Where do I begin to describe the magnificent experience that Bill and I had in Paris? Well, let’s take it day by day and I will try to do it justice. Our adventure began as we flew from Charleston to Philadelphia and then to Paris on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. We departed Philly at 9 p.m. and arrived at Paris at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. We were told by everyone who had been to Paris to stay up all day and fight the feeling for a nap on that first day, so that is exactly what we did!
My first impressions, as we Ubered from the airport to the hotel, were the amount of traffic, plentiful graffiti, lots of construction (remember the Olympics are coming in two months), and… who knew motorcycles can race between the cars weaving in and out of lanes!
Arriving at our hotel – the Etats-Unis Opera around noon, we were luckily able to check in. We had read that most hotel rooms in Paris were quite small, but we had never seen such a compact elevator! With Bill and myself and our two suitcases loaded, there was certainly no room for anyone else; in fact, one morning another couple joined us to go down to breakfast and the lift refused to move as we had exceeded the 300kg limit!
After settling in, we immediately hit the street, walking to the Galeries Lafayette, a massive 7-story shopping mecca, offering anything one could possibly need/want, ranging from clothing to perfumes, to handbags, and from children’s clothing to shoes, and luggage to specialty foods! The entire phenomena is covered with a glass dome and outside on the roof, we witnessed a beautiful and expansive view of the city!
From there, after stopping for our first taste of Parisian pastry, we walked to the Opera House, the first of many remarkable edifices we experienced in France. Still operating for operas, ballets, and other musical productions, the Opera House is open daily to the public and is representative of the 19th century architecture evident throughout the city. It also houses a research library and offers various tours. We happened to see a large group of young people seemingly on a class trip sitting outside on the steps of the Opera House. Interesting to note, in the United States, we often give students matching T-shirts when on field trips and each child brings a packed lunch. Look at this group – all wearing matching orange hats and teachers and students alike munching on the ever popular baguette!
Our first day in Paris culminated in a delicious dinner at La Fontaine de Mars. On our Uber drive there it poured rain, only to result in a beautiful rainbow, which we took as a lucky sign of our week ahead, and I can say with confidence that the rainbow did not disappoint. Our dinner included a red fish special and Coq Au Vin, a tasty Sauvignon Blanc, and an amazing dessert – chocolate mousse with a side of Grand Mariner to drizzle!
Well, we certainly got off to a great start, managed to stay up throughout our arrival day, and slept like babies, dreaming of what was to come! Stay tuned…
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