45 Days in London: Day 45 = Paris, Day 1

 At 5:30 a.m. we said goodbye to our wonderful flat in South Kensington, loaded up a taxi with two months' worth of belongings, and rode to St. Pancras to board the Eurostar!

I had no idea what it would be like to travel in the "chunnel" under the English Channel. The idea of it was a little unsettling, honestly. But the Eurostar traveled at such a high speed, the chunnel was barely a blip. Suddenly we were in France. The whole ride from London to Paris was under two hours.

Day 45 London rapidly becomes Day 1 in Paris! 

We rented a great little flat in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, a rather posh section of Paris, with a dreamy French bakery directly across the street. We dropped our bags in the apartment, and headed straight to the boulangerie to load up on all sorts of breads and quiches and tarts. Divine!

 We bought a 5-day Metro pass and went straight to the Louvre...then after one look at the line decided not to go inside, but walked through the Tuilerie Gardens instead. We felt no pressure and had no schedule, and were perfectly content just to wander. Paris is such a beautiful city, and we just soaked it all in...and got soaked ourselves! After almost no rain the whole time we were in England, we were excited to pull out the umbrellas in Paris. We strolled past shop after shop, admiring the fashions and dying over the prices.

Our friend Eliza gave us a fabulous list of restaurants in Paris. Our first official mission was the perfect creperie. Restaurants in Paris open for dinner at 7, so we had to wander a little longer than expected. But as the list recommended, on Rue des Canettes we found a creperie that was positively divine, and ate salad crepes, steak crepes and dessert crepes to our heart's content.

For our final activity of the day, we purchased a boat tour on the Seine at sunset. There's Notre Dame in the distance, below the stormy sky. Cruising down the river was so romantic, and so Parisian—People were dancing to live music on these outdoor plazas on the banks of the Seine. I wanted to join them!

The boat ride wrapped up right at the Eiffel Tower, all lit up after dark. Spectacular! The perfect introduction to Paris!