What a fabulous first day in Paris!

After reading the reviews of our hostel, the most common complaint was that
breakfast ran out fast and early. And considering breakfast is free, Meredith
and I wanted to take full advantage of it. So breakfast started at 6:45am and
we were there at 6:47am :)

Breakfast wasn't too horrible. They had cold cereal, croissants, jams and
coffee. We ate and then headed back to bed, but only for about twenty minutes.
I then showered and got ready for our bike tour! Oh forgot to mention, that I
FLOODED the bathroom. I mean a good 3 inches of water on the whole floor.
Forgot to make sure the shower curtain was all tucked in :) opps!

We had not really discovered Paris a lot, and didn't know our way around. So we
gave ourselves PLENTY of time. Our tour started at 10am. We had to be at the
Notre Dame Cathedral by 9:50 and we left at 8:30.

We took the metro and with no problem found Notre Dame. We probably arrived
there at 8;50. Ha, Paris really isn't that big. But we took some good pictures
and admission to the cathedral was free, so we had a good look around there.

(side note: we finally got to buy a book of metro stubs, we found a kiosk that
accepted bills!)

Notre Dame was absolutely GORGEOUS on the inside. The stain glass windows and
architecture, was magnificent.

We headed to the statue to meet our tour guides, signed in and then were
assigned to Louise for the tour :) Louise is French, and has lived in Paris for
7 years. However, her mother is American and she is attending Berkley for Law
School in August. We could not have asked for a better guide. She spoke great
English, was extremely smart and was so nice! She took us to get our bikes and
we were off!

There were probably only about 8 others in our group, but Meredith and I stayed
at the front next to Louise, so we didn't really notice the other people.
Louise commented on Meredith and I's excellent biking ability... we explained to
her biking around MSU and that we can even bike in the snow (but not on ice,
that ended badly) .... We saw so much but some of my favorite were:

*The library that had the cannonball lodged in the foundation from the French
Revolution
*The Garden Square where Victor Huge (the author of Les Miserables and Hunchback
of Notre Dame) lived. It was ironic, because his stories are about poor living,
while he ivied in one of the most expensive houses in Paris.
*Pacman Artist, that has secretly placed different pacman characters all over
the world. With 2,000 in Paris, including one in the Louvre! And when the ones
in Paris are connected, they outline a space invader.
*We saw the restaurant that they used in Ratatouille. It is the most expensive
restaurant in Paris. Where dinner for 2 would be about 600 Euros! Thats over
$800! I think Meredith is going to treat me tomorrow ;)
*Prison that was invaded to start the French Revolution
*Marie Antoinette's prison cell after she was captured.
* The church where Jesus's thorns are displayed (the originals, we didn't get a
chance to go inside the church to see the thorns, but we are hopping to before
we leave)
* And finally the Louvre! Wow was it magnificent.
*We also saw the Pompidou Centre and Musee D'orsay (both which we will visit
later this week)

We are waiting to go into the Louvre and other museums until Sunday. Because
being the first Sunday of the month, entrance is free! It couldn't have worked
out any better with out budget! We know lines will be long, but we are prepared!

The tour latest a little over 3 and a half hours, and after we headed back out
to the city. We had planned on seeing the Catacombs (which are thousands of
bones of people that were not identified at that market)... However, after
taking the metro there, found that they were closed due to floods. It was then
that Meredith and I realized how close everything was, and how ridiculous it was
that we were taking the metro. Wanting to fill our day, Meredith and I headed
to The Pantheon and the Luxembourg Gardens.

After we got our bearings it was about a 30 minute walk to the Pantheon, we took
lots of pictures and just took in the atmosphere. Sitting on the steps of it,
in the distance you can see the Eiffel Tour! Which we have not visited or seen
up close yet! We then wandered into the nearby church. In the church is where
Saint Genevieve is buried (who is the patron saint of Paris)... Once again,
absolutely gorgeous inside!

We then wandered to the Luxembourg Gardens. They are so pretty! But different
from any other gardens. In France, they are picky about keeping up the lawn, so
you are not allowed on them. So it is mainly dirt and chairs. The weather was
heating up by this time so it was nice to get a little shade. We then sat down
by the fountain, where little kids were renting boats to push around in the
fountains. We just took in the view and ate the second half of the baguettes we
had bought for lunch. I think we could just spend our days people watching!

Eventually it was time to wander back to our hostel. We walked the entire way
(once again only 30 minute walk) and stopped to get some new peanut butter and
bananas!
**I think i forgot to mention that our off brand peanut butter turned out to be
like a cookie nasty tasting spread**
We have really missed fruit (especially watermelon) since we have been here.
Everything is bread, and bread, and more bread. Which it is all delicious, just
a little too heavy all the time.

After getting back we decided to give the internet another go. And although it
initially didn't work, some way or another it did! But the wifi is awful.
Chuck began to download and we were so excited! Then we realized how slow it
was going.... but we really didn't have anything else to do. So we waited, and
we waited, and we waited.... about 2 hours for one episode to download. Yeah,
seems crazy, I know...

But well worth it in the end. I made myself a peanut butter & banana sandwich
for dinner (which was delicious) and thoroughly enjoyed watching our one episode
of Chuck :)

We just finished our plans for tomorrow which include another 6:45am breakfast,
nap and then heading to the Eiffel Tower! And then the Arc de Trompe and hoping
that the catacombs are up and running!

I think we will be sticking to walking from now on too!
-brooke.