Paris - Day 1

Our first day in Paris and all is going well. The day could not have started out better - the flight from Aberdeen was short and comfortable, and when we landed the cold, windy rain of Aberdeen had been replaced by brilliant sunshine and 22 C. Our bags were waiting when we got to the luggage carousel and the taxi ride into town was fairly pleasant. It was all a setup, I guess, as while we were taking our first look at the Eiffel Tower, I got crapped on by a pigeon. But if that's the worst that happens this trip, it will have been a good one.

Traffic is truly something to behold here. It seems as if they've all decided to not really apply any rules. They consider any paved space to be fair game and weave in and out lanes like crazy people. The roundabouts are insane ...

Our hotel is quite nice and situated just a couple of blocks from the Eiffel Tower. It didn't take long to settle in. The free wi-fi means blog updates and pictures daily.

We went straight down to the Tower to have a look. It is a pretty impressive structure, with beautiful iron work on the lower levels. The line ups to get up to the top were quite long (measured in hours, I believe) so I was relieved from having to confront my fear of heights.

We strolled some side streets and stopped in a neighborhood brasserie for a late lunch/early dinner. The food was great, the atmosphere just what you'd want from a Parisien brasserie and the desert crepes ensured that we will be returning there someday soon.

We walked a little further, up past the Tower and through the theatres on the other side of the Seine. It offered up some great vantage points for scenic shots, plus it was a great place for people watching. You have to have a strong stomach, though, because the public displays of affection are pretty overt and open.

We took a late evening cruise on the Seine, seeing a lot of the city highlights and helping us plan the next few days. Notre Dame was especially impressive in the setting sun. It was eye-opening just how large the Louvre is - I'm not sure we're going to go through it this trip, it would take a little too much time to do it justice and we have so many other things we want to do.