OUR FIRST DAY IN PARIS

Our morning in Rome started early with a 6:45 pickup for our ride to the airport.  Security and check-in was easy, and we had a quick cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast.

Our flight was delayed by about 40 minutes, but otherwise it was a great flight.  I love Europe's low cost air carriers--our flight from Rome to Paris was only $80.00 (USD) each!

It was a quick 1/2 hour taxi ride to our apartment.  It's about 3 blocks away from our "usual" apartment on St. Dominique, and the location is perfect.  I was smarter with this apartment choice--only 1 flight of stairs!  The apartment is small, and would be just right for two, but it's a little cozy for three but we are managing fine.  The wireless connection is good--and that's important!

After we unpacked and got organized we hit the streets to have some lunch and buy a few groceries for the week.  We chose a small restaurant right in our neighborhood.  We had a great lunch!

Matt ordered a caesar salad with chicken.  The greens were interesting (in a good way!) and he said the dressing was just right.  The big pieces of shaved cheese on top were amazing--they had a nutty flavor, almost like hazelnuts.

I enjoyed a bowl of soup--I wanted something hot to warm me up!  The menu didn't call in "French Onion Soup", but instead named it "Home Onion Soup".  It was amazing! The broth was obviously not from a mix; it had a deep rich flavor and wasn't at all salty.

David chose a duck confit salad with a warm goat cheese toast on top and small pieces of smoky ham in the salad.  Again, just wonderful!  The duck was tender and flavorful, and that goat cheese toast was to die for!  He ate every last bite!  Well--except he shared his goat cheese toast with me

We explored our small neighborhood for a few minutes, and I noticed this small bit of stenciled street art.  Here you go, Pat:

Before we left home, I'd had this great idea for a surprise for Matt on our first afternoon in Paris.  I thought we'd walk over to a museum and garden just a few blocks from our apartment.  So after lunch we strolled over  (with only a minor navigational error) to the Musee  Rodin.  I really wanted to surprise him with Rodin's "The Thinker", which is set in a beautiful garden. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned well enough--they were closed on Mondays!  Oh, well, we just changed up our plans a bit, hopped on the Metro (Matt's first Metro ride!) and rode back to our neighborhood.

We went to the supermarket near our apartment and stocked up on a few groceries.  Dave and Matt took them back to the apartment while I went to another market to get our favorite French butter, and then on the the patisserie to choose our "desert of the day".  

As soon as we got our groceries put away, we headed out for our first dinner in Paris--moules y frites at our favorite mussel place, Leon de Bruxelles.  It was a quick Metro ride, and soon we were seated at a cozy table.

David and I ordered our usual big pot of mussels and fries, but Matt wasn't too sure about the mussels.  He was sure they would be slimy, but he did taste one and admitted that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be!

Here's our big, yummy pot of mussels:

Matt chose a Flemish carbonnade, and it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

And here we are, enjoying our dinner at Leon's.  We are very happy to be in Paris, and really looking forward to showing Matt all our favorite places!

Tomorrow in Paris:  Climbing the Bell Tower of Notre Dame, exploring the Latin Quarter, and a visit to St. Chapelle to admire the amazing stained glass windows.