Things started off nicely, well, at least they did for Fintan and I. We were successful securing two upgrades to the first class cabin for both outbound legs of our journey (Calgary - Montreal - Montreal - Paris). Thanks to a very generous friend (insert your name here Fish), we had two more upgrade certs to try and secure seats for Bronwyn and Stacey. Well, not so fast..... Even though there were 11 empty first class seats from Montreal to Paris, Air Canada's rule is that you can only upgrade a total of two people per Elite member. Pretty stupid when there are empty seats anyways. Oh well, with luck the girls can enjoy the pods on the way back home.
French Customs and Immigration was interesting, I don't recall ever arriving in a country and not having to fill out any kind of paper work. No form to fill out, in fact he didn't even scan our passports. Seems safe, what could go wrong?
We were about an hour and a half early for check-in for our apartment so we wandered the streets of our new hood to search out a local patisserie. That didn't take long. There is an AWESOME one that is about 100 meters away! We have already taken down a few baguettes, pain au chocolate, quiche and a couple cups of fantastic cafe avec creme.
After some confusion around what floor our apartment was on (I walked up every flight of stairs and tried every door) I finally went back down to the main floor to see if there was a door....bingo.
The apartment is wicked, here are some pics of our new home.
Who needs a big kitchen?
Leaving the apartment.
After we took a few mins to muster up some energy, we bundled up for a trip to see the Eiffel Tower. Ok, I know that it is crazy cold in Calgary right now (-29C), but damn, 5C in a damp Paris doesn't feel that balmy.
There is a Metro station 50 meters from our apartment (or as I now gauge everything, 50 meters from our patisserie). We jumped off at Place de la Concorde, this is where the 3200 year old Luxor obelisk is. Place de la Concorde is roughly half way in between the walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe.
The Luxor obelisk with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Apparently where the obelisk is located was once the home to a guillotine. Louis the XVI and Marie-Antoinette were two of 1,119 people that were executed there in a two and a half year period...gulp.
The beautiful Pont Alexandre III stretches across the Seine. Built 1896 - 1900.
Parisian pooch people watching.
Fintan shares a story with Bronwyn on the way to the Eiffel Tower.
When in Paris, chase pigeons.
So on the walk from Place de la Concorde to the Pont Alexandre III, Stacey almost fell victim to a scam artist. It works like this: We were walking along the path checking out the surroundings when a late 40's lady that was walking towards us stopped, picked something up and walked up to Stacey. She was holding a large mens gold wedding band and she asked if we had dropped it. She asked Stacey to examine it to see if its "real gold". Stacey looked inside that band where it read 18K, then handed it back to the lady. Right away she started acting like it was her gift to Stacey, and that she couldn't keep it. She started walking away then she came back and asked Stacey if she would give her a little bit of money to cover her "gift". We stopped the scam and walked away. We watched from a distance as she did it to two more couples. I have to admit, it's a pretty creative one.
On Pont Alexandre III looking towards the Dome Church at Invalides that houses Napoleon's tomb.
Parisian pooch people watching.
Fintan shares a story with Bronwyn on the way to the Eiffel Tower.
When in Paris, chase pigeons.
The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition. The original intent was for it to be a temporary addition to the Paris skyline. We waited for about an hour to get up to the top viewing deck which is 905 ft above the ground. It was a pretty overcast day, so none of the pictures from the top are great.
At the top of a very chilly tower.
Tuesday afternoon Bocci league near the tower.
By the time we finished freezing our asses off at the tower we were ready for some food. We stepped into our first stinky fromagerie. I gotta tell you, I started getting cramps as soon as I walked in the door...
As is pretty typical with your first day overseas, today felt like the longest day ever. It is just after 10 PM local time and the family has been sleeping for two hours. I am sure tomorrow will be packed with more cool things to see and do and will likely end the same way that today did on the Metro ride home...
