Bonjour de Paris!

Bonjour!  Emilia & I have been enjoying an amazing time in Paris.  Unfortunately today was Monday which meant work started & play stopped, but it didn't keep us from having a wonderful time. 

On Thursday we flew from Nashville to Paris thru Atlanta.  Plane was packed & we didn't get much sleep but that didn't slow us down in the least! 





On Friday, we took a shower when we got to the hotel & then headed out to start our adventures. First stop was the Lock Bridge over the Seine, then we took a bus tour (Emilia slept thru most of that & I admit to nodding off a time or two) that gave us a good overview of the city. We went to dinner that night & finally crashed pretty early. 

Saturday we were up & at 'em early, walking from Place de la Concorde all the way down Champs Elysees (stopping for delicious croissants & cafe) to the Arc de Triumph.  Climbed up that bad boy all the way to the top on a steep & windy staircase with no landings (thank goodness for that half marathon training!).  From there, we went over to the Opera & visited Galleries Lafayette, although we didn't buy a thing!!!  Back to the hotel for a quick rest then off to Notre Dame which was spectacular.  We had a quiet & quick dinner of pizza which was really yummy!  Of course we followed it with crepes!

Sunday we couldn't drag ourselves out of bed quite as early & had a slow French breakfast.  Then we headed off to the Louvre - the line was unbelievable so we took some photos & hopped on the metro to Rue Cler, a charming street that feels very Parisian - not touristy at all - we found ourselves amongst the locals as we visited the formagerie, boulangerie, fresh market & butcher to make a little picnic for lunch.  Ate that in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower then proceeded all the way to the freakin top of it.  I'm not scared of much but I think maybe glass elevators going 81 stories in the air could be one of them.  Quite an experience.  After that we wandered around the area a bit & headed back to the hotel.  Dinner was a long, drawn out French experience at a well known cafe.  We've decided we could do without the fancy French food - but baguettes, ham, cheese & croissants work very well for us!  Oh, and the crepes and chocolate mousse.

Today was work day - we headed on the long ride out to the expo center in the middle of nowhere, worked for several hours, then headed back downtown.  Nice long lunch followed by some shopping.  And then we took a stroll at night down the Champs.  Weren't too hungry for dinner tonight so I had a sandwich & Emilia had yet another crepe with nutella.

We've done pretty well with our French, me being guided by Emilia who is doing great.  We have walked our little feet off!  Over 30 miles since Friday morning.  I have an "Up" bracelet that tracks our steps & its been quite fascinating to see how far we go.  We have only taken a taxi one time except for into the city from the airport, relying on metro & walking to get everywhere.  Its hard to say what has been our favorite experience so far - they are all amazing.

Tomorrow after work we are going to Versailles & then on Wednesday night we want to visit the Louvre when it is hopefully less crowded.  Thursday we head back to the airport to go home & see our other half whom we miss dearly!

We have walked about 25 miles since we arrived on Thursday...