Paris – Our First 24 hours

We arrived in Paris by train, taking the Euro Star. If you have the chance to do this, I highly recommend it. It was an easy, fast, and relaxing way to get to Paris from London. We were there in a blink of an eye.

Once we got to the train station we disagreed on how to get to the metro. We soon made up over trying to figure out the metro tickets once we found them. With our tickets we hopped on the metro and were soon at our Hotel. Our hotel wasn’t nice – at all. BUT it’s saving grace and why we booked it was it was $381 dollars for a week in Paris and in a GREAT neighborhood of the city – La Marais. From what I saw the Marais is a hipster/gay/immigrant/artsy arrondissement of Paris. I’ve seen on the forums some people really don’t like it due to the hipster but I actually thought this was a quaint neighborhood.

Once we got to the hotel we flopped on our beds for about 15 minutes and then went down the street for dinner. We got a cheese plate and a bottle of wine. Our waiter was so friendly and very welcoming. I’ve yet to have a bad experience with Parisians, so I can’t say I can agree with reports of rudeness.

I find Parisians to be similar to other big city dwellers – New York, DC, London – They will help you if you ask but they aren’t going to hold your hand. Any city dweller can seem pushy at times, but from my experience it’s cuz a person in the city is always trying to get through the heavy tourist crowds.

After dinner we got a bottle of wine from around the corner store and went to sleep after a long day or tourism and travel.

The next morning we awoke and walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower. Paul had yet to see it so this was exciting. We walked through the Seine, by the Notre Dame and the Tuileries garden to get to the Eiffel. First stop out, we had to get crepes. I got my favorite kind, “champignons et fromage” – mushrooms and cheese. The crispy edges of the crepe are my favorite part to savor. And then all the goodness that’s at the bottom.

After crepes we happened to stumble upon a famous Street Artist, Invader’s work. I saw the artwork and point it out. After we got a closer look Paul recognized it as “Invader.” It was cool to see this kind of art in the city.

We passed by a Christian Louboutin spot and I had to take a pic. This store was exclusive and the display looked like candy.

We passed by the Louvre …

And the Tuileries garden … 

And the Seine!!!

Before we got to the Eiffel we popped into a corner store. Even the corner stores have a fresh orange juice press. The best OJ I’ve ever had!

Even though I’d seen it “in real life” before, the Tower’s curly-qued iron and playful curves never get old. There is something both playful and timeless about this structure.

After the Eiffel we walked back and met my friend Olivia near our hotel. Olivia’s 30th birthday was that week and on a whim she decided to join us in Paris! We were both excited to see a friend from back home and have her join us on the Paris part of our adventure.