Our First Day in Paris!

The bed in our little apartment is very comfy, but I was too excited to get much sleep.  I kept waking up.  I finally gave in at 5:45 and played games on my phone!  I kept peeking through the curtains, but it wasn't light yet!!  Then finally, the sun came out.

View one way

View the other way

I love Parisian buildings!  They are so old, and all so coordinated.  They just make me happy.

Our apartment has this great, super old beam and a cool window in the corner of the ceiling.

We got ourselves ready for our fabulous professional photo shoot!  We hired a photographer for a couple of hours to get some great pics.  Have I mentioned how minuscule Paris elevators can be? It was just me with the luggage piled one on top of the other on the way up last night.  Brad and I *barely* squeezed in together today.

He was not amused.  But I tried to document it anyway.  We can NOT move or turn around.

We left plenty early so we could grab a croissant and cappuccino and chill out for a few before we started.  Well, figuring out that darn Metro and RER train (another train system here) is very hard!  I think it's hard even if you speak French, but who knows.  We finally found the right train.

Paris trains got us like....

We got off (after successfully switching trains!!) and walked and walked to find the meeting point.  We walked.  We walked.  We stopped to look at maps.  We walked.  Our extra half hour for breakfast ended up not happening and we were a few minutes late to meet Jonathan, our photographer!  Oy.  So before we even started, we had walked 81 miles and 57 flights of stairs. But we DID run into the Eiffel Tower, so it's all good!

So we found Jonathan and started our session.  It was awkward, I will be honest.  Having a camera on me is not my favorite.  "Act natural." Yeah right.  We started with some pics that had the Eiffel Tower in the background, then under a cool bridge.  (There are many cool bridges in Paris!)  We took a bus to the Louvre for some more.  Thank God Jonathan is French and lives in Paris, because we couldn't have figured out the bus, I bet.  haha.

We were walking to the Louvre and passed a place where people hang out with their dogs.  Jonathan asked some dog owners if we could see their dogs.  I was obsessed with this HUGE Great Dane.  Oh my word.  He took pics while I chatted with her.  I can't wait to see if any turned out! haha (Brad says no, but I WILL have a Great Dane one day.)  She was black and white and literally could have been mistaken for a calf.  

So we went on our way and stopped in a cafe that is inside the Louvre.  Well, it's kind of outside.  But covered.  We had the most expensive cappuccinos in the entire world and he took a few pics during that as well.  Some of that was really uncomfortable, but I think they will turn out nicely.  More pics outside in the courtyard of the Louvre, where the glass pyramids are.  We had a fun time and are excited to see the photos!  It took 2-1/2 hours, and we walked so much, but it was a great experience.  

Next up was eating some lunch! We stopped at the closest place we could find (we were hungry since we missed breakfast).  Brad had an omelette with potatoes and I had what they called a ham and cheese baguette.  It was just that.  No mayo, mustard, lettuce....and it was PERFECT!  Just how I like it!  I also had a 5 Euro bottle of water.  I forgot that in Europe, when you try to be cheap and ask for just water, they bring you a bottle.  Oops.  Hey, I haven't been over here in years. I even HAD a bottle of water already in my bag that I could have drank....ugh.  

We decided to buy tickets for the Paris l'Open Bus Tour and BatoBus boat tour.  We did the bus before and it's such a great way to see everything and avoid some public transportation! We rode up on the top level.

They give you these horrible earbuds that barely work so you can hear tour info

Our view

Seine

We hopped off the bus and hopped on the boat!  Last time, the Seine flooded and we couldn't take the boat.  It was so cool!  I can't wait to go back on it tomorrow.  We bought 3 day passes for both.

It's enclosed in glass

We got off a few stops later to find a bathroom and then it was getting to be dinner time so we walked a million and 42 miles to get back to The Great Canadian Pub! Brad read about it on Trip Advisor and we passed it earlier on the bus.  My feet were really not into it, but we made it.  It was really good food!  Our waitress was actually Canadian, too.

This Mountie stood behind us the whole time.  Creeper.

A bacon cheeseburger and POUTINE!!!

Let me tell you something, Americans.  And Europeans (unless Poutine is French?)  If you haven't tried Poutine, you are missing out.  Fries.  Gravy.  Cheese curds.  Go get some or make some.  This one of course had French cheese.  It was AMAZING.  The burger was great, too!  We shared it all.  Even Lainie could have eaten this Poutine because somehow, the gravy was vegetarian.  I never would have guessed.  We splurged since it is OUR 24th ANNIVERSARY today! I got a Pepsi and Brad had a beer.  haha.  Seriously, food/drink is outrageously expensive here.  

We made it on the train again back home.  Even though we are taking trains, there is still so. much. walking.  This fountain again....it's a very popular place to hang out.  People love it.

So old and pretty!  I don't think it works anymore.  We haven't seen it on.

This is our door to our building.  Cute! It's a very secure building.  You need a code or the special key to get in electronically, then again in another door.  And our apartment has major locks on it.  I feel very safe here!  Except in that dinky elevator.

What an awesome day!  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!