Parisian Paradise.

Our overnight train from Nice arrived in Paris around 8am. Sleeping came more easily to us, considering how exhausting canyoning can be. Our first authentic French meal was spent at Cafe Le Petit Pont, located across from Notre Dame. I savored the most delicious cheese and vegetable omelette, along with my first real French baguette. The servers were more friendly than we anticipated, the service was exceptional, and the food was a terrific start to our Parisian experience. Afterwards, we walked straight to the heavily-populated square surrounding Notre Dame, before entering the famous cathedral for High Mass. Although the entirety of the service was in Latin, this did not phase me: I was in awe of my surroundings. The interior of the church exceeded my expectations. Well, maybe I had no expectations, but still beautiful. I only wish I could have understood the hymns and sermon, which would completely change the experience at large. After the conclusion of the service, we walked straight to the Quasi Moto, where we tried our first crepe! I decided on a chocolate/banana crepe, which was equally delicious as it was messy. Still, it was well worth the struggle to not completely cover my face in chocolate :) Afterwards, we bought tickets for the metro and ventured off to check into our hotel. I must stop here to say: I am genuinely proud of my navigational skills in and around the streets and metro stops of Paris. I've always credited myself with a TERRIBLE sense of direction, which is still applicable, but in Europe, I no longer have parents and chaperones to whom I can rely on to blindly lead me places. Mom and Dad, you would have been proud of your little girl! Our hotel was located 20+ minutes away from the central part of Paris, which was not bad, considering how much we paid for it. However, the "Hotel Belfort" is extremely outdated, which made our time there quite humorous.

After getting our belongings settled into the hotel, we ventured out in search of the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school (one of the sites I needed to visit for my research project on Julia Child's). After spending over 45 minutes unsuccessfully trying to find our way there, I was thoroughly frustrated and ready to give up. Finally, with the help of a kind Frenchman, we found it, but it was closed. Of course we forgot it was Sunday. Then, we took the metro straight to the Paris Opera House, ate another crepe (this time: strawberries and chocolate), ventured into another Catholic church, then took a nice walk along the River Seine, before enjoying another glorious French meal. The restaurant was located just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. I ordered a beef filet and French fries (of course). More expensive because of its location, but still well worth the money. Then, we had a "date" at the Eiffel Tower with some of our other Vienna family members who were also in Paris. We met under the immaculately-lit Tower and all embraced as if we had been separated for years, not days. It was quite precious how excited everyone was to talk and swap stories. We enjoyed the twenty minute light show of the Tower before buying tickets to get lifted up to the top for the grand finale! The view was absolutely spectacular (and COLD). Not all of my pictures turned out as planned, but I still managed to capture a few decent panoramic night-shots. Once we left the tower, we all had a late-night snack/dessert at a local cafe, before the different travel groups departed ways for the evening.

First day in Paris was a great one! Not only did the food exceed my expectations, but also the Eiffel Tower was larger and more glamorous than I had anticipated. Pictures of the Tower really do not capture its depth and texture. I never thought I would enjoy Paris as much as I did the first day, simply because I found it utterly too cliche to "fall in love with Paris." Well, the epidemic continues...

About to head to my wonderful bed in Vienna. Traveling really is exhausting. But, I will do my best to finish blogging tomorrow about the rest of our fall break 09 adventures in Paris and Spain!