Paris Day 3: Eiffel in Love

Despite being in coach while our traveling buddies chilled in first class, we had a good flight. We played cards and chatted, without a care in the world. This is always a special little pastime because brian and I used to play cards a lot. Now it's a rare treat. So I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a little giddy. It's the simple things! SWOON! We even got a little bit of sleep, which is a nice perk! We arrived in Paris at 7am Paris time (1am Eastern), dropped our luggage and headed straight to our first stop of the trip, the Eiffel Tower! [We only got turned around on the subway once, so I say we're doing pretty well].

  

It's winter here, so it was a chilly adventure, but the tower was a great start. We could see all of the major points of the city and learned a little about the history here. Plus, getting to enjoy all of this with Devin and Katie has been such a treat already.  

 

Since we're at the Eiffel Tower, in the most romantic city in the world, on Valentine's Day, we decided we couldn't do without a champagne toast. So fun and cheesy, it made my day.  

 

The Eiffel was actually pretty intimidating. We went to the summit and I had a hard time stepping away from the wall. It didn't help that it is a particularly gusty day out! It also had a glass floor, which I struggled on! When did I become such a pansy?? Generally, Brian is the one who struggles with this sort of thing because he's afraid of heights, but he definitely navigated better than I did!

   

After the Tower, we had a delicious French lunch and then headed back to our hotel for some MUCH needed naps (where we accidentally overslept)! A couple hours later, we hauled out again for an AMAZING Valentine's Day Dinner at a nearby restaraunt. They specialize in foods from the south of France, so they had this amazing bit of cheesy potato goodness called aligot. It's a mix of mashed potatoes and laguiole cheese and pretty much the most intriguing thing I've seen today.  They scoop and scrape it out of this pot and I can guarantee you our crew has never been so entertained by a pot of potatoes. It's generally served with sausage, so I deemed it the FRENCH equivalent of Bangers and Mash. It was a great first night in France, and we're giddy for more adventures! Tomorrow we have a food tour and a scavenger hunt in the Louvre! 

 

PS. Do you get the title? {I Fell} in Love?! :)