The last year of high school was filled with optimism and 1 emotions that were nostalgic. It was like standing on a bridge that must be crossed., leaving behind the carefree days of youth and 2 steppedstepped into a life of responsibilities, business meetings, and 3 paying bills. paying bills. My friends and I decided to have one last trip together before heading off in our own directions. My friends had decided to go to college on the other side of the country., 4 join an environmental group to save the rainforest, or work for their parents in the family business, which was what I was doing in the same town I’d lived in all my life. Out of the three of us., I needed this vacation the most. I had never left the state, let alone 5 departing from the country. So when Tom suggested we spend the summer in Europe, I was thrilled. After all, travel is a great way to bond with others and 6 to learn about the world. We landed at Heathrow Airport at about 4 pm,
7 would sleep in the terminal for a few hours and took a connecting flight to Paris. We almost missed
our flight because of the loud, pushy, and 8 large sizes of the crowd. large On the flight, we 9 were reading
books, watched movies, and listened to music. When have arrived, it finally dawned on us that we were all alone in a foreign country. As students; and 10 we were clueless tourists, we walked aimlessly through the streets with giant backpacks.

We found a car rental place and chose a Volkswagen Beetle that was inexpensive to rent and 11 easily driven. It was perfect for taking us through the streets of Paris and 12 to show us the popular tourist sites. The history of Paris dates back to the third century. Today, the city is known for its coffee culture and 13 for its fashion boutiques It didn’t take long for us to realize there was no way, have could see everything in just a few hours, so we just toured the usual tourist attractions like the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, and 14 we went to tl1e Arc de Triomphe. By having a budget and 15 we stuck to it, we had enough money to try a three-star Michelin restaurant afterwards!