Paris day 1
Our flight out to Paris was an overnighter. Those suck. Just saying. I think I maybe slept for 20 minutes the whole flight. :/
We got through customs (squeeee my first stamp in my passport!), grabbed our luggage, and met the taxi we had reserved. He was rather amusing and got us safely to our apartment near Arc d'Triumphe. The apartment is nice, if boring--pics are here.
The rental agent was very nice but the only problem was the wi-fi in the apartment isn't working and he had no solution. That cheesed me off quite a bit. His answer was--well just ask one of the neighbors to share their password so you can get on theirs. Really???
We were exhausted by that point to took a nice 4 hour nap before heading off to find food. We saw the lovely Arc d'Triumph, then found a cafe. CG had chicken with asparagus risotto, and I had shrimp with avocado and grapefruit. Tres yummy!
We then decided to take a walk toward the Eiffel Tower. We wandered around, tourist style, taking pictures. CG got a chocolate croissant from a patisserie named Josephine. He said it was delicious! Finally there it was, the Eiffel Tower. Very impressive. We didn't get too close, but the view from across the Seine was gorgeous. Then we wandered our way back to the apartment, stopping for food at the local supermarket. And fresh bread from the Boulangerie!
Got home to a message that the kid's pediatrician had called--Ben has strep. We made a (omg very expensive I'm sure) call home. Kathryn had everything well in hand--she had already gotten the first dose of penicillin from the pharmacy.
Feeling a lot better, CG and I relaxed and had a yummy Parisian improvisational dinner--a fry up of potatoes, mushrooms, and eggs with Brie and fresh bread on the side. Add a bottle of wine and viola! Instant yum.
Sleep was fitful last night. We went to bed at 10:30 Paris time (4:30 home time). I had a hard time sleeping so was back up for a couple of hours. Managed to get back to sleep just after 5:30, and slept until 12:30. Trust me when I tell you I could have slept a lot lot lot longer.
Today we're off to get a fix for the wireless problem, and then to see Ile de la Cite (Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, and St. Chappelle). Tomorrow CG starts work and I get to wander around Paris on my own.
The only real big drawback for me is not speaking the language. We are making do so far but I feel like I'm definitely missing out on a lot. And my default foreign language is German. Not much help! :) Next time.....
We got through customs (squeeee my first stamp in my passport!), grabbed our luggage, and met the taxi we had reserved. He was rather amusing and got us safely to our apartment near Arc d'Triumphe. The apartment is nice, if boring--pics are here.
The rental agent was very nice but the only problem was the wi-fi in the apartment isn't working and he had no solution. That cheesed me off quite a bit. His answer was--well just ask one of the neighbors to share their password so you can get on theirs. Really???
We were exhausted by that point to took a nice 4 hour nap before heading off to find food. We saw the lovely Arc d'Triumph, then found a cafe. CG had chicken with asparagus risotto, and I had shrimp with avocado and grapefruit. Tres yummy!
We then decided to take a walk toward the Eiffel Tower. We wandered around, tourist style, taking pictures. CG got a chocolate croissant from a patisserie named Josephine. He said it was delicious! Finally there it was, the Eiffel Tower. Very impressive. We didn't get too close, but the view from across the Seine was gorgeous. Then we wandered our way back to the apartment, stopping for food at the local supermarket. And fresh bread from the Boulangerie!
Got home to a message that the kid's pediatrician had called--Ben has strep. We made a (omg very expensive I'm sure) call home. Kathryn had everything well in hand--she had already gotten the first dose of penicillin from the pharmacy.
Feeling a lot better, CG and I relaxed and had a yummy Parisian improvisational dinner--a fry up of potatoes, mushrooms, and eggs with Brie and fresh bread on the side. Add a bottle of wine and viola! Instant yum.
Sleep was fitful last night. We went to bed at 10:30 Paris time (4:30 home time). I had a hard time sleeping so was back up for a couple of hours. Managed to get back to sleep just after 5:30, and slept until 12:30. Trust me when I tell you I could have slept a lot lot lot longer.
Today we're off to get a fix for the wireless problem, and then to see Ile de la Cite (Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, and St. Chappelle). Tomorrow CG starts work and I get to wander around Paris on my own.
The only real big drawback for me is not speaking the language. We are making do so far but I feel like I'm definitely missing out on a lot. And my default foreign language is German. Not much help! :) Next time.....