I arrived in Paris on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. I hadn’t slept in 10 hours, my suitcase wheel broke at CDG airport, and I couldn’t figure out how to order an Uber without the internet.
And that’s when it hit me — my local SIM card doesn’t work here. No signal. No data. I’m in a foreign country with no idea how to get to my Airbnb near Montmartre. I stood in front of the airport vending machines, debating whether I should buy one of those overpriced tourist SIMs.
Then I remembered: I had bought a B12 Link eSIM back home, just in case.
I opened my phone, scanned the QR code from my email, and within 2 minutes — boom. LTE. I actually laughed out loud. It felt like flipping on a light switch in a dark room.
Google Maps loaded. I called my Airbnb host. I messaged my sister, “I made it, and guess what? The eSIM actually works. lol.”
That evening, I walked the damp streets of Paris with a warm croissant in one hand and my phone in the other, navigating charming alleyways without worry. No roaming charges. No lines. No SIM swaps. Just smooth, fast internet.
And I couldn’t stop thinking… Why aren’t more people doing this?
It’s crazy how one small decision — downloading an eSIM — changed the entire mood of my arrival. What could’ve been a stressful, cold first day turned into an adventure. I made it to the Airbnb, unpacked, connected to Wi-Fi, and uploaded my first Europe pic with the caption:
“Bonjour from Paris 🇫🇷 — thanks @b12link for not letting me get lost on day one.”