Paris, Day Two

Sidewalk Flower Shop

Meat Shop

Lots of graffiti, even in the nice parts of town

Bus stop in Pigallia

Housing; buildings are eight stories tall or less. This creates a uniform feeling throughout the city. It's quite a shock to see this in a big city after living in vertical Asia for all these years.

Sacre Coure in Montmartre

Sacre Coure in Montmartre

Bistro in Montmartre

French woman

At the intersection of Champs Elysees and Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue; the French honor this American president and also Winston Churchill for their efforts in WWII.

Pedestrians on Champs-Elysees

Lunch on Champs-Elysees: macaroons and lettuce salad

Outdoor restaurant near Arc de Triomphe, across the street from Burger King

Woman at the Brochant metro station near my hotel

The two soups on the menu were vegetable and French onion. I told the guy, "I'm thinking that since I'm in France, I need to try the French onion soup." He said "I think you should too. It's excellent." He was right. It was fabulous!

Stopped for a latte at Starbucks somewhere along the Champs-Elysees at a little inside shopping center.

Coffee early in the day at a Starbucks on Wagram near Arc De Triumph. I tried French coffee at one restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. It was awful and stale. At least at Starbucks you get fresh coffee. 

Near my hotel

An American in Paris, Day One, Part One

I flew from Shanghai to Paris on Air France, a 12:40 flight. We landed early at Charles DeGaulle airport. I had three seats to myself on the left side of the plane near the window, so I was able to stretch out and sleep on the way.

It was pitch black up until 8 a.m. Not a sliver of light was in the sky, even though it appeared rush hour traffic was in full swing.

For a small fee, I was able to get into my hotel room before regular check-in time at 2:00 p.m. I needed the rest. I had no ambitions for sightseeing today after such a long trip, but I surprised myself and decided not to let the day go to waste.

The city looks and feels just as you would expect it to, based on what you see in movies and TV. Flower shops, bicyclists, dog-walking residents, bread everywhere, people pretending they don't speak English to frustrate you -- it was all here.

I felt a little bad that I'm here instead of someone who actually knows a few words of French. I realized soon after arriving that the only French words I know are the ones I learned from Miss Piggy.

Moi?

Or I want to thank someone, and knowing a foreign language needs to come out of my mouth, I thank them in Chinese. I'm only here three days. Hopefully I can survive.

Here are a few sights from the beautiful day in Paris, approximately 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hotel Street

 Neighborhood streets

 Pretty doors

 Flower shop

 Pretty flowers

 French market (had an adjoining grocery store)

These guys are standing in front of an amazing variety of olives.

 A woman passes by a wall mural.

 Souvenirs near the subway station a block from the Eiffel Tower.

 The Eiffel Tower

 It's surprisingly undeveloped near the tower, with dirt pathways.

February is the time to come ... no long lines at the tower if you want to go up (I have no desire to go up in that thing). 

A view of the Eiffel Tower unobstructed by tree branches

Petit Palais, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower. Look at that blue sky!

A typical Paris balcony