Days 1-2 July 10-11, 2007

Paris, France

We were picked up at our house at around 2:30pm by Keenan (the awesome guy who periodically does our airport pick-ups) and driven to the Atlanta-Hartsfield airport. Our plane left 2 hours late due to a “weather delay” (according to the pilot). Sitting in Business Class, though, made the wait more than tolerable – all the champagne we could drink , fully reclining seats, in-seat entertainment system, gourmet meals served at leisure, hot towels to refresh us, full toiletry kit . . . you get the idea! We arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris at around 10:30am on Wednesday. Our baggage arrived without incident, and we went through customs without a hitch. We almost got swindled by a local taxi driver, but, fortunately, I had read on TripAdvisor.com about how much the taxi ride should cost to our Paris apartment (45 euros NOT the 75 euros the cab driver wanted to charge us!). After some wandering around outside CDG, we finally found the proper taxi stand and got to our apartment very easily. We were just a bit shocked at the tiny size of the apartment (the whole thing is about the size of our bedroom!) and the lack of AC and toilet paper and soap – oh well! An excuse for our first shopping excursion! Emma and I made our way onto the Rue Cler and found a supermarche and bought the necessities. We also managed a stop at the boulangerie next door to our apartment for our first Paris chocolate eclair – deelish! After freshening up, the three of us walked back to Rue Cler to find a cafe for lunch. Then, we made our way to the rue de Rennes for some shopping. The weather was a bit cool and drizzly, but that didn’t slow us down for a minute! Matthew pooped out rather quickly, but Emma and I continued shopping since the soldes were still in effect. We found some amazing bargains on clothes and shoes and made our first fashion purchases. Amazingly, we figured out how to get back to our apartment using the Metro, although it took us a couple of tries! That night, the three of us walked to Le P’tit Troquet for dinner – Emma and Matthew both ordered steak with mashed potatoes; I had stewed lamb with semolina. We shared clafouti and a chocolate-caramel tart for dessert. The food and service were both great! After dinner, we headed toward the Eiffel Tower with the intention of climbing to the top. Alas, we were too late for the last entry, so we just stood nearby watching it twinkle for a while. We walked back to the apartment for our first full night’s sleep. Unfortunately, I woke up sick around 4am, Emma didn’t sleep at all, and Matthew slept sporadically – bummer!