After a six-hour flight from Toronto, we finally landed in France! Interestingly, landing at Charles de Gaulle is a lot like landing at Schiphol: shortly after arriving on the runway, passengers are asked to exit through the plane's emergency exit doors and take a chartered bus to the airport's terminal. We went through customs, picked up our luggage, and were on a cab to Paris in as little as thirty minutes. Mind you, finding a taxi was a small feat on its own: the cab hailer, for lack of a better term, spoke little English. Thankfully, we understood each other pretty well and were on a cab to Paris within minutes of waiting.
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| Charles de Gaulle in Roissy-en-France |
"
Who knew a Prius could fit four people and five pieces of luggage?" was the first thing our family of four thought of en route to the romantic city of Paris. I had never seen nor been in a Prius before and was pleasantly surprised by its spaciousness and comfort. There is definitely some truth to the saying that good things do come in small packages. Hahaha.
Our cab dropped us off in front of two beautiful wooden doors that offered a small view of the equally beautiful courtyard beyond. I entered the door code in the keypad and went inside where we encountered the first of many surprises...
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| Our apartment |
Our apartment was at the topmost floor of its building! This was news to me. However, this was to be expected in France where elevators are uncommon in apartment buildings. After my parents and sister got over the initial shock of this newfound revelation, they were thankfully good sports and were not completely averse to forced exercise. We met our host shortly after and he gave us a quick tour of the apartment. He then left us on our own, which meant a three-hour nap for jet-lagged tourists from Canada.
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| The first floor of our modern loft |
We awoke at around lunchtime and, thanks to our nap, were energized to explore nearby Montparnasse for lunch. We settled on a restaurant called
My Baar.
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| My first meal in Paris |
After lunch, we walked back to our apartment where we took another nap. My sister and I woke up late in the afternoon and decided to proceed with our itinerary, explore Paris on foot, and visit the often underrated
Musee Rodin. Our journey to the famed museum involved the following: walking along Rue le Verrier, Rue St Placide, Rue du Bac, and Rue de Varenne. During our thirty-minute walk, we experienced getting lost, asking a local for directions in French, being told that they could speak English, finding our way through the streets of Paris, passing by Le Bon Marche and making a mental note to visit it later, and finally arriving at Musee Rodin.
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| Ma musee Rodin |
Arriving at the museum late in the afternoon and in May appears to have been a good combination: the grounds were not crowded with tourists just yet and the weather was nice enough to enjoy the garden and the sculptures outside.
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| The garden at Musee Rodin |
After two blissful hours at the beautiful museum, it was time to leave. We left Musee Rodin just before 6PM in the evening and made our way home. We made a "slight" detour to see the beautiful Gold dome of Hotel des Invalides and, at the distance, the tip of the Eiffel Tower.
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| Hotel des Invalides |
We walked back the way we came and, along the way, we picked up a delicious Praline cake called "Royale" at the gourmet La Grande Epicerie de Paris.
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| Yummy! |
We made it back to our apartment just in time for dinner. Since it was my dad's birthday, he got to choose the restaurant for the evening and he chose a fusion restaurant named
Le Diamant Rose on Bd du Montparnasse. Our meal began with spring rolls, sweet and sour pork, and noodles, and ended with flaming doughnuts. After dinner, we went back to our apartment to have a piece of the Royale and rest for another exciting day in Paris.
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