Day 1 and 2: NYC to Paris

Day 1 was really an extended day so I am going to call it 2 Days. It started with our 9:50pm flight from JFK to Dublin. The flight consisted of twin babies that cried for 5 out of the 7 hours we were forced to be with them, stomach issues (for me of course), and Shutter Island. I struggled to fall asleep with the babies and stomach stuff, but Laura managed a good 4 hours of solid sleep which she would add onto on our second flight from Dublin to Paris.

Second flight consisted of leather seats, being placed in the exit row (a.k.a. All the leg room you could need), and NO BABIES! Needless to say, much better! We touched down in Paris at 1:40pm local time, and we took the train into the city. As we emerged from the Metro stop into the city the sky above opened up and let down a little "Bonjour" rain, but we quickly found our hotel with the help of a few nice Frenchmen. We checked-in around 3:15pm, settled into our cozy little room at the Hotel Andre Latin, and decided to hit the town (at a slow, tired pace).

We ventured into the Latin Quarter which was a short distance to the Southeast of us. Not long after we reached it, Laura and I realized that we hadn't eaten in about 8 hours. So, we found this little cafe called Verse Toujours and invited ourselves in for a little dinner. After making quick eyes over the menu Laura settled on Gratin de Gnocchi which was like Au Gratin potatoes but with Gnocchi! I ordered the Croquette au Poulet avec Legumes, which was a curry-based chicken stew over rice and vegetables. Not to mention a nice little baguette sliced up and thrown to the bread-eating wolves we are.

After dinner we strolled down the Avenue de Gobelins to the Place D'Italie, while stopping at every shoe store in between. Once there we found a stylish patissarie called Hure and gobbled down a pain au chocolat, which is a croissant with chocolate in the middle. Once dessert had been completed and the crumbs were wiped away from our lips, we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a night.

However, as a result of Laura's persistent desire to shop we stumbled upon Rue Mouffetard. A little treasure filled with bistros, fromageries (cheese shops), wine stores, and fruit stands among the many other pleasantries. It winds its way up a little hill a couple kilometers long tucking itself into buildings before it juts back out again. It was Paris. It was something that I truly love about this city. After telling each other we definitely had to come back and visit Rue Mouffetard we ended up right where we needed to be and quickly found our hotel. Day 1 and 2 were a success, now for a little shut-eye!

-Kyle

Lessons Learned Today:

1. Babies shouldn't be allowed on airplanes, they are sleep terrorists!

2. Even on a couple hours sleep Laura is one heck of a shopper!

3. My French is still pretty good. At least I learned one thing at college.