Mon Premier Jour

Ahhhh Paris..... Even though my flight was long, cold, and haunted with screaming babies, landing in Paris was just magical, well once I got to Paris and out of Gare du Nord that is. It was easy enough to catch the train to Gare du Nord which is walking distance from my hotel, but for some reason, my tired self could not seem to find an exit in that whirlwind of a station. Gare du Nord is the highest traffic station in Paris and one of the largest commuter stations in Europe. There were signs for Sortie everywhere and each one leading to a different street with arrows pointing in different directions. My feeble attempts to ask which sortie led to Blvd de Magenta led to mumbled french grunts and hand gestures pointing up. So I took the escalator up that led me to a pee smelling bus station locked from the inside. Useless. I finally used my sharp college educated mind and watched where other people went and how they exited. They all seemed to have fancy cards inside their wallets that they didn't even have to take out in order to use them that opened the gates and off they went. So I took out my flimsy little 9 Euro ticket and put it in the machine and voila, freedom! It only took me 45 minutes to exit the train station...

My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!

My hotel was very easy to find but check in wasn't until noon and I arrived at 9. So I dropped my luggage and then went out for breakfast:) I had a cafe creme et une crepe jambon et fromage. Then I went to McDonalds to get free wifi oddly enough and realized I wasn't as tired as I thought. My first day in Paris all alone and what was I going to do??? Walk, eat, and look. So I walked, a lot. I walked all the way to the river and along it to Ile-de-la-Cite where the Notre Dame is and through the streets watching the city wake up. And like the true nerd that I am, bought a 2 day ticket for the open air sight seeing tour bus. I hopped on and rode around for a few hours. I boarded at the Notre Dame and then we headed up the Seine passed the Musee d'Orsay and Place de la Concorde. The Place de la Concorde is a very odd place. It is so beautiful and nouveau with heavy traffic and a giant obelisk in the middle surrounded by consulates and galleries. Yet this is the location where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were both executed, along with thousands of other people during the revolution. You would never know how eery it actually is.

Place de la Concorde

We then drove up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It is so beautiful right now, the leaves on the trees have changed and many have started to fall, but the Parisians are out and loving it. I was listening to my ipod while walking and "Au Champs-Elysees" came on randomly and I couldn't help but stop and just smile in the middle of the city that I love so much. Enjoying tremendously the fact that I was actually here, it was a beautiful day, and I was so very happy.

 After the Arc de Triomphe, we drove up to Trocadero and saw the Tour Eiffel. Even this late in the summer it was just surrounded with people in line to get up. Another time for me.

 We then went to the Hotel des Invalides which was the first of its kind in Europe. In the past, wounded soldiers were often left to beg and steal on the streets where they died because they were helpless. The Hotel des Invalides was commissioned by Louis XIV for a place where wounded soldiers could live and work. Napoleon's tomb is in les Invalides and some soldiers still live there today.

I had a sandwich with jambon, fromage, et buerre for dejuner and went and sat in a park area on the Champs Elysees to stretch and relax, and people watch. People move at such a different pace in Paris. Everything is slower. Except for the cars. People enjoy the day and sit on benches just to sit. No one was on a cell phone, everyone was either talking with friends, reading, kissing, or just sitting and watching, enjoying themselves. All over Paris there are places to sit and just watch other people enjoy themselves. I have only been here a day and already I am so drawn to the energy and slowness that France is.

 The Madeleine is a beautiful building surrounded by some of the most expensive and intriguing shops in Paris. Versace, Chanel, Gucci, and Hermes all have multiple story building around the Madeleine with security guards at the doors. Not for me.

 From there we drove past the Opera which is an absolute stunning building, through Montmartre which is a very interesting part of Paris and finally back to the Gare du Nord where I made it back to my hotel.

So here I sit in my little room with a sink, ready to go to sleep at 5. I hope this entertains you enough, Ill keep you updated tomorrow. A demain!