Day 1 - Sept. 21 - Monday

Toronto - Paris

It’s 6:30am local time and I am sitting at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport waiting for my parents. Most of you are still sleeping, since it’s just after midnight in Toronto. I can’t really say that I feel like I'm in another country because everything here is written in French and English and people look like they're from all over the world – just like in Toronto.

First thing I saw at Paris airport: a huge poster of Gisele Bundchen!

The flight was fine, shorter than I thought: only 8 hours. I think this was my first time flying Air France and it wasn’t that bad. The seats are tight like any other major airline, but the food was better (see photo).

What really impressed me was to have champagne for dinner. What a treat! The only other time I had champagne in a plane was when I traveled (by accident) in first class. It was years ago, coming from Brazil; and I remember my friend Rafael rushing to be one of the first people to get in the plane. Why? He explained: “so everyone else could come in and see me in first class drinking champagne.” Good times!!!

Back to my flight… I don’t know why but I always choose stupid movies to watch in planes. Movies that I would never watch on another occasion. Well, this time was no different. I picked 'The Proposal' (which had some Alaska scenery) and 'Bride Wars' (arghhhr, awful!!!). But really enjoyed my third option: 'Coraline'. Going through immigration was silent. All I could hear was the noise of the stamp on my passport. Not even a Bonjour!