I land at the airport at 6:30a, it was a 6 1/2 hour flight. Not jet-lagged. I love red-eye flights and the fact that I'm an insomniac and can get away with very little sleep. Sweet! I grab a map to the city, figure out which way to immigration, stand in immigration line for 20 min, get my passport stamped, and then head to the bus stop. I decided to take the Roissy bus, it was only 8 euro and would take me just as long to get into the city as the other options but cheaper.
The bus gets into Paris about 8a and drops me off at the Opera House. Since I've never been to Paris I had no idea where exactly I was, so I took a look at the map on the sly since I hate looking like "the tour
ist", might I add that minus the fact until I start to speak I look like the typical Parisien, and walk along to find the major sites. I had no plan except to wander to infamous landmarks and have breakfast & lunch in a cafe. It was overcast, still dark out (the sun didn't come up until 9a, assumingly since there's no such thing as daylight savings in Europe) and about 10*C. After being turned around a few times my first monument that I found was the Place de la Concorde. I finally took my camera out fighting the urge to look super cheesy and touristy. My love of taking pictures and not wanting to leave a beautiful place with no documentation won that battle. I did however keep my camera hidden in the pocket and only took it out when the moment called necessary. I realized that a few hundred feet away and a quite a few crosswalks to cross was the renowned Avenue de Champs-Elysees, it was quite a remarkable street/avenue. At this point I was staving and had been walking for an hour, so I decided to make it my mission to find a cozy cafe for som
e breakfast. I found one near the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, off a side street. I was excited and nervous to attempt my franglais, despite taking about 7 years of French, I'm only able to throw out a few catch phrases, but I was successful in executed one of them..."Je voudrais un cafe noir et un pain au chocolat, sil vous plait" -I would like a black coffee(espresso) and a chocolate croissant, please. So proud of myself, that is until a little old man entered and then proceeded to have a conversation with me. Ah oui that's when I put my key phrase to work...
"Je ne comprend pas. Je parle anglais"- I do not understand, I speak English. So much for my little French act, I was caught. I finished my petite de'juener then headed off into the unknown again. I found a bridge that when you looked to right just over the tops of the tops of the buildings you could catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. It was an awesome sight because since it was an overcast day the top of the tower was fogged over and all you could see the middle part of it. Seeing as I really wasn't super keen on going to the monument itself, I took it for what it was worth, a great photo opt.
ist", might I add that minus the fact until I start to speak I look like the typical Parisien, and walk along to find the major sites. I had no plan except to wander to infamous landmarks and have breakfast & lunch in a cafe. It was overcast, still dark out (the sun didn't come up until 9a, assumingly since there's no such thing as daylight savings in Europe) and about 10*C. After being turned around a few times my first monument that I found was the Place de la Concorde. I finally took my camera out fighting the urge to look super cheesy and touristy. My love of taking pictures and not wanting to leave a beautiful place with no documentation won that battle. I did however keep my camera hidden in the pocket and only took it out when the moment called necessary. I realized that a few hundred feet away and a quite a few crosswalks to cross was the renowned Avenue de Champs-Elysees, it was quite a remarkable street/avenue. At this point I was staving and had been walking for an hour, so I decided to make it my mission to find a cozy cafe for som
e breakfast. I found one near the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, off a side street. I was excited and nervous to attempt my franglais, despite taking about 7 years of French, I'm only able to throw out a few catch phrases, but I was successful in executed one of them..."Je voudrais un cafe noir et un pain au chocolat, sil vous plait" -I would like a black coffee(espresso) and a chocolate croissant, please. So proud of myself, that is until a little old man entered and then proceeded to have a conversation with me. Ah oui that's when I put my key phrase to work...
"Je ne comprend pas. Je parle anglais"- I do not understand, I speak English. So much for my little French act, I was caught. I finished my petite de'juener then headed off into the unknown again. I found a bridge that when you looked to right just over the tops of the tops of the buildings you could catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. It was an awesome sight because since it was an overcast day the top of the tower was fogged over and all you could see the middle part of it. Seeing as I really wasn't super keen on going to the monument itself, I took it for what it was worth, a great photo opt. I 
found my way back to the Champs-Elysees, to but of course find some shopping. I was kind of bummed because when I arrived to the shops were, they were all still closed. I'm so used to things in the US opening no later than 9a during the week that I assumed Paris was the same. Nope shops didn't open until the earliest 10:30a most 11am, it was only 10. So off to more wandering for me. Found the Arc de Triomphe, continued walking down random little streets, at this point I wasn't searching for any big monuments, just wanted to take in the beauty of just being in a beautiful city, and to kill time before the stores opened. Finally it was 11 and I could SHOP! First stops were synonymous with French- Louis Vuittton, Dior, and Hermes. I was in heaven, even though all these are in Boston, they just don't even hold a flame to the one's here. I was so dead set on buying something while I was here. Though I had a complete urge to spend ridiculous amounts of money, I decided to hold off and wait until my return trip since I was afraid of losing something while I was in Thailand. It was tough but I think the right choice. After a bout of window shopping, I was getting hungry again. Once more I went on the search for a place to have a bite to eat. It wasn't hard to find since it was lunch time and that is the meal the French revolve around. I was hungry but I really didn't want to sit for a 5 course meal, so I opted to grab another espresso and a baguette with ham, cheese, and oddly butter, from a small cafe. Phenomenally yummy! I ate then strolled down some more random streets, stopped at what else but a chocolate shop, La Maison du Chocolat, and purchased a divine treat. It was about 1:15p and I decided that I probably should head back to the airport, since I didn't know how bad traffic would be and how long it would take me to go through immigration or security. I unwilling found my way back to the Opera House and took the bus back. I realized when I flew through immigration and security and it was only 2:30p, that I came back too soon. My flight didn't depart until 7:45p. I could have stayed for at least another hour of so and taken in more sights. Oh well I guess that means that I'll have to go back. 
found my way back to the Champs-Elysees, to but of course find some shopping. I was kind of bummed because when I arrived to the shops were, they were all still closed. I'm so used to things in the US opening no later than 9a during the week that I assumed Paris was the same. Nope shops didn't open until the earliest 10:30a most 11am, it was only 10. So off to more wandering for me. Found the Arc de Triomphe, continued walking down random little streets, at this point I wasn't searching for any big monuments, just wanted to take in the beauty of just being in a beautiful city, and to kill time before the stores opened. Finally it was 11 and I could SHOP! First stops were synonymous with French- Louis Vuittton, Dior, and Hermes. I was in heaven, even though all these are in Boston, they just don't even hold a flame to the one's here. I was so dead set on buying something while I was here. Though I had a complete urge to spend ridiculous amounts of money, I decided to hold off and wait until my return trip since I was afraid of losing something while I was in Thailand. It was tough but I think the right choice. After a bout of window shopping, I was getting hungry again. Once more I went on the search for a place to have a bite to eat. It wasn't hard to find since it was lunch time and that is the meal the French revolve around. I was hungry but I really didn't want to sit for a 5 course meal, so I opted to grab another espresso and a baguette with ham, cheese, and oddly butter, from a small cafe. Phenomenally yummy! I ate then strolled down some more random streets, stopped at what else but a chocolate shop, La Maison du Chocolat, and purchased a divine treat. It was about 1:15p and I decided that I probably should head back to the airport, since I didn't know how bad traffic would be and how long it would take me to go through immigration or security. I unwilling found my way back to the Opera House and took the bus back. I realized when I flew through immigration and security and it was only 2:30p, that I came back too soon. My flight didn't depart until 7:45p. I could have stayed for at least another hour of so and taken in more sights. Oh well I guess that means that I'll have to go back. So going the opposite was by far the best decision I could have made. Who would have thunk it. So glad I did!
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