out again soon to find food. Maybe I'll even cross the river to catch my first sight of the magnificent Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims...