Hit the ground running at @ 9 AM Paris time, made it through the security and out into a rainy Paris Saturday morning. If you want advice, fly out of the country, and people will line up around the block to give you little tricks you can use to: a) sleep on the plane b) recover from jet lag c) how to handle your first day in a dramatically new time zone. I heard lot's of advice, and did none of these things...in retrospect maybe I should have taken something on the flight so that I could have actually slept. That seems to be the biggest detriment to my stay thus far.
After dropping off luggage we walked to a cafe and enjoyed a Parisian breakfast which consisted of really serious coffee, some kind of orange drink, and several types of bread. The croissant was one of the best I had ever had, however the buttered toast seemed a bit out of place. Walked to the Lourve and decided to take a good run at the Denon gallery. It was the first time I had seen the Mona Lisa and if I hadn't known it was the most popular painting in the world I wouldn't have guessed it in the presence of such magnificent scale. I hate to admit this now, but walking through the Lourve things tend to take on an almost pedestrian nature. For the first hour or so I was in awe of the work, then I found myself unable to process all the magnificence...I had to leave the building in order to get it through my head what I had just experienced. There is no way you can see it in one day.
We had dinner that night in an excellent little restaurant near our hotel...I ate a bite of everything that the group ordered (foreshadowing). The service on Saturday night was hilariously slow - and we could have cared less. It was friends, and food, and wonderful ideas being brought up around the table. I felt like more learning took place at that table for the chefs in my group, and for me just listening to them was a HUGE advantage. Photos have been posted regarding some of the dishes we enjoyed.
I agree with you about the Louve and found myself taking it for granted. Mona didn't do it for me. But I did love my daughters doing impressions of some of the statues.
Posted by: Bud | 11/03/2006 at 08:56 PM