Ahh, Pah-lee… Last year when I was here, it was my first experience visiting anywhere outside of North America. I went through enormous culture shock between CDG and arriving in the Metro station, Gare de Lyon via RER in the middle of rush hour. This time, I was much more equipped, with about 2 collective months of Euro travel under my belt. Knowing a lot more French and having leveled expectations about how the city feels about American visitors has allowed Paris to turn into a highlight of our travels. Montbard and the rest of the French country were fantastically relaxing and a perfect transition to the bluntness of France’s most glorious city.

5 minutes off the train, and we had the elation we had when we arrived in Berlin. Like the entire trip, we had no place to stay and a bunch of gear on our backs. This time, we dropped the bags off at a train station and wandered the city. We settled on a hotel on the outskirts of the central city, but still on the main metro lines. It was cheaper than the hostels (as is the case with most big cities in Europe) and has a fantastic petit dejour (breakfast) in the morning and a nice ensuite bathroom (this is key so we can wash Jason’s stinky shirts). Since our arrival, we’ve pretty much been running around having tons of fun and living the carefree Parisian life. We haven’t even picked up our bags from the station.

On day one, we took the metro from our hotel to Notre Dame and wandered into another Mass, this time for Sunday evening. The difference was drastic. At the Vatican, it was really difficult to get into Mass, and tourists were kept in a closed off area very far from the altar and spectators. At Notre Dame in Paris, there were tourists walking all over the place, up and down the aisles and making all kinds of noise. Candles were sold for 2-5 Euro, camera flashes going off everywhere, and the whole thing seemed kind of scummy. It just felt inappropriate to be wandering in front of the Parisians as they attended their Sunday eve Mass.

After a handful of pictures and spending a few moments in the plaza in front of Notre Dame, Jason and I did a dumb thing and walked to the Eiffel Tower. By the time we got there, the sun was setting and we got to see the Tower light up. It was great as the lights did their little flashing dance as the sun set. Afterwards, I grabbed us a few frommage crepes and we did an even dumber thing and walked back to Notre Dame. Earlier in the day, I introduced Jason to French crepes with a frommage et jabon crepe. He has looked for them everywhere since. The walk back from the Tower was pleasant as the reflecting lights on the Seine prompted many photos. We also spent time in the chaos of the small streets near Notre Dame. There must have been over a thousand people packed in this tiny area I now call, Kebab Hawkers Alley, at midnight. Look at all those people wandering this little street at midnight on a Sunday! And you could not walk 5 feet without someone shoving a kebab or a pizza or a pizza with kebab on it in your face. By the time we got back to the hotel, we realized we had walked over 20 miles that day. We’ve been averaging 13-14 miles per day, and the 20+ was absolute murder on the legs and feet. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we both collapsed within minutes of getting in the room.

That was day one. We’ve just completed day two and I’m gonna grab some sleep and update tomorrow on it. It was a day of us running around and standing almost the entire day. And to put it succinctly, I think it was the greatest day of Jason’s life. He was freaking out all day long, ladies and gentleman.