Paris #1 - Eiffel Tower

Paris...we've arrived at my favorite city! What a climate change - it felt almost balmy (54 degrees) when we arrived so I didn't even need a coat, which is saying a lot. Paris is just as I remembered, but oh-so-different with 2 year old in tow. No leisure dinners with an abundance of vin rouge, no jetting from sight to sight as fast as humanly possible. This time, it is a leisure, one-sight-per-day trip. Christian pretty much insists on walking everywhere, so what should be a 5 minute walk from our apartment to the Metro stop averages around half an hour. Sometimes we are able to wrestle him into the Beco or the Stroller, but those are rare moments filled with much resistance.

Today's sight was the Eiffel Tower. At the recommendation of Rick Steves, we rode the #69 bus from Bastille to the Eiffel Tower. It was really nice. I have never ridden the bus in Paris and it was a nice way to see Paris while traversing the town for 1.20 Euro's per person. Leelee fell asleep in the Beco and missed the Tower, but he said not to worry, he will be back.

I've taken many an Eiffel Tower pic and these are among the worst. Oh well. I just can't not post Eiffel Tower pics on a trip to Paris!

Our accommodations are, again, very good. I think I used tripadvisor.com for all of our lodging and I have been really impressed. This apartment is considerably smaller than the one in Iceland, but we actually love it. It is quite cozy! It also came with free Wi-fi, a land-line phone with free unlimited calls to the US, and a laundry machine (necessary - I think Christian had been in the same Helly Hansen thermals for 3 days). The owners also stocked the fridge with fresh milk, juice, jam, bread, and a fresh baguette. So nice!

So it's more or less one room partitioned by this red wall into bed area and kitchen/dining area. We bought this crib at a store called Natalys for 99Euros and we will be bringing it back! I think the owner was slightly shocked we were going to cram 3 people into this space but he was very nice about it nonetheless.

One huge bonus: The owner said one of the best Boulangeries was on the corner of our street and I think he was right. There was a line to the door this morning at 10am. So we picked up a pain au chocolat, pain au raisin, pain chocolat amande, a bag of choucettes, and a tarte fraise that Christian was not-so-politely begging for. Delish.

So in coming directly from Iceland, the differences between the two countries were vast and readily apparent. I don't remember the French speaking so little English, but on the other hand I think we were very spoiled by the Icelandic speaking so much! So I have been forced to try my very, very poor French (to the dismay of shop-owners as well as Dae!). Also, Visa is seriously accepted everywhere in Iceland. In the smallest shops and for the smallest amounts. I think, in the future, they are aiming to go completely electronic (digital?) from what I read in the guidebooks. Paris, on the other hand, has been mostly a cash-transaction environment. I suppose I find it odd because I would just assume that Iceland being so remote would be the hardest place to get around as a tourist, and Paris the easiest. Anyway, that's my deep thought for the day, which was obviously wrong.

Alright, off to relax and then scout out some dinner. Au Revoir!