Le Tour de Europa 2012- Intro and Paris

This amazing trip came about when Hubs was trying to get on at a conference in Paris. He promised me, however, that no matter what, we would be going. It was just a matter of who would be paying for said trip. He also sweetened the deal by asking if there was anywhere else that I would be interested in going. Well, duh. I think the question was more where do I not want to go. Taking into consideration that it would be dead winter when we traveled, we decided to head for Italy. This is what our trip would look like: TUS-ATL-CDG. Overnight train to Milano. Commuter train to Roma. And then FCO-JFK-ATL-TUS.

TUS-ATL:

•  Nothing out of the ordinary, just left at the butt-crack of dawn.

ATL-CDG:

•  Short layover in ATL- thank goodness for status that let us into the Delta Skylounge
• Was it terrible of me to answer a lady who asked if I spoke Spanish, that no hablo español?
• No joke- I was excited to be on a plane for the next 7 hours.  

Finally, Paris:

• We actually landed an hour earlier than anticipated, again at the butt-crack of dawn. (Sidenote: CDG is a seriously weird airport. Nothing about the layout makes sense, and I will take my cue from Hubs and be thankful that we did not have to fly out of there). We made our way to the metro station and arrived very early to Ryan's friends' apartment and promptly woke them up out of bed. Apologies to Pierre-Arnaud and Constance. They were very gracious and plied us with coffee and fresh croissants and chocolate pastries. 
• Weather was dicey; we had to carry an umbrella with us everywhere.
• Got acquainted with vin chaud (mulled spiced wine) and just vin in general with every meal.
• Food, food, food. Incredible, amazing, would move there just for the food itself.
• Experienced Avenue des Champs-Élysées and Avenue Montaigne. Avenue Montaigne seemed to be a little bit higher end, and I was informed that had the shopkeepers actually seen us coming out of the metro station, we probably would not have been allowed inside. I did enjoy being offered champagne when we went inside Dior. Both husband and I came home with little souvenirs from this delightful little avenue.
• Got my fill of my favorite Impressionist artist, Monet, and many others.
• Introduced to the Raclette- which I expound on here.
• Introduced to Parisian dining in general- which goes long and late, but very enjoyable.
• Finally got to meet all of Ryan's Parisian friends. I had met a couple already, but had yet to meet everyone. It's a very good thing that they were wanting to practice their English.
• Visited all the touristy must-sees: Arc de Triomphe,
  Place de la Bastille, La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, and Notre Dame. We saw the Eiffel Tower, but did not take a special trip to it.
• I was proud of myself that I could figure out the metro system. It actually makes sense and runs on time. Who knew that a subway system could run efficiently after growing up on MARTA. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a train. Although, it was weird to me that at each stop, if you wanted on or off, you had to open the doors yourself on the older trains.
• I definitely busted out the Asian photographer by taking pictures of everything on the camera AND the iPhone.
• Extremely grateful that Hubs has a pretty advanced working knowledge of French. It allowed us and will allow us to not be trapped into the tourist areas when we go back.  

We had a grand old time here, and I know it will not be the last time we visit. 

  
  Next stop: Milano.