This is the trip report for our family’s first trip to France in July, 2015. There are four of us, including my husband and myself, and our then 21 YO daughter and 17 YO son. Only our daughter speaks French, so she was our designated interpreter for the journey. Of course, the rest of us learned the basic travel phrases, as well as the importance of greeting shopkeepers with a “bonjour madame/monsieur” when entering a store. Virtually everyone we encountered was polite and helpful, and some were quite friendly.
Day 1 Friday, July 17 Arrived at CDG at 2:25 pm. after an 8 hour flight from Atlanta. At the airport, we got money from the ATM and purchased our museum passes. We took a taxi into the city to Hotel Saint Germain at 88 Rue Du Bac. (All four of us and our luggage plus the driver squeezed into a Prius!) We were very pleased with the hotel. Not only was it very pretty, but the rooms were fairly spacious, with wifi, modern bathrooms and comfy beds, and most important — air conditioning! (It was sweltering during our trip.) In addition, the multi-lingual staff was very helpful throughout our stay. We dropped off our bags and freshened up before heading out. We got a late lunch at a bistro on the conner near the hotel — our first Croque Monsieurs! Then we walked toward the Louvre, soaking in everything along the way. After the Pyramid we continued to the Tuileries Garden, where we enjoyed not only the scenery, but also took turns getting cat naps under the shade of the trees there. Eventually we roused ourselves and continued our journey west toward the Eiffel Tower. As we walked along the Seine, we enjoyed people watching and seeing all the activity along the banks, particularly the boules games. We stopped for a drink at one of the cafes along the river before continuing our walk. By the time we reached the Tower, we had just enough time to get crepes from the stand at the base of the ET for our dinner. We were thrilled when the lights first began to twinkle. We finished diner in time to make our 11 p.m. Eiffel Tower reservation. We took the elevator to the second level. (This was the only time where I felt like we were in actual danger of being pick-pocketed, as we were smushed into the elevator like sardines. My husband and I had on money belts under our clothes with the passports, credit cards, etc. My daughter and I had on small cross body bags which we wore with the flaps turned toward our bodies.) After about an hour enjoying the view, we elected to walk down rather than take the elevator. At the bottom, we were all exhausted, so we took a taxi back to the hotel and crashed for a very good night’s sleep. More to follow.