Paris...whoa

As we crossed the border into France, we all started to get excited about our excursion to Paris. We had a lot to do in a little amount of time but we intended to make the most of it. The closer we got to Paris, the busier the roads became, but we expected this. The streets began to narrow and somehow tiny cars and motorcycles sped by in every direction. The first grand sight we saw was the Paris Opera House.

Paris Opera House

It was magnificent but our attention quickly turned to the crazy traffic. I was reminded of the Chevy Chase European Vacation scene where he is trapped in the inside lane of the round about with his blinker on and kept circling Big Ben while cars continued to cut in front of the family truckster. However, Naemi was our driver and though she had never driven in Paris, she was holding her own. But it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Basically there are no traffic rules. Same goes for pedestrian traffic. We found our hotel, the Choiseul Opera Hotel and sent Robin and Rhonda in to check us in while we temporarily parked on the street around the corner. Soon, they came back and said the rude front desk manager insisted she have passports for all of us before she could begin the check in process. So we gave them our passports and sent them back in, along with dad and our luggage and Naemi and I headed out into the traffic to try to find a parking space for the van. Our first parking spot attempt was a parking garage close to our hotel but it seemed to be full so we exited the garage and drove up and down every street, in the crazy traffic for the next hour, to no avail. During this time, we attempted other parking garages but they could not accommodate a van, only small cars. It was a very stressful time for both of us as our seemingly endless quest for parking continued. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, the others were growing more concerned as each minute passed. The desk clerk implied to them parking was easy to find and she didn't understand what was taking us so long. This, of course, made Rhonda, Robin and dad very worried as they began to imagine the worst. Back on the streets, Naemi decided to try the first parking garage to see if any spots had opened up and low and behold, there were two. We parked the van and headed towards the hotel. Rhonda, Robin and dad had been waiting for us for nearly two hours. I knew they would be worried sick but without cell phones, there was nothing we could do but wait it out. As Naemi and I walked into the hotel lobby, we watched as relief flooded over their faces. Group hugs all around! By the time we got to our rooms, we were all frazzled and not quite ready to face the mean streets. Naemi and I were told of their encounter with the front desk clerk and her snooty attitude and talk of the hotel's "standards". We figured that her standards were lost in translation since this hotel was well below the quality we had become accustomed to in our recent travels. But of course, we were in Paree and they think highly of themselves and their standards. The mean clerk said "Bonjour, Monsieur" to my dad twice and he didn't acknowledge her, and she was getting ready to become hostile and Robin motioned to her that dad was hard of hearing, so she quickly changed her tone to sympathy and said, "oh, he's deaf" and then became very nice to us. We just went with it.

Our nerves were beginning to settle and we started to get hungry so we headed out in search of French cuisine. We found a restaurant, were seated, then proceeded to wait for a ridiculously long time while the 'busy' garcon folded napkins. As soon as it was determined we were Americans (and one German) we were quickly forgotten. After every possible meaningless task was completed, the waiter impatiently came to take our order. We knew the words beef and chicken in French so we just pointed to one or the other. My selection was beef and I ordered it medium well. It was a burger, with gravy over the top and a side of fries. It was pretty good, though by the third bite, I realized the beef was so red it was mooing at me. Overall, the food was mediocre at best and well below OUR standards.

After the meal, we headed back to the hotel for the night to rest up for the next day, which was full of all kinds of tourism.

The sun was shining when we awoke and we decided to put Day 1 in Paris behind us. Today was a new day and we were determined to make the most of it.

We bought tickets for a double decker bus tour and were able to hop on/hop off at any or all stops. This way, we were able to see sights such as the Arc de Triomph, Grand Palace, Trocadero, Seine River, Champ de Mars, Champs Elysees, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, Louvre, the Paris Opera House and many other historical sites. We were able to listen to the tour, in English, with provided headphones and I learned a lot about the city during the tour. After this fun-filled day, we headed back towards the hotel to freshen up and find a place to eat. We decided on Chipotle, since we could understand the menu and they were even nice to us, which was a welcome change.

Now that our early dinner was over, we hopped back on the bus and rode to the Eiffel Tower. While waiting in line, we ate a crêpe and checked it off the list of things to do. The wait was close to two hours, but by the time we rode the elevator to the top, the sun was beginning to set. It was a beautiful view and I will never forget it. We continued to watch as lights began to pop up all over the city. It was breathtaking! After we descended, we caught a subway back to the Opera house metro station, which was three blocks from our hotel. As we turned in after our busy day, we reflected on all we had seen and done and were thankful Day 2 was a success.

Sunset from atop the Eiffel Tower

Day 3, we were ready to get out of Paris and head to our next destination. We had trouble locating our parking garage ticket, but the attendant was nice and due to the high tech system, he was able to determine how long we were parked. So the further we drove away from the city, the more relaxed we became. Next stop, back to the Weiss household for a good ole German BBQ feast!