Off to Paris!!

After getting up at 3 a.m. to catch our early flight to Charlotte, we are ready to board our flight to Paris!!

The flight from Phoenix to Charlotte allowed me the privilege of a full row.....so I slept nearly the entire flight!!!Then we had a 4 hour layover in Charlotte, then that grueling 8 hour flight, of which I only slept maybe an hour!!!

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport at 7:30 a.m......all of us were excited but exhausted!!This is our Home sweet home for the next 8days!! This grand doorway opened onto a large courtyard, surrounded by several apartments on the ground floor, the second floor and the third floor, our apartment was on the third floor. I instantly fell in love with the St-Germain-des-Pres neighborhood. A quote I found before leaving home while reading up on our famous neighborhood said "Put on your Sunday best and head over to St-Germain-des-Pres, one of the more swanky, upscale neighborhoods" It was everything and more.

This is section two of the spiraling staircase (made from an old tree) that led up to the third floor!!Each floor had two apartments, the ground floor had four.

Looking down at the Courtyard below, this was our view out one of the bathrooms!!

The apartment next to us, has a little balcony garden!!!

The stairs leading to the upper level of our apartment!!

Our fireplace!!

Our living room....

the very modern kitchen...dishwasher and all!!!We did no cooking in this kitchen...we ate lots of fresh bread, cheese, croissants, dessert and wine!!

I Loved our windows! We had 3 large windows in the living room, that overlooked the active street below!!!We could open them up for fresh air, the sound of rain and the wonderful sound of Jazz musicians from all the cafes along our street.

And when we peeked out the window to the left......AWWWWWWW!!!The EIFFEL TOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This cafe was so cute and charming....from above it hardly looked real!!!

We had a cinema just steps from our door...anyone for a French speaking American Movie?????I bought a Zoo was playing!!

I fell in Love with the buildings whose windows all had the Cross shape in them...I noticed this alot. The Fontaine Saint-Michel is below, and this seemed to be a gathering spot for locals everyday!!Several cafes surrounded this large fountain, all with chairs facing the street and the fountain. Most cafes in Paris have al fresco seating and it is popular to sit outside, even when it is cold and raining. I loved walking past this beautiful fountain every single day!!!