Paris in the rain

To get from London to Paris we took a 2 hour train ride. This was an adventure, to say the least. We knew the train station was only about a half mile from our hotel so of course we gave ourselves about 45 mins to get there and walked... with all of our luggage... while it poured rain on us… in a city where we are definitely not locals. Also, we thought that the sentence on our pre-purchased train tickets, “Must arrive 30 mins before the train departs” was a suggestion. We were wrong. After running through the pouring rain, pushing small children out of our way, dropping our luggage in the puddles, trying to force the customs line to go faster by tapping our feet and sighing loudly, we made it to our train. 30 seconds after we boarded, the train left the station. What can I say, we live life on the edge.

My favorite moment in Paris had to be on our first day. We decided to take a stroll through our part of the city and just explore. We walked up this tiny, cobblestone, alleyway with a single quaint café, French people walking home with baguettes, and almost an endless row of parked bicycles.  At the end of the alley was the Pantheon. As we inched our way closer to the glorious Pantheon we looked down the busy street our tiny alleyway intersected with and we caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! What an unexpected and wonderful surprise. There was a café on this street so of course we decided to eat dinner there and enjoy the moment. About 30 mins into our meal the partly sunny day turned into a thunderstorm! Now the small café was filled with people huddled under the canopy waiting until it stopped raining. It was truly a romantic moment for us to be cuddled together, in a sweet Paris café, as the rain poured down. About 10 mins after the thunderstorm started, it stopped. All those people crowed in our café left on their merry way, and left us with an unforgettable, romantic memory.

 

Stay tuned for the last part of our trip! Rome!