Day 1 Paris

We arrived at Paris-CDG at about 8:30am local time, close to on-time. The flight over was very good - a full flight, but comfortable seating - window/aisle. The air was smooth and the attendants friendly. Best of all we had a full moon as our guide star over the Atlantic. Even better, the lower clouds cleared as we approached the coast of France and amazingly our flight path was almost exactly the same as the US paratroops on D-Day. So we flew south to north just below Cherbourg enabling us to see Mont St. Michel off to our right. Then we tracked over Utah and Omaha beaches. The paratroops were of course not at 30 thousand feet and 600 mph.  They were more like 300 feet and 150 mph.  I'm sure we had the better experience.  One thing we did have in common was the full moon - for them a prerequisite for a night jump! This was a perfect entrance to France for this trip!

In spite of the inevitable travel fatigue we felt pretty good as we negotiated CDG to the train into center Paris. Although it was funny as we struggled to exit the underground station at Notre Dame we thought we were trapped in Paris underground for the duration. Oh. And then there was the comedy of getting our luggage through the turnstiles! We always feel amused when we arrive into a new destination - we feel as though we must look like the "Clampets" arriving in LA!

OK so off to our hotel. I had planned to catch a cab even though it was just a few blocks. This seemed sensible as we had our luggage (carry-on only) and that I didn't want to burn up energy for this. But, a cab driver seemed to think it was better that we walk rather than him taking a minimal fare. So walk we did. It turned out to be fine - orientation was easy from Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter streets are very interesting. It did take us a bit to realize that most of the street names were on the sides of the corner buildings rather than on signposts. Travel fatigue fog!

We found our hotel - Hotel Agora - right around the corner from a street market - very fun - and just past a bevy of Patisserie's - more fun!

Check in was not til after 2pm so we stored our luggage and freshened up in the rest rooms. Staff was friendly and we liked the looks of our hotel.

So out for our tour of for the day. The plan was to concentrate on the Ile de le Citi with Notre Dame and St. Chapelle being the focus. First as we walked there we stopped at a little patessire for a bite to eat and some coffee. We love these little places usually with sidewalk tables.

At both churches the crowds were large, but the lines moved well. Notre Dame was very nice, but to me the outside was more impressive than the inside. St. Chapelle was just the opposite - the stained glass was amazing. It was probably the best I have seen anywhere. It was surprisingly small, but impressive nonetheless.

We took a break in mid-afternoon at a cafe with outdoor seating. Very relaxing and enjoyable to soak up the Parisian sights, sounds and aromas.  Dinner was a similar experience at an outdoor cafe with some delicious omelets.

The weather was great with temps in the mid 60s, full sun and blue sky.

One quick and funny story. As we were relaxing in the hotel we had just commented how happy we were with its location. Just then a nearby church sounded off on the hour. We looked at each other laughing that well there goes sleep tonight! Fortunately they didn't ring after ten or eleven and we had a good nights sleep.

So day 1 was really nice and we accomplished and enjoyed all we had hoped to.

Two photos: the church (St. Nicholas) nearby our hotel; dinner omelet.