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Paris Trip, June 29-July 4th

June 29: Departing DFW to Charles de Galle
Jamie and I arrived 4 hours prior to departing so we could check in early and try to get high on the priority list. No big deal, other than it created a few hours extra down-time on that day. Jamie and her mom took a trip after checking-in to Dee Dee’s house in Grapevine, and David took me to Mimi’s Café for a lunch together before leaving.
We met up at the gate around 4:10, and our names were called at that very moment! We got seats! They weren’t in business class, but at least we got on. And we got to sit next to each other. The plane ride offered a couple meals…I don’t really remember them. Nothing remarkable happened on the flight, but we got to watch “27 Dresses” before knocking out for the night.

June 30: Arriving in CDG
At 9:38 am, we arrived! We got our luggage, used the restroom, and then started toward the RER Line B (suburban train to take us to Paris). The airport was very crowded, and the walk was very long, but we were confident we were navigating it like pros! That is…until we were told to STOP and TURN AROUND by men and women carrying machine guns. This was a turning point. Do we stay? Do we turn around? Jamie is really wishing she had packed Dee Dee’s “French for Dummies.” Okay. We turn around and eventually find out to just wait in that area. A bag was left unattended, and the police had to secure the area. After about 10 minutes of confusion, we were on our way and feeling like pros again!
We bought our RER tickets and took the train to St. Michel where we bought our 5-day “Visite” pass for the Metro. After helping some Chilean tourists, we made our way to our hotel stop at Vavin. We’re almost there! We get out on the street and are a little confused by the 5-star intersections. We walked around a bit, and then we finally got to our first hotel, L’Atelier Montparnasse. Upon arrival, the nice assistant showed us to the hotel elevator and explained “it is small, and I will send your luggage up later.” What?! Could it be that small that we wouldn’t fit? … Well, uhmm… this thing was like a tiny phone booth. Jamie and I crack up, but my claustrophobia sets in, and I start thinking “Jamie, stop breathing my air!”
We squeeze out of the elevator and go to our room. It is so cute! We knew we’d have blast here. We decide to unpack, and Jamie is ready for trail mix her mom made her. As she unzips the bag, trail mix literally pours out of the suit case and onto the floor! Oh my goodness, I had no idea how excited she was to pack her trail mix! After cleaning it up and changing clothes, we walked to the second hotel we will stay in and visit the nearby Luxembourg Gardens. The sun was so nice, and we sat and sunbathed with hundreds of others.
After our break, we get ambitious and want to navigate the area right away. We plan to walk to the river and visit Isle de Cite. We stop at the Pont Neuf for pictures. Then we continued to Saint Chapelle. We didn’t have a museum pass yet, so we take pictures outside. Not far was Notre Dame, where we strolled through the inside. Out back, we listed to a jazz band play while resting our feet. We were really starting to fall in love with the culture.
We read in Rick Steve’s to go to La Pallete and sit outside. La Pallete was very hip, bursting with young Parisians. We orded cold Perrier but later found out there was no food served. So, we were off to find food! Near the Luxembourg Gardens we stopped at the News Café for dinner.  After refueling, we had a few miles left in our marathon, so we head to the Eiffel Tower. As the sun was setting, we walked around and watched others having picnics on the lawn. The evening was clear and cool, and we hoped to come back later in our trip

July 1st
We went for a run around the Luxembourg Gardens, and enjoyed the morning there with many other runners! Jamie got a touch of asthma, so we headed back to the hotel for her inhaler. We walked a bit to find coffee, and I order my first café au lait. We packed up, and we moved to our new hotel, Hotel Perreyve on rue Madam. Our room was ready for us, and we checked in!
Our first tour was at the Muse D’ Orsay. We stood in line with hundreds of others, and bought our Museum Pass. Jamie’s favorites at the museum were the Renoir and Monet paintings. I agree…I love Monet! We stopped at Café de deaux Musee to refuel. After a late lunch, we went to Arc de Triomphe. We wanted to go up in it, but it seemed to be blocked up. So, we decided to walk the Champs Eleyse were we toured the Toyota store and were amazed at all the futuristic designs. We also toured Louis Vitton and picked out a new set of luggage.  We continued to the Petit Palaise for a short walk and cold drink. We loved the small café there, as it has cold a/c pumping!
We hopped on the Metro and headed to the Moulin Rouge. The only shows available were at 11 pm. What?! Are we even acclimated yet? No…we decided to skip a late show. We decided to pick up some fresh fruit, nuts, and biscuits for a picnic on the hill of Sacre Coure. So many people had the same idea, but it was lovely! The view from the mountain was incredible, and all of Paris shined before us! We took some pictures and headed down the mountain to a shopping district. Too bad we were late in our shopping, since the stores closed up at 7pm. But we found a nearby internet café and let our loved-ones know we are safe.
Jamie and I were hoping to sit on a café porch and drink wine this night. We went by a popular area, but very few seats were available to sit. We decided on a front-row table at one café. Jamie ordered a red wine and I a white wine. However, we both got white wine. The waiter didn’t get the order right, but the gentlemen next to Jamie were more than eager to help her! (Ooh, La La!) She declined their help, and we enjoyed ourselves, anyways. The sun was going down, but we couldn’t believe it was already 10:45 pm! Never would it have been this light at home.

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