Steps today: 29 427
And so, another adventure begins!
We were concerned this trip wouldn't happen because Frank had just come off a long cycle of antibiotics that totally wiped him out. Even a week before leaving we were in limbo, but fate smiled on us and we here we were back in Paris again.
As has become the tradition on Day One, we had a café breakfast with luggage in tow. We land a little before 6AM and usually get to Paris anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30AM depending on customs. We love it because it gives us a full day. We take the RER into Paris and get out at Denfert-Rochereau, cross the street dragging our bags (as our asses if the flight was rough) and settle in for the Good Stuff at Café du Rendez-Vous. Today we arrived ready for breakfast at 7:45AM
I think I'm over the whole carry-on only thing, more and more and more people do it and so half the time you're forced to check your bag anyway. On this trip we paid extra to check 1 bag (180CDN), and then one carry-on. We had to check the carry-on on the way there (for free), and on the way back we did it too since we'd have to wait for the checked-bag anyway. It got me thinking why bother anymore.
After breakfast, we walked to the hotel to drop off the bags - hoping the room would be ready but it so rarely is, we weren't holding our breath.
We walked through the Montparnasse Cemetery on way, so beautiful and peaceful early in the morning... except for the clickety clack of our rolling suitcases!
I wanted to point out "Ricardo" to Frank because he could not remember it, but we didn't get to him. Here's a picture from my visit in April.
Next it was time for a drink, we picked Le Tourville and I had a Grand Marnier. I wish I could show you a picture of how EMPTY the glass was - like they just lined the bottom of the glass with a thin layer for show. This is it after I added the ice.
Time for lunch, and I wanted to show Frank the impressive "Café du Commerce". It's over 100 years old and has an indoor / outdoor garden vibe with 3 floors and an open center atrium. He was unimpressed, but I like it!
I had a simple snacky lunch of Mayonnaise Eggs and Escargots... ahhhh eggs in Europe! Just look at that perfect yolk!
After we settled in, we took the metro to explore the area around the Arc de Triomphe. We passed by Celine Dion's hotel - my Facebook algorithm has been bombarding me with clips of her greeting her fans outside; I was not interested in hanging around for that, but I was curious enough to see the place in person. Lots of fans camping out already for a just-in-case-glimpse.... not us!
Instead, we just aimless wandered around playing Goldilocks with the cafés and then settled for crap when the heat was just too much to bear.
I had my usual-for-France Kir Pêche and new instantly when I got it something was not quite right... it was cloudy and not refreshing. This whole stop was a bit of a fail.
We decided then to cut our losses for the area and head out to the other side of the Champs-Élysées to the Golden Triangle District. I didn't take a ton of pictures because I feel like I have so many already! After something like 15 visits to a city your approach to pictures changes a bit. I took a shot of the arc from afar while crossing the street - it was enough for me.
We walked Avenue George V which ends by the Liberty Flame / Diana Memorial, but I didn't bother with pictures there either.... I did however of course take a picture of my food!
How we were still able to continue after this I don't know, I didn't get any sleep on the plane and we were coming up to almost 24 hours of being awake! Somehow we found the stamina and decided to walk back to the hotel.
Beautiful image of the Seine and Eiffel Tower from the Pont des Invalides.
When we were almost at the hotel, by about 7PM, the lively atmosphere of all the packed terrasses gave me a boost and Frank relented to stop if we could make it quick. We did. So quick in fact that I forgot to take a picture of the place! ha!
A little boost of fibre from some freshly squeezed orange juice and the day was done. Perfect.
