Arrivée…

Got up super early – 3:30 – to say our tearful goodbyes to Sue and Joe (who was a total hero for getting up with us). Then Tony took us to Birmingham Airport, where we got a little lost (ah, Terminal 2…) but still arrived at the check-in counter before they opened. As a result we were able to watch the agents studiously ignore the people standing 2 feet away from them (us).

One good thing about an absurdly early flight: no queues at the security screening. Which meant that it was a little confusing as to what was expected. And apparently you no longer need to remove your shoes. (Though I did. I’m funny like that.)

Then we had a lot of time to kill at the airport. We wandered and shopped, trying to use the last of our British coins. We bought sodas and then sat in the completely empty “Vue Lounge” to eat our leftover Linda McCartney pies – Wil was right, they’re the perfect breakfast.

Finally, it was time to board, so we all went down the runway and onto…. A bus. Which drove us around for a little while before setting us down next to a tiny plane… with propellers. Gulp. We had two options for boarding – front door, or back door. We decided to head for the back door since we were seated in row 21 – a wise choice, as it was the last row of the plane.

The flight was short – only about an hour – so we were up and down before we knew it. We seemed to have to go a long way through the airport before suddenly emerging in the midst of a big group of Americans – so we must have somehow ended up merging with a big flight from the US. Still, immigration was weirdly easy (bored looking agent opened our passports, looked, and waived us through).

We then went to baggage claim, where my bag was already circling and Wil’s came within seconds. On the way to shuttle, we decided to go ahead and change our UK cash – knowing it would be a terrible rate, but whatever. I’m embarrassed to say just how bad the rate was!

Then on to the shuttle, to the RER, and after a bit of fiddling with the machine (good thing Wil has a chip and pin card!) we had our tickets and were headed to Paris!

Uneventful ride (though it was hard having suitcases on the train), and we got off the train at Luxembourg station. We had a 50-50 chance of picking the correct exit… and lost. :) But we did have a chance to stop at a cash machine and pick up the wodge of cash we would need to pay Nathalie.

We found Rue Monsieur le Prince very easily, but I had a harder time spotting the house numbers – and was again confused by the fact that the numbers don’t match up on either side of the road. Never mind – eventually we found the building and made our way inside and up the steep, windy stairs to the 3rd floor (4th floor to us!). The key was right where Nathalie said it would be, so we let ourselves in (a teensy bit early – it was 10:40) after a bit of fiddling with the lock. Five bolts! Wow.

The apartment is tiny – but perfect and has everything we need. A tiny shower, a tiny bathroom, a tiny kitchenette, a tiny table, but a decent sized bed. And everything – everything – is orange!

So we settled in, freshened up a bit, and then headed back out to explore a little. Our first stop: lunch. We picked up some beautiful cheese sandwiches and sodas and headed over to Notre Dame to picnic in the square. We got our first “Do you speak English” scam, watched very bold little birds that hovered in front of your face hoping for food, and basked in the sunshine. (And ate our awesome sandwiches.)

We then walked over to the Louvre – and along the way got our first “gold ring” scam. We didn’t understand it at first – in fact, we walked away figuring it was probably a scam, but also fretting that we were being rude somehow. Until, of course, we got the same scam a couple of hours later. It’s a famous scam, apparently, so glad we didn’t get caught up in it.

We went in to the Louvre at about the right time – not too crowded, no queues for tickets or security. We admit it: we were there to see the big items, so we headed for the Mona Lisa first (though stopped along the way to admire other things, including the Nike of Samothrace, which is one of my favorite pieces). Mona Lisa – small painting, big room, huge crowds. I still think one gets a better sense of it from postcards (heresy, I know). Also saw some great sculpture, a couple of Vigee le Brun’s, but then wanted to get outside. Funny: the gift shops at the Louvre are very posh, with nice postcards, prints, etc., but they don’t have any of the fun stuff that, say, the National Gallery has. No t-shirts, no scarves, no mugs. Weird. It’s only when you leave the museum that you find the fun things. But I’m sure the Louvre is doing all right.

We then decided to walk along the river to the Eiffel Tower – so pretty! Got there, saw the huge queues, and decided that we should use a restroom first. Except, apparently, there are no restrooms in the park. Now, there’s a lot of construction work going on, so perhaps they are renovating the restrooms… but is there really only one of those public restroom pods to satisfy the needs of EVERYONE who visits the tower each day? Really???

We ended up going for a little walk and stopping somewhere for some water (we were dehydrated) and a loo. We couldn’t buy a liter of water without eating, so we ordered a cheese sandwich. Yes, all we eat now is bread and cheese…

Refreshed, we headed back to the tower and the giant queues. Queue for security. Queue for tickets. Queue for the lift to the second level. Queue forever for the lift to the tippy top. Queue for the lift from the tippy top back to the second level. Queue for the lift to the bottom. Of course, this queuing was broken up by some breathtaking views of the city. :) I love going up to high towers and buildings to see a city. And though it was cloudy, it was also pretty clear and we could see everything.

Amusing: there are signs all over at the tower saying that it is illegal for the “itinerant salesmen” to be selling merchandise, and that the only official merchandise is that available in the shops on the tower. A girl behind me in a lift queue read it and said, “Oh, I get it – they want you to purchase the $20 item, not the same thing for $1 from those guys.” Yep.

We walked back towards home along the river (and had our second gold ring scam attempt, along with several “do you speak English” attempts) and stopped in at the Monoprix along the way to pick up provisions – cheese, bread, salad, tomatoes, fizzy water, and wine. It was fun to wander around and look at the food, though the checkout lines were insane. But we left there, got home, and had a delicious “picnic” at our little table by the window.

We decided to have a semi-early night, since we want a semi-early start on Tuesday. Why? Because we are going to Disneyland!