WOW! This city is unbelievable. The people! The food! The history! Everything about this city screams LOVE! It's super romantic!

Katherine and I arrived yesterday morning, wide awake after we slept the entire trip across the Atlantic. We were ready to take on Versailles! Our plan - get to the hotel via the Metro, check in, shower and head out to take the 30 minute cross-Paris and into the suburbs train ride so we had all day at Versailles (we'd been told we'd want an entire day there).... not so fast my friend (that's what she said - inside joke for those who get it)....

We first realized that hauling all of our luggage (mainly Jenn's) through the metro system would be a little more challenging than we thought. And when you try to avoid help from skinny, smelly, french men it's even harder! Two wrong trains, one wrong direction, about a mile hike later, and an unsuccessful attempt at hailing a cab (apparently when outside a hotel, you shouldn't hail a cab with your arm in the air) we arrived at the hotel.... exhausted. We decided we'd nap for about an hour, then shower and still head out to Versailles.

Two and a half hours later - we woke up! Still eager to stick to our plan, we got ready in a flash, and headed to the train station - this time the one that's right near our hotel, rather than the one 15 miles away (exaggeration!).

We used our train passed, hopped on the train and settled in for the ride, reading our tourist books along the way, so we had a game plan when we got there - explore the inside of Versailles since it closed earlier than the grounds, then spend, until they kicked us out, exploring the grounds and gardens. Those handy guide books give you estimated times for all of these things (how long it'll take you to see the inside and outside). After some quick math we realized we were about to try the impossible! So- at the next stop- we jumped off the train! It was here that all planning went out the window! OPPS!

Suprisingly enough though, we ended up having the most amazing afternoon, saw far more than either of us thought we would, and the best part is that we're well rested!

Things we saw on the first day:

Hotel des Invalides - Napoleon's Tomb

Palis de la Decouverte

Sacre-Coeur

Notre Dame (from the outside)

A far away view of the Eiffel Tower

We came back to the hotel after all of that, quickly changed and grabbed dinner at one of the outside restaurants near our hotel. We made friends with the two French girls sitting next to us who recommended a street to us with lots of "fun French bars". After hailing a cab - which, as mentioned earlier, is apparently is quite a challenge here - we got to the street and tried a beer called 1664 that we both loved!

We've added a few pictures - check out the photo link! More to come later!