Today is a day of travel, but we will wake up over France, ready to emerge in Paris. Today was an adventure, to say the least. Waking up at 4:30 AM yesterday to work a full day then fly to Atlanta and press on to Paris... jeez...

To top it off, that was probably the worst transatlantic flights I've had. There are the usual superficial complaints, you know. Nowhere to charge my phone, the seats didn't lay back, noisy passengers... blah blah blah. I had problems on top of that. I really couldn't get comfortable to save my life and I struggled to get any rest at all. I typically prefer the window seat so I can post up on it, but this window was int he wrong spot for it and it jammed my elbow up. The armrests were too low and the flight crew kept making announcements when I was trying to watch a movie. All first world problems believe I know, but it wasn't a pleasant flight over. My mother had similar experiences with her rest.

Our quaint beautiful hotel room in the Latin Quarter in Paris

We arrived in Paris and grabbed a taxi to the city. Point of note here: It is a flat 55 Euro to get from CDG to downtown Paris, so consider hiring a car as some services can do the same in a more comfortable setting for only 60 Euro. I was planning on hiring the car but waited too long to get to it. Needless to say, we made it just fine. There was so much traffic and the motorcycles whizzing by almost gave my mom a heart attack, but we survived it. Our hotel is nice and the room is small by American standards but large for Paris. We have a narrow private balcony and a bathroom with a shower. There are free Wifi and air conditioning and the bed seems relatively comfortable. All in all, to be in the Latin Quarter practically across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral... worth it!

The view from our very wee balcony over the streets below

We put down our stuff and got situated with Wifi and such. We ventured out and hit the streets wandering our way around. We went by Notre Dame, enjoyed some lunch, and took some pictures. The line to get in was atrocious, so we did not partake. It is Easter week, we're thinking we won't be able to make that one work.

We meandered some more and stumbled on Paris's beauty at every turn. We worked our way from Notre Dame all the way down to the Louvre. The gardens outside of the Louvre are amazing and we spent some time out there. Definitely in the top 5 for free things to do here. My mother got ice cream and I had to use the bathroom I'm sharing this because it is important to know that in many places, you must pay to use the restroom. These restrooms are attended regularly. In fact, this one in particular not only had a person in it telling you which stall to occupy next, but he verified the cleanliness of the stall prior to sending you there. Worth the 0.70 Euros, in my opinion, although... it was a dude. Two dudes actually, and that was a little unnerving.

We made our way to the Eiffel Tower (by way of a hustling pedal bike operator) and stood in line for 2 hours to head to the top. Much like labor, after hours of pain, the joy of seeing the city this way was worth it. Champagne is served at the top, should you choose, and we did. The view is stunning and people are everywhere.

We took a cab back to the hotel and ended up wandering around the Latin Quarter for a few minutes looking for something to snack on. It was a little too late to eat a big meal, but a Crepe Fromage with onions sat just perfect with us. I grabbed a half bottle of wine at the hotel restaurant and Mom and I sat out on our balcony and enjoyed it. The view is pretty neat of the street below us.

All of my pictures will be posted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and in the galleries on this site, but tonight, I must sleep. So, I am going to finish this glass of wine and post this and be off to sleep.

Thanks, y'all!