bonjour - hello (french)

ahhh, april in paris. so lovely, so charming, so french.

day one: berlin to paris

dan and i got up early, packed the lonely planet "best of paris" book, and headed to france. 1 taxi, 2 planes, 1 bus, 1 train and 1 metro later we arrived at our hotel. we are a little beat up from the crush of rush hour on a holiday weekend train and metro travelers, and i have to use the facilities, if you know what i mean. when we get to the room i find the facilities have not been cleaned. yum. we decide to explore one of the city's highly regarded public facilities instead - with a stop at the reception desk to request housekeeping on our way out.

thanks to that delightful find, dan and i start our sightseeing earlier than planned, and head straight for the arc de triomphe. it's big, impressive, and we're pretty sure that no french is being spoken under or around it. we sit to admire the engravings and take the obligatory pictures, when we are suddenly surrounded by a group of french veterans in fancy uniforms with flags. wow, i think, real french people! so not every french person was on our metro train! they either plan to have a parade or photo op sometime in the future, or they have already done it, but for now they are playing tourits too. i find this fact comforting for some reason.

we walk down the champs élysées until the big box retail and crowds are just too much for us, then head down a side street to wind our way home. dan is convinced that the entire city will shut it's doors for the holiday and we will be SOL. i have forgotten my contact case, so we pop in and out of pharmacies, grocery stores and opticians, using the tiny bit of french i remember, searching for what we might need in the next few days. it turns out that we should have bought some disinfecting wipes. it's no wonder that the term "laissez faire" is french and that the hype about the french maid has nothing to do with her actual cleaning. back at the hotel we find that the housekeeping has, instead of cleaning the toilet, simply put the top down. crafty. i avoid confrontation whenever possible, because i'm a weenie, so i cleaned the toilet grumbling the entire time. after a total disinfecting of myself we head to "le resto" the restaurant where the hotel receptionist has made us reservations.

restaurants don't open until 7:30pm. we are starved. but before we get menus we are served complimentary champagne. nice touch - so french! by the time we order we are tipsy and the waiter is trying very hard to explain the menu in english. i hear fish, dan hears beef, we see crème brûlée. we're good. we order the house white and red. we discuss theatre. we sing happy birthday to the british girl next to us. a wonderful time was had by all.

after successfully maneuvering through the streets and metro of paris earlier in the day, and emboldened by our wine, we decide not to go to bed but to go the eiffel tower instead! why not? we metro there and as we exit the station, we turn a corner and *gasp* there it is. i have always thought that giant metal structures like sky scrapers and monuments were interesting, but never beautiful. the eiffel tower is beautiful. it takes my breath away. it is lit with tiny bulbs from top to bottom, and just as we arrive, the first light show of the evening begins - if you're thinking pink floyd laser show you are mistaken - thousands of white lights shimmer all over the tower for 15 minutes. as we watch the moon rises just behind it, huge and glowing bright red. the little german boy next to me is telling his dad that it can't be the moon, it's too "schön". i agree, it is all just too beautiful.

after a ton of pictures we wander down across the seine, under the tower, deciding not to wait in line with the masses. we've had enough people today. it sounds cliché but as we walk through the gardens away from the tower, it's just so romantic. (ewww gross!) we meet a couple from south africa on their honeymoon, we take their picture. we have ours taken. and just as the next light show begins, exhaustion catches up to us and we leave the eiffel tower shimmering behind us.

stay tuned for day 2 in paris when we see an art exhibit about california.