Paris

We woke up at 3:15a, got to the Edinburgh airport at 4a, and left on our direct flight to Paris at 6a. All that went pretty well.

Landing in Paris, Mitzi said she needed to use the restroom. Inadvertently we ended up in the border patrol area before we found a restroom. And there are literally has no restrooms in the entry area. It was super busy. There must have been 2,000 people in there. Massive lines.

And Mitzi pretty much had water coming out of her eyes.

Fortunately we were able to get into the Sky Priority line because of our business class tickets. That got us about 50% ahead. It still took an hour though.

Mitzi ran her passport through the machine and it let her through. I tried right after her and it rejected my passport. 3 times it said, "Entry denied. See border agent." Mitzi couldn't see me anymore because of all the barriers, so she had no idea I was stuck.

I fired off a quick text as I maneuvered behind the border agent directing me to a new line. "They put me in a different line." Then "Just go through and I'll catch up with you. Don't wait for me."

She had been waiting and wondering what had happened to me. So she skedaddled on over to the restroom and felt heaven on earth.

I got through about 5 minutes later with out any problems. Still not sure what the deal was there but glad I didn't have any trouble!

We didn't get any cash, figuring we could get to our rental without needing any.

Well...

We hopped in a taxi at the airport. Wow these taxi's are not like in the UK! This guy had a cheap plexiglass up and a hand written sign taped to it: "C B en panne".

I had a hunch that meant his credit card machine wasn't working. So I asked, "do you take credit cards?" "Card? No, cash only." I said we didn't have any cash. He took off driving and said he would stop by an ATM.

After driving for 40 minutes he stops on the side of a road and points to an ATM machine. Mitzi got out and tried to get cash but the machine said it was out of cash.

Then the driver points across the street and said, "Bus." I kind of yelled back at him, "There is no way we are going to take the bus!"

He said, "ATM at bus." Oh, I had misunderstood haha.

So Mitzi stayed in the car and I went over to the ATM and withdrew 200 euros.

Phew. We drove 5 more minutes and he dropped us off at the apartment near the Arc de Triomphe.

The fellow that owns the rental was showing us all the ins and outs of how to operate everything, including the washer.

We decided to walk around a bit because we couldn't occupy the apartment until 1p, and it was 11:30a. We found a Lulu Lemon store and I bought some pants. Mitzi said the last pair I bought was 36 inch waist. You can see from the picture that was going to be way to big haha.

We walked near the Arc de Triomphe, snapped a selfie, and headed back to the apartment.

We we to Café Carré Elysée for dinner. The Burrata was the best we've ever had. The french bread was amazing. We ate on the sidewalk. It was a delightful meal and a pleasent experience.

On the short way back to our apartment I did a little street photography.

This is probably my favorite I've ever taken. This cute old couple walking down the street holding hands. I love it. I enjoy getting pictures of couples holding hands, and this one takes the cake.

The youngest girl in the family reminded Mitzi of Maddy when she was young, with the sun glasses and big earrings.

The girls are all smiling and happy and carefree, the dad looks stressed out. That is what I looked like when my children were young and we were out and about!

Mitzi capturing some architecture.

We're glad to finally be in Paris. We are looking forward to the next week here.

Bike Tour and a Move to the Waldorf Astoria in Versailles

These two pictures were still on the Q3 memory card from Edinburgh a couple days ago. Winnie turned two and we had a fun facetime conversation with her. She was showing us some of her new presents.

We are so tired. We rode bikes for 8 miles and walked for 5 miles. Quite a day. And then in the early evening we needed to abandon our VRBO in the Arc de Triomphe area and relocate ... to a hotel in Versailles.

The bike tour started in an underground parking garage.

We had lunch on Rue Cler, an upscale section of Paris. The restaurant scene here has so many great options. I told Mitzi I'd be happy living and working and eating on this street :)

Mitzi ordered a Croque Monsier and wasn't sure what it was, but hoped it was a grilled cheese sandwich. And it was. And the best. Grilled cheese and ham sandwich she's ever had. Happiness can literally be attained from a perfect Croque Monsieur.

Amarino is a gelato store that serves their cone in the shape of a flower. It's beatiful and tasty too.

Thiabald our tour guide.

After riding for 8 miles and seeing so many great sites, we decided to walk 4 kilometers back to our apartment. I just had to rest for a few minutes first.

I did a lot of street photography on the way back, pictures at the bottom.

So much beautiful architecture!

So many high end fashion stores! The windows are incredible!

When we got back to our apartment on 36 Rue de Colisée we received a message about a sewage problem in the old building. The bathroom smelled like the sewer. After such a long day of physical work, we needed to pack up!

Most of the Hilton properties in Paris were sold out, probably because of fashion week. The property out in Versailles was available, and the pictures looked incredible!

We said goodbye to our 36 Rue de Colisée and packed up lickity split! We got a ride and drove around the Arc de Triomphe and over to Versailles to check in to our new accommodations. Wow!

It's everything we hoped for. Actually the nicest room we've ever had (two rooms if I'm going to be honest because there is the bedroom suite area and there's a whole other room that is a sitting suite). The ceilings are 12 feet high and the windows overlook part of the Versailles Garden.

It's very quiet and peaceful here. It smells nice. It feels nice. We may stay in our room and never leave haha.

We ordered room service for a relaxing late dinner. Yes, this is going to work ... good choice!

Street photography with the Leica Q3. These were taken during our lunch break and on our 5 miles of walking. Paris presents a boat load of street photography places and people.

This is probably a good place to end this post, since we are in Versailles now instead of Paris itself. So au revoir Pa-ree, bon jour Ver-sayh.