Let's go to Europe!!

Day One~
We left OKC very early, and then sat in Chicago with plenty of time to have a bite to eat, and try to internalize the idea that we were about to fly to France!!  We had an overnight flight, and so, were able to sleep a little before our arrival. That was good, as we had to find Passport services, and customs before we could attempt to locate the Airport Shuttle to our hotel. That precious shuttle, once we found it, ( we were given directions that were incorrect!) took 2 and a half hours to get to our hotel. It was a 30 - 45 minutes trip. Arriving somewhat carsick, we left our bags at the Hotel Beaugency and walked to the Rue Cler, just a couple of blocks, and had lunch. We returned to check in and then set off to find the Eiffel Tower. It became our landmark throughout the city. "Oh look! There's the tower!"

                                             Here we are in front of  the Eiffel Tower!
                                                     Yep. We were really there.

A shot from the Seine. This began the, " Oh look! There's the tower" phrase that followed us everywhere.

From the Eiffel Tower, we walked along the Seine. Even as I am typing this, I still can't really grasp that I did that. Okay- so, there are bridges every block and they are amazing. In fact, everything in that area was so amazingly ornate. I tried really hard not to walk along with my mouth hanging open, but believe me, it was tough some times.

                                             The Seine with one of many tour boats loading.

 Our first day, we really just tried to get our bearings, and decide what to do when. The plan was to stay in two locations, The Marais area, where we started, and then move to Montmartre later in the week. Rue Cler is a street with a few blocks closed to traffic, though we discovered, not always closed to all traffic!!

                    Here is Keith walking rue Cler beside the cafe where we ate our first meal in Paris.
 Notice the chairs all face the street- it was that way at all the outdoor cafes. The thing to do, evidently, is people watch while you eat. There are plenty of subjects! Every day we stayed in this area, we walked this stretch of the street. There are merchants all along selling anything from flowers to quiche. And, of course, we visited a chocolate shop also. Oh my. I could have just stood and inhaled all day!! They also hold a flea market on weekends, but I'll get to that later.
Our hotel was very nice, clean, and fairly quiet.The room was small, but we expected that. It was a great place for us to start our journey, as almost everyone spoke some English. This was good, as our French turned out to be lacking. We could greet anyone with bon jour, but after that, it was pretty dismal. We ended our first day exhausted, and of course, I was too wound up to sleep, even though we had been up for about 24 hours straight. Day Two was slated for Museum day, and that is my next blog. I hope you enjoy your tour of Europe with us!!