Bonjour, Paris!

I got up at 3:45am and the taxi picked me up an hour later.  By 5:30 I had checked my bag, gone through security and was sitting at Starbucks with my first coffee of the day. My flight from Seattle to Chicago left on time, but the flight from Chicago was delayed by 45 minutes because they had to replace the plane.  I think we were fortunate that it wasn't a longer delay.  We were only 15 minutes later arriving in Paris than originally scheduled.  It was about 7:00am when I got off the plane and by 7:15 I had my suitcase and had gone through immigration, and had arrived!

I met Kathy at the Sheraton, at terminal 2, where she had stayed Tuesday night.  I freshened up and we went out to get some breakfast.  By 9:30 we were in a cab on our way into central Paris!

We had arranged to meet the "greeter" for our rental apartment, at a boulangerie near the apartment, which is on Rue St. Martin in the 3rd arrondissement.  Once she arrived she took us up to the apartment and showed us around, including how to operate all of the appliances.  The apartment is exactly as described and pictured on the agency's website and should be very comfortable.  It is a lot bigger than the one I rented from the same agency in 2013 with one bedroom and an full-size, fully equipped kitchen.  Originally, the plan was for us to drop off our luggage, then come back at the normal check-in time at 2:00, but as it turned out the apartment was ready for us to settle in.

After we unpacked, Kathy and I walked over to Rue Montorgueil, a market street not far from the apartment.  Since this apartment is only a couple of blocks from where I stayed last time, I am fairly familiar with the immediate area.  We really felt like we were in Paris while having lunch outside at one of the cafes on Rue Montorgueil. It is such fun watching the parade of people go by.  We each had a small glass of wine and salads.  Kathy's was a chicken caesar and mine was a cobb, but both were very different than what we would have at home.  They were both topped with a poached egg.  Mine was very good.

After lunch we strolled the street, looking in the shop windows, but we didn't buy anything.  By this time, I think both of us were too tired.   We got rained on as we were heading back to the apartment.  Fortunately, we had our umbrellas, but it was windy and mine blew inside out about five times by the time we got to the Monoprix where we picked up some groceries for breakfast and tonight's supper.

Back to the apartment, we both took naps, and then called home. With a nine hour time difference, we have a limited time frame in which to call without waking someone up in the middle of the night.

On our way over to Rue Montorgueil, we stopped at the first Tabac we passed so that I could buy a SIM card for my cheapy cellphone.  I don't try to use my smart phone here.  I bought a $30 phone that complies with European standards from Amazon before my last trip to Paris.  I got a Lebara SIM card plus 10 euros worth of time, which should be plenty for the two weeks we're here.  Back at the apartment I had to call to activate the SIM, which was pretty easy as they have an English option.

Our light supper consisted of 2 different cheeses, sausage, fresh vegetables, very good bread, and a glass of wine.

All in all, not a bad start to our stay in Paris, and even though we did get rained on, it was nice enough for a time  for us to enjoy a Parisian lunch at a sidewalk cafe.