First day in France

Off on another great adventure. This year’s second trip abroad takes us to the romantic country of France! What a time to be leaving Juneau, up early in the morning we were greeted by chilly rain and mist, that hid even the glacier from our view. We hastened our transport to the airport where we had 3 flights that carried us halfway around the world. In an amazing fit of luck we hadn’t had a single issue traveling.  Recently this had become a sour theme for the two of us. But the flights were relatively painless. We arrived in Paris on a warm sunny afternoon an hour early! Customs was quick and easy and just when I thought our streak of poor travel luck was over, my bag was missing. Apparently, it got stuck in Philadelphia but not our other two pieces. Fortunately I had packed a spare set of clothes (given our previous luck) and was informed that my bags would arrive the next day and be delivered to our hotel. Speaking of which, our hotel was a true 5 star experience. We were stationed across the street from the Louvre, spitting distance from the Siene, and walking distance to every and any major historical monument. The room itself was opulent and modernized. We didn’t spend much time as we were both hungry. Striking out we found a cute little street cafe to have a late lunch and sipped wine in the shadow of the Louvre. Originally I assumed we had the first day to walk freely but our travel company had arranged for a private car tour of the entire city. Our guide, Fred, was as funny as he was knowledgeable. This turned out to be a good strategy as we learned how close everything was and could easily plan out out our walking adventures for the next day. We saw and stopped by the greats; Eiffel Tower, arc de triumph, louvre, etc. But he also took us to hidden gems such as the first ever built church in France from the 10th century, the church of the secret heart mounted on a hill that overlooked the entire city, and quaint neighborhoods where we could find the best ice creams and macaroons. While touring Emily and I slipped into cafes to refuel our caffeine needs as we were running on 20 straight hours. We lasted through the tour but had a senior moment as we both crashed at 7pm. Can’t wait to explore the city tomorrow!!