Bonjour Paris!

We woke up entirely too early (4:30 am) Wednesday morning to catch the Chunnel (train) to from London to Paris. It was already light outside (and stays light until well after 10 pm here). We had found a flat to rent in Paris and planned on staying there. After taking the metro to the neighborhood where the flat was, we found where we were supposed to be staying. Turns out, pictures from the Internet can lie and this place was dirty... to put it nicely. We decided we would rather take our chances and sleep in a park that in that dump, so we set out (in the pouring rain) to find a new place. After wandering around the foreign city (in the rain) we found the perfect place for us. It was a small hotel, with super clean rooms and the price was perfect. We were beyond thrilled (Nick did a celebratory dance in the elevator). We took quick showers and headed out to see the city. The next day and a half were filled with all the sightseeing you should do when you go to Paris. Despite the weather, we had a blast wandering around taking it all in, in the city of lights.

One of the first glimpses of the city. You can see the Eiffel Tower very small in the background.

Nick in front of the Louvre Museum. A helpful hint- we downloaded free podcasts from Rick Steves (the travel books we have been using) and they were so helpful. He has free audio guides for all the sights and museums. We would have been lost in the Louvre (the worlds largest museum) without it. We saw the Mona Lisa as well as Venus de Milo.

Nick and I on the top of Notre Dame. The sun finally peeked out!

We ended our day at the Arch de Triomphe

(We did see the Eiffel Tower but those pictures are having a hard time uploading)