Day 1
I had a hard time sleeping last night and was up good and early. Julie took us the airport and the ride was nice and easy. No traffic and she handled the LAX dash for the curb with admirable aplomb!
Of course, because we were there the recommended 3 hours in advance, we got checked in in no time flat. One thing that was kind of weird was that we had to have our baggage screened before we checked in. You stood in line, handed over your bags, got in a different line and then were escorted to the check-in along with your screened luggage. You weren't supposed to touch your bags after this process but then they left them just sitting there on the scale while the attendant checked our passports, etc. We could have conceivably accessed them again if we had wanted to and were slick enough about it.
With lots of time to kill, we decided to eat a big gross, American breakfast before we took off, hoping the heavy carbs would help us nap when we were ready
The flight was okay - no real turbulence. My entertainment system did not work all that well and my footrest was broken. Or rather, I didn't have a footrest and everyone else did. Cris offered to switch with me but I knew he wanted the window seat so he could snuggle up with the ginormous pillow he brought along. We switched about 40 minutes before we landed and I have to say, I really like that foot rest option! If you are tall, it is no help. But for us less vertical folks, it is a nice little feature that lets you go semi-fetal while trying to sleep.
Overall the airline was nice and I would recommend it. Free wine and beer, a nice menu as far as in flight food goes, and they gave everyone one of their "signature" flowers when we took off. I'll have to look up what they were later. They looked like stephanotis (sp?) but were really, really fragrant - like a gardenia or a lily. I don't remember stephanotis being that strongly scented. Unfortunately, they were quite crumpled and wilted by the time we landed (kinda like us - lol) so no pictures to share.
We both slept a bit. There was a French couple behind me and I don't think they stopped talking the entire flight but the man's voice was nice and deep and since I couldn't really understand him, it became like soothing white noise. I slept okay until one of the flight attendants woke me to ask if my seatbelt was fastened. I couldn't really get back to sleep after that.
One of the coolest things was that while we were up over Greenland, the pilot announced that an aurora borealis was visible from the left side of the plane - that was our side! I even understood the announcement in French and woke Cris up for it. We were right behind the wing so we didn't feel compelled to try to get a photo of it but it was awfully pretty. My guess is that it would have been more awe-inspiring from the ground. At our height and above the cloud line, it looked a bit like a California sunset - all pinks and oranges. Pretty and somehow, familiar.
Landing / luggage / ride to the hotel were all fairly uneventful. We were quite pleased to find that our room would be ready only 15 minutes after we arrived. The hotel is adorable. 
So we went for a walk around the Isle St Louis and bought a magnificent French feast for lunch to eat in our room. The proprietor of the fromagerie was very friendly and helpful in picking out cheeses. The madame at the boulangerie was less friendly and curtly corrected Cris' pronunciation of "un baguette" to "une baguette". I had to giggle cuz now he knows how I feel when he corrects me :D
We saw all sorts of little charming shops and have already identified possible places to shop for two little nieces that have birthdays coming up! None of the shops were open and it was 10:30 am - I could get used to those hours!
Our tired selves
Our yummy lunch
We crashed for 3 hours hoping that we will still be exhausted later tonight and get a good night's sleep. We unpacked all of our stuff and are feeling settled in.
I have to say I am feeling 100% better and am ready to face the rest of the day. Cris has, of course, immediately identified where we will be eating this evening! We are going to walk around Marais and have dinner at a little bistro he saw on tv. The only thing I have to say at this moment is j'ai besoin du cafe!
Well I never did get that cafe, but that's okay. I'll sleep well tonight! Our first stop this afternoon was the nearest Metro station to purchase our week-long carte orange. We had a few laughs buying the pictures for the id card. We accidentally bought one great big picture of each of us the first time. After having to see the cashier for change twice, we got the photos right and even had enough left over to take another silly picture.
We then took the metro to the stop nearest the Georges Pompidou Centre. We were hoping to get there before six so we could see this amazing clock do its thing on the hour. We missed it but the clock is awe-inspiring even when it is not moving and we can't wait to try again another day to see it.
We then found the amazing fountains out in front of the Pompidou centre with la grande bouche. 
After relaxing and resting a bit, we decided to look for the Robert et Louise Restaurant that Cris had seen on TV. We found it after only a little wandering but it was closed until 7:30. So we walked to the nearby Place de Vosges, and had another short sit. The Place was beautiful and one could see why its symmetry is world renowned. It was neat to see so many people just hanging out in the park. We were walking across the square to find Victor Hugos house, when a group of children behind us called out, "pardone madame, pardone monsieur" as they rode by on their bikes; they even called out "merci" as they passed - such polite children! 
From there, we found a nearby Jewish quarter to window shop in as we made our way back to the restaurant. The proprietor of the restaurant was very friendly and seated us at a common table, kind of like a picnic bench. We were the only ones for a while but were eventually joined by an Italian couple and a man who we think was French. By the time we were eating dessert, there was another group of four young French men who were really enjoying the wine.
The meal was wonderful - cote du boeuf for two with wine and dessert. We tried to order a white or rose wine since red tends to give me a headache but the proprietor was not having it. So we ended up with a bottle of very yummy red. We drank enough that we were pretty tipsy but didn't finish the bottle. By the time we had dessert, we were feeling bold enough to talk to our neighbors and I even tried out a little French on the proprietor. 
We had a lovely walk back to the hotel where we are definitely ready to get some rest.
Before we do, a couple of random observations:
1. dog merde. Boy oh boy do the Parisians love to be out walking their dogs. You have to be very careful not to step in piles while distracted by all of the baubles in the storefronts. People are actually employed to go around cleaning up the dog poo - gross. That was one benefit of being there in the winter - no public poop.
2. fashion and window shopping. I've found myself stopping to gaze in a lot more windows this trip. I'm not sure if it is just because it is so much more pleasant to be outside or maybe we were in an area more heavily populated with clothing and jewelry shops. And I know you all know, but can I just say it aloud, here and now? Those Parisians are snappy dressers! Most people look like they stepped out of a magazine with their funky, hipster style. Makes even me, who doesn't really enjoy shopping, pay attention to what the mannequins are wearing in the windows!
