Our flight was scheduled to depart at 21:50, but as always, we are told to arrive 3 hours earlier. A waste of time, but we made the best of it by enjoying a delightful meal at an airport restaurant. While most airport restaurants are known to be over priced, our meal was delicious.
Check in was surprisingly fast for us today, so we had ample time to enjoy our meal.
Boarding the plane, we were at first worried that a baby sitting near us might be an issue. Far from it. The little girl was a flirt and eyed and smiled at us for much of the flight.
The flight itself was uneventful. We landed 11am local time which is 5 am MOntreal time. Again we were surprised how lucky we were that we went through customs so quickly. We waited for our bags, then headed out to find a taxi.
Just under 50 Euros later, and we were dropped at our door.
We tend to book apartments on-line, and one of my few anxious moments is waiting to be sure we actually have an apartment when we arrive. But moments later, our host was there and was leading us up to our lovely apartment that will be home for the next 2 weeks.
Our first stop is to get a SIM card for my cell phone. Roaming charges are criminally high. While we can and do use Wifi for most of our needs, it is great to have access to a cell phone particular Google Maps. So buying a SIM card is usually a great deal. (You do have to make sure your cell phone is unlocked.)
Next to a sim card, coffee is the next essential. So we walked into a nearby grocery store and bought some coffee. Wine is almost an essential too, so we bought a bottle of red and a bottle white. At 5 and 4 Euros respectively, I can say they are excellent wines. They would easily cost 2-3 times more back home.
Relaxing for perhaps the first time with a good cup of freshly brewed coffee, we became perturbed when for some reason we could not get Hera’s cell and tablet to connect to the Wifi.
With a second wind, we headed back out to walk the streets of Paris on our first day.
Our apartment is located on a quiet street in the Marais district of Paris. A short half block to our left is Rue des Archives, and to our right is Rue du Renard. These large boulevards, along with the numerous smaller streets are lined with shops and bistros.
Tired, and walking in the rain, we walked over to the nearby Pompidou Center. We did not enter it, but walked around it, and did walk into various other tempting shops.
The rain started to come down more heavily. We considered entering a restaurant or pub, but we were tired, and jetlagged, and not sure how long the rains might last, so we headed towards home.
I know Roquefort and Camembert cheeses, but these were exceptionally good. While museums and sights abound in Paris, if you do not sample the tastes of Paris, you are really missing out.
Having our apartment does allow us the luxury to buy various wines, cheeses and foods, and truly enjoy them. (If you do not have an apartment when you visit, then the least you must do is to have a picnic. Buy some bread, cheese and pate, and enjoy them in a park.)
