Welcome to Paris!

Paris, it’s been a minute! The last time I (Gayle) was here was 36 years ago! This will be the only city on our upcoming trip that I’ve visited before…oh so long ago! What a beautiful place to kick this trip off!

We landed about 9am Paris time, and breezed through customs at the airport! Thankful for a private transfer (wow, driving in Paris is no joke!) who got us to the Hotel de Fleurie quickly and safely! We left our luggage in the checked luggage closet and went in search of a Paris Big Bus Tours Hop-On-Hop-Off double decker site seeing bus. It was a great way to introduce (or reintroduce) ourselves to the city!

The drive-by views were stunning, but I don’t think the grandeur of these historic European sites really hit until we visited the Museo de Armee (The Army Museum) and Napoleon’s Tomb.

The Museo de Armee was built in the 17th century by Louis XIV (the Sun King), to care for soldiers in the Royal Army. Known then as The Cité des Invalide, it first opened to veterans in 1674. At once a hospice, barracks, convent, hospital and factory, the Hôtel was basically it’s own city, governed by a military and religious system. Seems pretty apt that it now houses a museum to showcase France’s military history and to honor one of its greatest military heroes!

And speaking of Napoleon, it was his tomb that really brought that “we are in Europe” feeling home! Pictures don’t do justice to the grandeur of the place and the details of the architecture and the art work. The four of us just stood there, looking around in awe! Scott says his impressions were “grand, over-the-top, and swanky!”

By 5pm, the jet lag was hitting pretty hard! We’d been up for 26 hours by then! We caught a cab and headed back to check in to our rooms. Scott and Dan were out cold by 6:30! I did a quick walk around our neighborhood in search for a new cell charging cord (of course, the one I brought isn’t working!). No luck on that, but I got a great feel for the evening vibes of Paris. I was back and sound asleep by 7:30!

Hotel: Hotel de Fleurie Paris

Airport Transfers: Paris My Way

Tour Provider: Big Bus Tour

Step Count Today: 8,578 or 4.25 miles

All of our travel for this trip was flawlessly coordinated by Susan Boehnstedt at Critics Choice Vacations. Thank you so much Susan!