Ahh....Paris!

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After stepping into a Mercedes taxi from the airport, we made our way straight for the hotel. Our first day in France was marked by excitement, of course, but also fatigue from the considerable travel we had leading up to the trip. So, we spent the day exploring our quaint Paris neighborhood of Invalides (quarter, or what Jordan likes to call Ward #7 near the Eiffel Tower), having a cafe and croissant at a local pattisserie and planning our time for the next 3 days in Paris. One thing that struck us was how quiet everything was. Though we started early in the morning, the noise level never seemed to increase. The French speak at almost a whisper at all times to one another. No wonder they consider Americans loud. This was really interesting to witness. We also quickly gathered that the French value good food and good times. So, we jumped right in!! Delicious, fresh and leisurely meals are a part of daily life and the check is only brought to you when requested. Dinner that night included a lentil, goat cheese, boiled egg, and spinach salad (delicious!) and a French brushcetta with roasted goat cheese. Maybe finding vegetarian meals wouldnt be so hard. And what meal would be complete without dessert, which the French know how to do so well. An apple tart with ice cream completed our meal and we ended our night discovering new streets in our neighborhood.

Day 2: Paris
We spent most of the morning at the Eurarail office with Nora, a patient and sweet half French half "Spanish" woman, who helped us book rail tickets for the entire trip. Past Europe travelers had informed us that for Eurarail we only needed to show up but a busy season required us to book all of our trips in advance. We were pleased to have that behind us and were ready for our day. That afternoon we took an open top sightseeing bus to see all of Paris and then decide where to return to the next day. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and there was so much to see. Each quarter in the city was so unique and the historical sights are mind blowing. That evening we went to a vegetarian restaurant near the Latin Quarter, which was good but we were definitely enjoying the traditional French meals. We were surprised to see Indian restaurants as well. After stopping to see the famous Notre Dame church, we decided to walk back to the Invalides which was several miles in the rain. Nonetheless, it was the best way to really experience the city though our shoes were ready to give up before we were. Paris boasts 32 bridges and, by night, the scene was exquisite. It truly is beautiful lit up in the evening and the Eiffel Tower looked magnificent. We would tackle that the next day.

Day 3: Paris
We took our cafes and croissants to go this morning and headed straight to the bus top to hop onto our open top sightseeing bus. Our goal for the day was to tackle the Louvre and the Eiffel tower. The Louvre was amazing and as the biggest museum in the world, we couldn't possible see even a fraction of it. It used to serve as a fort during the times of war and then changed hands between kings as their palaces. Finally, it was given to the city to showcase the plethora of wonderful art. We spent a few hours there to see the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo. Around 3 pm, we realized we had forgotten about lunch but fortunately there was a cafe in the museum. We didn't expect much since typically museums don't have the best tasting food. Boy, were we wrong. We had a goat cheese and spinach salad, a fresh sandwich and strawberry JUICE, which was delicious. The French demand the best at every meal, even at a museum. We continued through the museum to finish viewing the Egyptian and Mesopotamian exhibits. So much to see!! After the Louvre, we hopped back onto the bus to see the city again. We couldn't get enough of Paris! We returned to the hotel, dressed for the evening and headed back to Rue Cler (Ward 7), where we had success the first night. Dinner included a risotto with asparagus and Parmesan. Mmmmm.... and dessert was salted caramel ice cream!! Now it was time to make our way to the Eiffel. It was drizzling but we weren't going to let that stop us! When we reached the Eiffel around 10 pm, it was still packed with visitors. We had limited time left to go up using the lift so we decided to walk up the 700 steps to the 2nd story. This was no easy feat (and not easy on the feet, bahahahah) especially with one of us (Jordan) wearing a dress and heels! It was invigorating, nonetheless, and the views at every level were spectacular. It was way past closing time to take the lift up to the top, so we got in line to take the lift downstairs, but we realised they were still letting people up to the top, so we hopped on that poppy. We decided to go to the very top and the panorama, especially where we saw the Seine River, was breathtaking. The idea of the tower was commissioned by the French government and the architect selected was an interesting character. His ideas were revolutionary and he even built a small apartment at the very top level to entertain guests like Albert Einstein! Everything we had heard about the Eiffel was true! It is a must see for everyone, especially at night when at every hour, the "Tour" twinkles for about a full minute.

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