Our First Day in Paris!

Bonjour our friends!

We started our day very early in London taking a “black cab” to the train station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. It was a bit stressful not knowing the routine of train stations and truly feeling like a foreigner. But all went well. We had a great window seat on the train and once we exited the Chunnel, enjoyed the watching the French countryside going by. Every little town or group of homes had their own beautiful church with a tall steeple somewhere in the middle of the town. We’ve noticed in Europe that the churches and cathedrals are much more a part of the community than in America. People eat their lunch on the grounds, jog or stroll through them, or just sit and meditate. It’s very refreshing to see.

We arrived safely in Paris about 11:00 AM and were greeted at the gate by Nikita, one of our Estonian boys from this last summer, and his new girlfriend Claire. What a treat to be met in a foreign country by a friendly face. We were so glad to see Nikita as we have stayed in close touch with him. He is going to law school in Rouen, France, about an hour train ride from Paris. This was our first time to meet Claire. She was delightful. We spent the afternoon walking around Paris and visiting with them and had lunch in the Marais. We walked by Notre Dame (one block from our hotel!), passed by the Pompidou museum, walked through the grounds of the Musee du Louvre, and through many of the city streets. It was absolutely amazing. What a wonderful city.

Claire had to leave about 4:00, so Nikita took her to the train station then reconnected with us for the evening. We hiked to the Pantheon then to the Luxumbourg Gardens and Palace. Then we went to the Arc de Triomphe, had a wonderful dinner on the Champs-Elysees, then walked to the Eifel Tour, which was all lit for the evening, absolutely FABULOUS! It surpassed all our expectations. To see it for the first time at night was spectacular.

Our hotel is perfect. As I said, it is one block from Notre Dame and the Seine River and located on St. Germain, a busy boulevard full of shops and cafes. We can’t wait to see out on the sidewalk at the café below our room with our café au lait and hot croissant chocolat!

The few words of French Rich knows have already been exhausted, but it does the trick for paying respect the Parisians by attempting their language. The only faux pas today was sitting down at an outside “café” near the Louvre with coffee we had ordered “take away.” Non, non! You pay more to sit at the tables (only one of 20 was being used). So we walked a few feet, grabbed some park chairs and watched the people coming and going from the Louvre. Ahhh…very nice.

It’s off to bed. Daylight savings time starts here in a couple hours, so we’re losing an hour. Can’t wait to explore more of this wonderful city. Nikita will be joining us for most of the day, then heading back to Rouen in the afternoon.

Au Revoir!
Will & Rich