Growing up seeing images of Notre Dame plastered on the walls of my Catholic grade school convinced me of its grace and grandeur. It was the church to visit (besides St. Peter’s in Rome) for the majesty of the Catholic Church to hit you like a 2 x 4.
Even though when I arrived at Notre Dame I had been awake for almost 24 hours and had just gotten off a sleepless, eight and a half hour trans-Atlantic flight, the sight of the church across the Seine invigorated me.
As our group entered the church, I was careful to stay close to our tour guide to avoid getting lost among the hundreds of ‘Oohers and ‘Aahers’ (the real getting lost part comes later.) We toured the church in record time, much to my disappointment, and my pictures ended up painfully blurry. Then we were released for a little free time. I grabbed a group of my friends and immediately ran back inside to try to soak in as much of Notre Dame as I could.
From the sweeping arches to the towering stained glass windows, it was just as I remembered seeing it as a girl. I took as many pictures as I could and left feeling elated.
We exited the church to meet up with the rest of the group only to find the group was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, we found out the group had left. On the bus. After a few moments of panic (mostly my panic) we pulled ourselves together and resolved to take a taxi back to the hotel. We marched to the street corner and confidently stuck our arms in the air and watched taxi after taxi zoom past us. It turns out, that’s not how you get a taxi in Paris. Go figure.
Long story short, Google saved the day. So, for future reference, here’s how to get a taxi in Paris in three easy steps:
Step 1: Find a taxi stand. They’re located near busy intersections and major monuments. Don’t stand on the curb waving your arms like a crazy person; no one will pick you up.
Step 2: Tell the driver where you’re going, preferably in French. If you can’t, just point to a spot on a map or show them an address.
Step 3: Arrive at your destination, pay the driver and bask in the satisfaction of surviving a French taxi ride. Don’t forget to tip!
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