Paris: Day 1-January 29, 2015

After a crazy Bachelorette weekend in Vegas for Taylor and two and a half of days of work we were on our way to the airport. It seemed like this trip was never going to get here. Then all of a sudden we were going to get on a plane. Our flight from Dallas to Chicago was smooth and pretty quick. We had to hurry from our gate in Chicago to the other terminal and waited only a short time before we were boarding.

We weren’t seated together on the flight from Chicago to Paris. Judson was sitting one row in front of me and I was patiently waiting to find out who I was seated next to so maybe just maybe they would swap with me. Then here he came with his tuba… He also only spoke French. Luckily, the nice guy sitting in the seat next to Judson swapped with me. The flight was about 9 hours and not bad at all but I could not sleep. Judson on the other hand just snoozed away. There was at least an updated travel map so I could know how much longer we had and where we were flying over. My obsessive nature really enjoys those screens.

We finally made it! I was so nervous and excited all at the same time. I always get this way when I arrive in a new place. We got a cab and zoomed off towards the city. I was so disappointed. I could not believe all of the graffiti and trash that lined to motorways leaving the airport. As we got closer to the city center it got better but still I couldn’t believe how disappointing it was to see the sides of the road looking like this. I kept growing more nervous and the ride seemed like it was so long. We were stuck in a little traffic jam from the motorway turning in to a little Parisian street and then all of sudden this city took my breath away. It is like a hidden gem when you get past all of the trash and graffiti. It is everything you have ever imagined it to be. The pictures you see aren’t just from one little place in Paris. That’s what Paris truly looks like. 

After about 5 more minutes we made it to our hotel. Of course I knew we were getting close because I had only stalked Paris via Google Earth for weeks months before we went. I just remember thinking we are really here!!! We checked in to our hotel (Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais)—which was the quickest check in EVER! We hopped on the tiny floral lined elevator and headed up to the fifth floor. At the end of the tiny hallway was our room. I immediately dropped my stuff and stepped out onto the balcony to see this rooftop view I had been waiting for and there it was. So perfect. 

A quick change of clothes and we were ready to hit the streets. We turned right out of the hotel and I had no clue where we were headed… First stop, La du Falafel! I seriously have the best guy ever. I have wanted to eat at this place for years thanks to Jenna from EatLiveRun. It did not disappoint. Hands down, this is my favorite meal in Paris but maybe even in life. We took our pitas and kept walking. We walked back toward Rue de Rivioli and then across the Seine only to see Notre Dame peaking over the tops of little buildings. I remember walking around the corner and I was in awe of this place all over again. Notre Dame is amazing. How can people have built things like this so long ago? We walked around to the front and hopped in line to go in and check it out. The line wasn’t too long but there are so many people inside. I’m so intrigued by old churches and cathedrals. I always wonder what it would be like to attend a regular worship service in some place like that. Looking back we should have gotten up early on Sunday and gone to one—maybe next time.

We walked over to Shakespeare and Co but they were closed for renovations so unfortunately no books were purchased. Maybe we can try again next time. We didn’t spend much time in that area instead we hopped on the metro and headed toward the Louvre. This was my first experience on a metro. I was so nervous about it. I always have something that freaks me out about a city and for some reason I was so nervous about getting pickpocketed in Paris. This didn’t happen but I was very aware of my purse the whole time. After my first metro ride I was still a skeptic and unsure if I would ever get use to that kind of transportation but I eventually got over it and it doesn’t bother me at all anymore. 

I have dreamt of the day when I would get to walk out in front of the Louvre (and inside it, of course). It started raining right as we were walking up and of course I forgot the umbrella at the hotel so we just stood under the walkways and I admired the view around me. So much history right in front of me, I could have stood there for hours. We didn’t go in because we had a 3 o’clock wine tasting and we wouldn’t have much time so we started to make our way to the wine bar. It felt like the longest walk of my life. I was absolutely drenched (huge fail not grabbing that umbrella). We finally made it but they weren’t open and wouldn’t let us come in so we kept walking. We walked around the corner and found the most beautiful church. I didn’t think much about the Church of Saint Eustache until we went in. You enter through this little white ordinary door. Nothing special and walk right in to the side of a massive church and you are surrounded by heart shaped stained glass windows and the most incredible pipe organ. This was such a beautiful place to happen upon. We spent a little time exploring before we went back out into the cold drizzle. We found a little café and ordered a couple of café au lait. I don’t think the waiter was very happy with us for not eating but we sat and enjoyed the warmth anyway. Across the street was E. Dehillerin the famous cooking shop. I was pretty sure I recognized the name and I wanted to have a look so bad but I was still nervous about interacting and not speaking French so we passed it by and went on to our wine tasting. 

I remember looking in the mirror and thinking oh my goodness I cannot believe that I have been walking around Paris looking like a drowned rat! My hair was down of course and I was soaked from the drizzle. Judson was over there just looking perfect. I was embarrassed that he was seeing me like that. I put my hair up and tried to look half-way presentable before I went anywhere else! Bonus, the tasting was in a chilled store room for wine. I was so cold. The lesson I learned that day was don’t walk around in Paris without your umbrella. Aside from looking terrible and shivering I had the best time learning about French wines. I had never tasted any that I know of because I didn’t know what I was looking for or what to buy. We learned about the different regions and what kind of grapes they have and how to read labels. We learned that some types of wine have different bottles shapes. All in all I would say he did very well gifting me that for my birthday because I think we both enjoyed it immensely. Most important lesson we learned was the Malbec grapes originated from Cahors, France and Cahors and Malbec are basically the same thing. 

Finally, it was the moment I had been waiting for… Da Vinci. I was excited as we descended down into the Louvre. I couldn’t wait to see all of the beautiful things.  We were running short on time so we hit the high points. I can’t wait to go back someday and waste an entire day strolling about in the massive halls of the Louvre admiring the world’s most beloved art and artifacts. It’s chilling to stand in front of such famous pieces and know that that is the real deal right in front of you so close you could touch it. I remember thinking if I ever had an opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in Paris I would make the Louvre one of my regular stops and spend some real time studying what is housed there.

It was cold and wet so we went back to the hotel to change, warm up a little and Judson searched the travel book for a place to eat dinner. It was early but we were getting pretty hungry. We found a place just a couple of streets away, Au Bourguignon du Marais was a great choice. We ordered a bottle of cahors and the very kind waiter translated the menu for us. Judson ordered beouf bourguignon and I ordered some type of chicken. Both were excellent. We admired our view out of the window. It’s true what they say about rain in Paris. The streets glistened in the street lights. It was a wonderful dinner, unintentionally romantic but romantic to say the least. We finished dinner with a life changing chocolate desert. I don’t know what it was but it was wonderful. A little chocolate cake of some sort with the darkest chocolate sauce drizzled over the top served warm with two spoons. These to chocolate lovers wished they hadn’t shared that’s for sure!

Heading back towards our hotel we decided that we weren’t ready to call it a night yet. Maybe it was the excitement or maybe it was the jetlag but we needed some more adventure so we hopped on the metro and headed for the Champs-Élysées. We went to the Champs- Élysées-Clemenceau metro stop and we walked all the way up the street to the Arc de Triomphe. Stopping at Ladurée for just a moment to grab some delicious French macarons. We spotted the iron lady glistening in the night but Judson told me we couldn’t go over there because that was one of our stops for the next day. We marched on and took the tunnel under the arc to see it from both sides. I believe it was closed so we couldn’t take a peak from the top unfortunately. We enjoyed the views and walk and then made our way back to our roof top view for a good night’s sleep.