We get an early start and take the Eurostar Chunnel to Paris which is clean, luxurious and fast!
This is the route the train takes under the English Channel. I manage to fall asleep for this part of the journey which is good due to my discomfort (read: agitation and claustrophobia) with vehicles being under the water! The entire trip takes about 2 hours, and it seems to pass quickly. The French countryside is much like the midwest except for the numerous (very) old churches dotting the landscape.
Paris at last!
Paris at last!
And my first view of the Eiffel Tower which is close to our hotel.
I feel like I am reuniting with a very old and dear friend as I acquaint myself with this city.
The Grand Hotel Leveque is beautiful and we have a room on the 4th floor. The hotel has a one-person glass elevator which is like riding upstairs in a phone booth.
We are located on Rue Cler which is quite charming with cobblestone streets, corner cafes and lots of cheese, wine, produce and fish vendors.
We luck into a local antique flea market and I score some wonderful old hardware and a vintage French prayer book. A helpful man appears out of nowhere and assists me in dealing with the book vendor who has had more than a few glasses of wine and no English whatsoever except an enthusiasic repeating of, "Obama! Yes? Obama!"
We had planned on making it to the huge flea market in Saint-Ouen (a metro or bus ride away), but misunderstand their operating hours and miss out on the whole thing. I am only temporarily disappointed as I realize I could have easly gone berserk at this place and then had to figure out how to ship all of my purchases home. The Universe was probably looking out for me on this one!
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