Well, so its not quite midnight, but its definitely Paris. If only I was here with Owen Wilson....
Up early AGAIN! Argh. Not loving the lack of sleep, nor am I a fan of airports and all the stress they bring with them. But, we made it to Paris and got checked into our hotel by 1:30 this afternoon.
Unfortunately, one of Heidi's bags was left in the cab. As we have no idea of the name of the cabbie or company, we have no way of retrieving it. Some of her Berlin treasures were in the bag, and Heidi's meltdown in the face of this loss was understandable. I'm proud of her, though, that she pulled it together and was a terrific companion during our first afternoon in Paris. She's growing up nicely--if I do say so myself.
As we left the hotel this afternoon, our first stop was a little cafe just down the street from our nearby Metro stop. The girls enjoyed their first taste of Orangina, Reiner yet another glass of wine (he's helping both the French and Italian wine industries), and I had, of course, a cafe creme.
Onto the Metro for a quick trip to pick up our Museum Pass and other tour goodies. Then we met up with our tour guide for our "skip the line" visit to the Eiffel Tower.
Skip the line, indeed! The line stretched for quite a distance, and the folks in it were probably looking at a two hour wait. We, on the other hand, hopped right onto an elevator and whisked our way to the second level.
The crowds were a little much for a tired Lorraine and Heidi, but Reiner and Maddie took the elevator up to the third level, as high as you could go. Heidi and I took a seat in the square in front of the tower and people-watched. It was especially interesting to see the trinket salesmen, most walking around with huge metal rings with dozens of Eiffel Tower key rings and miniatures. As soon as the cops came around, these fellows would hustle out of the area, just far enough so that they could run away if needed. As soon as the cops were gone, they'd come right on back.
We also saw several soldiers, heavily armed, patrolling the area, reminding us again that there are real bad guys out there determined on doing harm.
Finishing up with the Tower, we grabbed a quick snack (for me, warm Nutella crepe--yum!) and boarded our Seine cruise.
The river was so high that the cruise really consisted of little more than a mile or so up and down the river. While it was disappointing, we did get to see the smaller version of the Statue of Liberty--and she looked fabulous.
After the cruise, there was just enough time to really play with my camera!
Tired from a long day, we're now back at the hotel. While the girls and I shared a room in Rome, here I'm stuck with Reiner in the next bed. He's already as loud as a freight train. But there's a show about the end of WWII (in French) on television, and I'm enjoying it while I blog.
On the agenda for tomorrow--ART!!
Perhaps the driver is friendly, remembers where your hotel is and brings the bag back. Enjoy your days in Paris.
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