First Day in Paris

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Arrived in Paris at 10AM. Decided to take the RER (train) into town from the airport to save a little $$. Unfortunately we stood in a long line at the ticket machine before discovering 1) it didn’t take US credit cards and 2) it didn’t sell the kind of tickets we wanted. We got a 3 day Paris Visite pass which gives you unlimited usage of the Metro and RER. It’s nice to have a pass so that you don’t have to stop to buy a ticket each time you get on and calculate the exact ticket price for each destination.

We headed for the hotel on the Ile de St. Louis first. We had walked by this hotel the last time we were in Paris (Feb. 2002) and decided we would stay there on our next trip. The Ile is very small, quaint, and in a great location! True to form, our room was teeny. U-shaped with an entry hall, double bed with one side against the wall, and smallest shower stall ever. However the place was super quiet so that was nice.

The site of our favorite culinary experience in Paris was a short walk away on the Place de la Bastille so we decided to head there first. The Charlotte Chocolate Noir is unarguably the best dessert we’ve ever had and we were hoping for another after 3 years of longing. When we didn’t see it in the case, I took out the photo from our last visit and showed it to the lady behind the counter. Of course they had it earlier in the year and wouldn’t again for two more weeks. C’est la vie! She did seem quite impressed that we liked it so much though. We ended up having lunch at the place next door - see photo. As you can see, the tables on the right are crowded and the ones on the left….not so much. The tables for the 2 cafes were so close together, we ended up eating at the wrong one! But our waiter was extremely nice and the croquet monsieur/madames tasty.

Next it was off to Notre Dame. Last time we missed the cut off to climb the stairs to the top. What you have to understand about Paris is that attractions close early - doors close (no more entries allowed) typically 30 min prior to the posted closing time! Paris is full of circular staircases, and Notre Dame is no exception. 400 stairs later we were at the top and enjoyed a superb view of the city. We also visited the nearby Saint Chapelle, site of the most beautiful stained glass I’ve ever seen. The windows tell the story of the entire Bible. J had the chance to try out his tripod for the first time here, although he was told to put it away by a docent before getting the really juicy shots. Oh well.

We decided to call it an early night as we were barely able to keep our eyes open. So we found a café down the street from our hotel with a view of the Seine for dinner. Our waiter spoke a little English, and I spoke a little French so it worked out fine. Ladies, watch out for those French men, they are quite bold- this guy was about 19, dashingly handsome, and kept winking at me right in front of J!

Ile de St. Louis is the home of Berthillion ice cream so every restaurant on the island serves it. The waiter recommended cassis to us which we discovered means “black currant.” It was excellent! On an after lunch stop at the original Berthillion shop Wednesday, we sampled chocolate, caramel, pear, peach, coconut, grapefruit, and red peach. Mmmmmm!

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Photos

Croque Madame
You cannot get away from these sandwiches in Paris. It's the national lunch food :-)

Orangina
This drink cost over 5 bucks. More than any of the fancy pastries here. No idea why soft drinks are more expensive than bakery items.

Rose Window
In St. Chapelle.

3D Wallpaper
CM wants a room with this stuff.

Bell Tower
Quasimoto's front door.

Comments

[Jessica]

great pix
your pictures are awesome! Keep them coming! HAVE FUN! I am so jealous!

[Shelby]

Hi guys! I'm happy to see that you made it safely and are enjoying Paris. I'm glad you are keeping a journal of your trip, I'm anxious to see it all unfold. It looks like the weather has been nice so far. Shelby