Bonjour!

Bonjour!  My virtual tour began as I felt the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.  It had been an uneventful flight.  I watched a few movies and then I was able to sleep for several hours.  Since the plane was flying east, I enjoyed watching the sunrise as we flew across the Atlantic Ocean.

Hard to believe that I had finally arrived in this beautiful European city.  I have changed planes several times in Paris, but I have never had the opportunity to take a day or two to tour.  Now, I would be able to enjoy four days of Paris before heading to Normandy.

The rest of our group was flying on American and they flew out of Dallas.  Their plane was suppose to arrive by 9:30 am as well.

Jackie, Erin and I grabbed our bags and we were ready to get off the plane.  It felt good to stretch and to get some exercise.  We followed the others that were on the plane towards customs.  We got through customs in a timely manner and then headed towards the doors to meet Becca and the rest of the group.

Becca was waiting for us with that beautiful smile she has.  She ran towards us to hug and to personally meet Jackie and Erin.  She said that the American plane had landed, but they had not gotten through customs.  She was waiting for the rest of the group before she called the driver to come pick us up.

After about thirty minutes, I could see my sister coming through the doors with the others.  Here we were all together at last.  Becca went around introducing herself to Linda, Mel, Mel's mom(Joyce) Rhonda and Cindy.  

Our driver, Paul, was there in about 10 minutes and we loaded up in the Mercedes van.  Everybody was talking at once.  None of us could believe that we were finally here.  The airport was about 45 minutes from the center of Paris.  

Our first stop was Hotel Baume.  We wanted to drop our bags and freshen up.  By the time, we all got to the lobby, it was almost 1 pm.  Off to a cafe to grab some lunch and to practice our French.  We all practiced with "Bonjour" (good day/hello).  Our waiter was smiling as he knew, we were not Parisians.

All 10 of us hopped on to the "Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus" to get a quick tour of Paris.  I was feeling a little jet-lagged.  So I enjoyed sitting and seeing the sights.  Actually, I slept a little-bit.  The bus went along the Seine River.  The Eiffel Tower was the most beautiful sight.  The bus went through the tunnel where Princess Diana was injured.  Hard to believe that this happened 22 years ago.

Other sights that we passed by were Champs de Mars, Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, Orsay Museum, Grand Palais, Champs Elysees Etoile and Trocadero.

It was great to get an overview of the city.  Tomorrow we will go to the Eiffel Tower, L'Orangerie and Louvre Museum.

After our lovely meal, everyone was ready to get some sleep after such a long flight and long day.

Bonne Nuit!