Our First Day in Paris

Yesterday's flights were an adventure to say the least.  Melinda thought that because Bruce Bowen was the person to get checked in by American Airlines right after us, it was a good omen for our flights.  That prediction, however, was revealed to be false when we arrived at the gate in San Antonio for our 7:25 flight only to discover that the 5:25 flight still hadn't left due to storms in Dallas.  

After a two hour delay, we finally left San Antonio and were hopeful that we'd have enough time to make our connecting flight to JFK.  That hope was dashed when our plane was forced to enter a holding pattern and fly in seemingly endless circles above DFW.  We landed with less than 15 minutes to travel from Terminal A to Terminal C with three carry-ons, three personal bags, and a seven year old.  AA refused to notify the JFK flight that we were coming, so we had no option but to run and knock the elderly, the infirm, and the slow-moving out of our way.  As we rounded the corner of Terminal C, we heard the fateful 'Final Boarding Call' for our flight.  We all started screaming like mad people, waving our arms, and running desperately through the terminal.  We made it in time, but we had to endure the stares of everyone on the plane as we dragged ourselves and our belongings down 31 aisles of plane.

We made our flight to New York without an issue, and Aidan was happy to be on the plane to Paris.  

The flight not too long (less than 7 hours) and although we weren't really able to sleep, some of us managed to get a nap in...

We landed in Paris only to discover that our bags hadn't made it.  We were told that they'd be here by 10:30.  A very long story short, they're allegedly being delivered sometime tomorrow and AA has authorized a $400 reimbursement for purchase of new items for the 2 days we'll be without clothes and toiletries.  

At Charles De Gaulle, I ordered a latte and, somehow, while I was walking, the cup separated from its lid and the entire contents of my cup spilled all over the floor.  I tried to find someone to notify them of the mess, but before we even made it to one of the customer service areas about 50 feet away, an airport employee spotted the mess.  Upon seeing it, he yelled (yes, yelled at the top of his lungs), "Sh**! Fu**!  Fu**!"  in English.  It was at that moment that we knew we were no longer in the US!  Of course, in our haste to blend into the crowd, lest he discover I was the culprit, Aidan inadvertently dropped his hot chocolate on the ground.  We just ran away at that point.  

We took the RER (always and adventure-- questionable riders abound and you have to pass through questionable areas on the outskirts of Paris) to Chatelet-Les Halles, which is a labyrinthine station.  After finally making it out of the station, we stopped at our first of three cafes for the day before "checking in" to our apartment.  

The apartment is in a cute, walkable part of Paris.  It's a great, typically Parisian (i.e. small) apartment with really excellent views of the city that make all of us (even Monsieur Afraid of Heights) happy...

The only downside is that it's on the top floor-- at least 6 very winding flights up--and there is no elevator (after all, this is France).  Melinda was worried about not getting enough cardio in on the trip, but that fear has been erased.  One of the major pluses of being this high is that we get a great breeze (although we don't always need it, since it was in the 50s when we arrived).

After settling in, we headed to Monoprix to buy a few things...like clothing and toothpaste and then headed out to explore.  

Our plan for the day included walking to Notre Dame/  Before we even left the area, Aidan was dying of hunger and he had been such a trooper that I willingly committed the sin of letting him eat McDo.   (Later, we had to use a bathroom--and free bathrooms are practically non-existent in Paris--so we stopped in a Starbucks  Less than 24 hours out of the US, and we can't escape the chains.)  We ate lunch by a cute fountain where Aidan discovered his new found obsession with Parisian pigeons.

We had a picturesque walk through the neighborhood and discovered La Tour St. Jacques, which has a nice garden and play area.

After that, we walked across the Seine, past the Conciergerie

 to Notre Dame.  The line to Notre Dame was ridiculously long.  We are going to try to go back tomorrow.  We spent more than an hour in the lovely, lovely gardens on Notre Dame's premises.   Aidan spent the time either stalking pigeons and taking their pictures, or playing with a gaggle of Italian children on some weird giant disk that spins the kids in circles.  Melinda either took pictures or flowers for her family or took cat naps on the benches.  

After Notre Dame, we met up with the super copine, Anne Sophie. 

 Aidan had ice cream on the banks of the Seine, and we all had a meandering walk from Notre Dame to the Marais and throughout the Marais.  We had a very long cafe break (Aidan had a long nap in a chair at a cafe) and met one of Paule Emilie's and Anne Sophie's friends, Ines.  The two of them walked us through the Marais, past the Centre Pompidou, and to our neighborhood. 

We're now back in the apartment and all of us are exhausted.  Tomorrow's another big day!