I HAVE ARRIVED!!!

Prague from the flight from Paris

I AM HERE!!!

I am still in a state of shock somewhat, I cannot really believe I am here - were it not for the fact that I can look out my window and see a place that is DEFINITELY not Medford, then I'd think I was dreaming. Of course if I have any doubts, I can look in my fridge at the food that, aside from brand names like Coke, has no English on the packaging at all.

I am just waking up now, around 12n local time, as I was exhausted. I was only able to doze for a couple of hours on the plane, and that coupled with a 3 hour walk around Paris (Paris!!!) - made me a walking zombie when I arrived at my flat around 8:30p last night. At that time I got a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th I guess) wind;  met my two neighbors who are also going to school at AAU (Jade from Texas and Amy from Michigan), walked to the corner store with Jade and got some groceries, unpacked, sent the email to tell my people I arrived safely, uploaded pictures, showered and crashed.

And here I am!!

I am sitting in front of my large lean-out window, the sun is shining, it's 70 out - - life is good! A little old lady across the courtyard from me is putting her laundry out on a drying rack that attaches outside her window. It is quiet. Very quiet. I noticed that last night. Uh oh - a pigeon just landed on the lady's drying rack - she's not gonna like that!

Right right ... Paris you say! Of course, I didn't forget - - there is just SO much to tell isn't there! So, it started because my flight out of Boston was delayed by 5 hours due to a tornado watch. That delay caused me to miss my original connection in Paris. So, when they re-booked me I ended up with a 7 hour layover. So, I naturally took advantage of that and popped into the City of Lights! Wow - what an experience. It was a rush job to say the least, 3 hours in the city proper - with 4 goals:

1 - see the Arc de Triomphe

2 - walk down Champs-Elysees

3 - eat at a sidewalk cafe

4 - see the Eiffel Tower

And I nailed them all! 

The bus from Charles de Gaulle airport dropped me right at the Arc, where I circled in awe - before finally finding the underground tunnel to cross the super busy rotary-like axis. I counted around 10 avenues that feed into this axis - wow. It is awe inspiring to say the least - the 2nd largest arc in the world, and just way larger that you'd think by looking at pictures. It is beautiful, standing there proudly holding court in the axis of Paris - with one avenue leading to the Louvre, and another leading to the palace. Amazing - just amazing. I saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, whose eternally lit flame inspired Jackie to ask that JFK get one on his grave.

Sigh ... I am a different person having seen that. Let me share some images with you ...

My 1st image of the Arc

Standing next to the Arc

Under the Arc looking up

How cool does SHE look?!?

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

There are many more in my Picasa page if you want to see them. 

Next I was off to the Champs-Elysees and my much needed repast. It was fabulous, and my waitress was great. I had espresso, croissant (OMG - a real French croissant!), peach yogurt, mixed-fruit juice, and a bread basket with butter. Yummy! And I got to actually USE what remains of my 1 year of high school French - woo hoo! Here are a few pics looking out of cafe from my table ..

Looking straight from my table

Looking to the right from my table

Yes!!

From there I walked to the Eiffel Tower ... and as is want in Paris, I saw many glorious things along the way. Alas, I must stop here ... it is almost 1p and I've got to GO OUT AND EXPLORE my temporary home. I will update the rest of Paris later.

Here is a link to the day's photos on my Picasa page ... Ami's Paris Pics

Thanks for coming along for the ride!