So we landed in Paris at about noon (which was 3 AM Seattle time). Literally just before leaving our house in Kirkland, as Graham viewed the final luggage count, we decided to go ahead and fork over the extra $$ and reserve a ride on our hotel's shuttle (rather than try and squeeze ourselves and all our luggage on what we were told was a very crowded metro). This was a great relief to me as my biggest worry for the entire trip had been how we would makes these transfers with all of our luggage until we picked up our car. Anyway, because we'd "reserved" the shuttle at the very last minute, we weren't sure whether or not we could count on it being there to pick us up. And because we lacked internet access, we were unable to check our e-mail to see if they'd responded to our reservation, letting us know when/where they would fetch us.
We deplaned and thankfully all our luggage made the trek safely and the checked items were pretty much the first off the belt (for the curious minds, we had a backpack, one large suitcase, one small suitcase, a fabulous craigslist umbrella stroller, and Isla's carseat/base which we decided to bring at the last minute). We figured our best bet was to go to the hotel shuttle section of the airport and just hope we had a ride awaiting. But alas, our hotel name was not listed under the shuttles that came through the loop so we moved onto plan B which was to ask the information desk if they knew where we could catch the shuttle to the Hotel Grand Leveque. The lady behind the desk was less than helpful, telling us that our hotel did not have a shuttle (I think we were experiencing some language barrier issues). Plan C involved an attempt at calling our hotel to see if they'd sent the shuttle for us. This plan proved be be enormously difficult as we could not figure out how to work the pay phone, let alone how many numbers we were expected to press (Do they use area codes over here? Is there such thing as long distance? Do we need to dial 9 first? etc etc). We tried many combinations of our hotel's number but were unsuccessful. So we opted to go with our original plan which was to brave the metro.
I wore Isla in the front pack, slung the carseat/base in it's handy dandy carrier bag onto the stroller and hung the backpack from the stroller handles. Graham somehow managed to lug the 2 suitcases which thankfully had wheels. Because the airport was the first stop on this metro line, we were prematurely reassured that "This won't be so bad." Wrong. Really though, it wasn't horrible. It's just that at one stop, what seemed like an entire campus of highschoolers filled the train to the brim and they didn't show signs of getting off anytime soon to ease our exit. We were trapped, pretty much as far away from the door as we could possibly be. Just when we thought no one else could possibly fit on, another 10 people crammed their way in. Somehow, and honestly I'm not quite sure how, we were able to force our way off at our stop, with all our luggage in tow. Phew! One metro down but unfortunately now we had to figure out how to transfer to the next one. We literally stepped onto the platform just as what were pretty sure was our train pulled up. We ran and tried to jump aboard but this train was higher than the other and I needed Graham's help to get the stroller up the steps. The doors started closing on the stroller (with Graham still on the platform!!) but some kind souls came running to the rescue to pry the doors open and get myself Graham on. I was beginning to see why Rick Steves recommended "families with a lot of luggage should take a shuttle." Oh well, it's all a part of the adventure. And yes, we did jump on the right train.
Our last hurdle was to trek to our hotel. We emerged from the metro smack dab in the middle of the gigantic Les Invalides, a large complex of beautifully ornate buildings from around the 1600s separated by a lovely green mall of grass. Straight ahead, we spotted the Eiffel Tower. We were in awe. We were in Paris!
It was gloriously sunny which meant Graham's idea of wearing his extra layers (long sleeve shirt and fleece) to save space was probably not the greatest. It was close to 90 degrees so our walk to the hotel was long and HOT. We chose to stay in a really cute area called Rue Cler, a neighborhood within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. We loved it! Our hotel was on a pedestrian only street which sported it's own small fruit market, cheese monger, meat shop, bakery and many cafes with outdoor seating. Our room must have been the smallest in the entire hotel. It got even smaller when the baby cot (pack n' play) was added.
Our cute hotel.
Our "home sweet home," Rue Cler
After checking in at our hotel, Graham took a quick shower while I made the mistake of laying down on the bed. I didn't quite fall asleep but I most certainly lost my momentum. Isla was wired at this point, how I'm not quite sure. We had made reservations to go up the Eiffel Tower at 4:30 PM to keep ourselves busy (and awake!) until bedtime to ease time zone transition. We headed out, admiring all of the buildings along the way.
Even the apartment buildings were beautiful and ornate with their wrought iron railings.
And then of course the iconic Parisian tower came into view.
If you ever plan to go up the Eiffel Tower, I highly recommend you make reservations. We waited a mere 10 minutes to go up, thankful NOT to be in the seemingly-endless line of people without reservations. We opted to only go to the 2nd deck as it was increasingly more expensive the higher you go up. You would be surprised how high up that second deck feels, even though it is only about 1/3 of the way up. The elevator ride took a while and it felt like we were really high so I thought for a bit that we got a free ride all the way to the top! The view was amazing with all of Paris spread out before us. It is such a huge city!
Isla seemed to enjoy being up so high and made Graham really nervous as she grabbed the wires and leaned out to admire the view.
By this point, I was really starting to fade. Nausea from my exhaustion had set in and I was ready for dinner and an early bedtime. Graham, on the other hand, kept talking about seeing this museum and that museum and taking the bus here and there to see the city at night. But after seeing the glazed over look on my face, he agreed dinner was in order.
We headed back to Rue Cler where we ate at the cornerside Cafe du Marche. Graham ordered fried duck (which we let Isla try) with potatoes and I had what seemed like everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad (greens, prosciutto, foie gras pate, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, couscous and raisins). It sounds really bizarre but I loved it and wish I could even begin to replicate it. We sipped Bordeaux and visited with the fellow Rick Steves travelers at the table next to us.
We were in bed by 8 PM. In bed, but not asleep. Isla cried for about 3 hours on and off. We had downloaded her Baby Einsteins CD on Graham's I Touch so that played throughout the night. We took turns holding her and rocking her and trying to get her to fall asleep. She is such a light sleeper! If one of us even slightly changed positions and made the sheets russle, a whole new set of cries would commence. She finally fell asleep at about 11 PM only to awaken again at 2:45 AM. But then she slept for a 6 hour stretch until 8:40 AM which made us so grateful. If that was the worst of it, we could do this!
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