Good Morning Gloucester

Our first day we stayed closer to our apartment, using the On Off double decker bus and Uber to get around and see the Champs-Elysees, Arc De Triumph, Eiffel Tower. Today we planned to conquer the Metro.

FOB Joan Kimberley suggested we check out the Galeries Lafayette in the Opera neighborhood and we’re glad we did. It’s a six story rotunda of high end shopping. On the sixth floor there is a Skywalk made of clear glass that you can walk out for a few minutes to marvel at the beauty of the stained glass ceiling and gorgeous building. After that we went to the Ice Cube Bar atop the building for the incredible view and an adult beverage.

FOB Bradley Scheetz recommended the Metro app and I also downloaded Citmapper app which literally give you walking directions to every form of transportation available and tell you how many stops before your final destination. I HIGHLY recommend anyone that does a fair amount of travel to download the free app. It’s easy to use. The Metro is clean and we felt very safe. Purchased a booklet of ten tickets for 13.90 Euros. A ticket gets you one ride.

After our drink at the Ice Cub bar atop the Galaries Lafayette the plan was to walk up Haussmann to Hard Rock Paris so Kate could take her obligatory Hard Rock photo. She loves working for the company and likes to share the pics with her counterparts. We ate at a brassiere, Corner Haussmann, got a steak entrecôte and a burger. There’s a brassiere or cafe on every corner it seems and I don’t think you could go wrong in any of them.

Hard Rock Paris had a stop for the Hop On Hop Off double decker bus so we hopped on and checked out the neighborhood and got dropped off in Montmartre just after passing by Moulin Rouge. What I didn’t realize was that the street that Moulin Rouge was on had dozens of sex shops on each side of the street.

Montmartre if we’re talking neighborhoods is more bohemian than the buttoned down neighborhood we’re staying next to the Louvre. Twisty narrow streets lined with cute shops and restaurants. At the top Sacre-Coeur with outrageous views of Paris from up high. It’s not to miss and our favorite neighborhood so far. In fact we may go back. In a square behind Sacre-Coeur there are of course cafes and bistros surrounding the square where artists sketch portraits and sell street art. I wanted a portrait of Kate and after checking out a bunch of the different artists and having a beer while meeting a couple on holiday from London we found the artist we kept coming back to because of his simple realistic style. I’m really happy we had it done.

Time flew by and we were hoping to get back down to the Arc De Triumph before dusk to see the lights of the Champs-Elysees come on but by the time we made it back it was past so we freshened up at the room and made 8 PM dinner reservations at Comme Chai Toi.

Comme Chai Toi was a 25 minute walk down the Seine from our apartment and out the windows of the restaurant was a gorgeous view of Norte Dame.

On our way home we walked a bit and discovered this cool enclave of alleyways entirely made up of different bars and restaurants close to La Sorbonne.

What a day! What a trip! People have said not to try to jam everything in, to let Paris come to you. I wouldn’t do it any other way. We’ve just been going with the flow and enjoying every minute of it!

Paris, more beautiful than you can imagine.

What I’ve come to realize is that you can’t rely on decades old misconceptions that get repeated by dumb people.

People have been extremely friendly. You greet people with a Bonjour and a smile and you get the same back.

The cheese, the wine. Oh my goodness.

We’re staying in a beautiful apartment next to the Museo d’Orsay on the left bank. The city is laid out with large structures like the Arc de Triumph, Louvre and Eifel Tower that if you look up you can pretty much get your bearings pretty easily.

We took a double decker tour bus the first day which was a good idea as far as learning the lay of the land and seeing how many of the big sights are laid out.

I think we went to four different cafés yesterday- all fantastic. Coffees are small and delicious. Have yet to see a to-go cup. Out our door within two blocks we could probably go to a different one each day for a month.

So much to see. Time to get some coffee and get day 2 started.

Please forgive any spelling errors – there was wine yesterday. Lots and lots of wine😉