Departure and Arrival~Day 1.

As I mentioned our trip was booked quickly and not too long ago..as the trip became closer and closer we were made aware of certain turbulences..
such as the rain that just kept falling on Paris..w/ no reprieve..and the threat of a metro strike and controlers at airports etc..gas stations closed etc etc...
no metro was a huge thing for us as we had planned to use the metro to get around Paris.
And the controlers at airports.. what if..what if..so the plan of a big suitcase to check in..got changed last minute to a simple carry on..when you have a carry on..you store above head and you can have a purse and a laptop..
and this is w/ Air Transat..not sure if the carry on rules apply to every airline in the same manner.
A carry on cannot weigh more than 10kg..and a check-in 23.

On yourself..or anything on board.. liquids ..gels etc.. have certain volume/size requirements..and  w/ your airline as to what size pouch you need to hold sample sized shampoos etc..

Be very aware of this..when I came home..I checked my carry on..so did Jacques..and w/out thinking I had a small jar of mustard..and a facial mister..small size..a little bigger than the Evian mini..Monoprix brand..I liked the blue on the atomizer..
not expensive items AT all..but special to me..
they conficated them..the weight of the mustard wa s abit too high and the atomizer..had I checked them in my bag all would have been fine..I was told go back to check in and ask if they can add it..so we went through the whole check in again..and they said oh no..you can add them seperately for 75 euros..
the 2 together were perhaps 5 euros.
I gave them to the girl and said ..here... a gift..you use them.

IMHO..well you don't want to know.

I am going to tell you about the trip through my eyes..an unseasoned traveler.

Jacques brought his laptop..my purse doubles as a camera case/Ipad ..so I brought another bag...to be a purse..but not..hard to explain..I am sure you get it..

friends and family had started to ask..Are you canceling?

Canceling was never in our vocabulary..first of all the tickets were paid for and so was the apartment..not sure how it works with an apartment..something for you to look into if ever this is a concern of yours..as I know you can cancel a hotel room..w/ some forewarning.
Anyway we did not consider it..

Plus Jacques said..if worse comes to worse w/ no metro/bus..we can stay in our arrondissemnt..the 7th..and walk to where we want to go..(you can't imagine really ..that 7 days w/ no transportation..only walking..is quite limiting..)

he also bicycles every day..I don't and had suggested maybe we could Vélib our way around..I said please don't get your hopes up about me on a bike in Paris..and  a friend wrote and said :"Mon..please don't ride a bike..in Paris.."
I so get it now!
Would have been a scream..and I would have screamed.

More on that later..;)

So we left from Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport..named after our current Prime Minister's father  Justin Trudeau.
PET was once Prime Minister of Canada.

Last time I flew out of there..some renovations were happening.
Let me just say this airport is lovely and clean and new and so advanced technologically.
Caroline and Frédérick brought us and she gave me an envelope to open on the plabne..the kids were excited for us..although all the news was of concern for them over our pleasure of the trip..

The flight flew by..;)..and I watched 3 movies..

Brooklyn
Joy
Sisters.
And I opened Caroline's note..a pretty Paris card..and out tumbled 3 art works from the boys wishing us a good trip.
Oy I missed them all already it seemed.

It seems..in all honesty..I am much more of a homebody .

When we arrived at CDG..a driver was waiting for us..this is arranged through the company we rented the appartment from and I had found info on this company at Chris and Scott's blog here.
Read all their posts on their April in Paris trip..stunning!!
Seeing their beautiful color photos right now..you will see the complete opposite..for the beginning of our trip..

It was 8.30 in the morning Paris time when we arrived.. and we had not slept a wink in the plane..so you're up a LOOONG time:)
Adrien was our driver..28 years old Parisian..now..but raised in Orly.
He was much brighter than the weather but made us aware that there might not be much hope of sunny weather and the Seine was flooded..and the World Soccer championships were eagerly awaited..he pointed out the Stade..where lovely views of Paris were..to beware of people walking up to ask asking us to sign a petition..buy a ring etc..
A sweetheart and charming..
He dropped us off at our appartment..

and at the same time a greeter from the Company came to walk us through the rental.
we were lucky to be able to get in at 9.15 AM..Jacques and I went up..and then decided to explore the area as were were walking distance to Champ De Mars and the Eiffel Tower..

Surprise! Champ De Mars was closed off for a FANZONE..for the soccer..humongous screens were set up..for fans to be able to watch the games outside..capacity of 90,000 people.
77000 policemen and 12000 private security were to be on hand ..
This info I read online.
There are many links on Google that you can read up on..

So we kept walking in the grey of the day to the Eiffel Tower..
I decided to shoot in black and white or old fashioned certain days..as shooting in color made no difference..so what you see is sort of how we saw it..:)

A huge soccer ball floats in the centre of the Eiffel Tower..

It is simply unimaginable how Gustave Eiffel..managed  to build it in 1889..
He was also responsible for the Statue Of Liberty.
Travel teaches you a lot.
I did not know he was the genius for both.
You have to disregard the commercial venues at the base of the tower and simply look beyond that...because it is a surprise..we rarely see photos of the tower showing the commercialism below..
on our anniversary..we had tickets that we bought online to go up..:) We chose second level only and that was good enough for me..the views were stupendous..will share some.
I am so glad we decided to go up.
That tower is just magnificent..look at her lines and details.
Simply unbelievable.

The Eiffel Tower is visible from so many vantage points when you are in Paris..I knew  where we were from home when I saw the distance.
She just rises above it all.

I wanted to take photos at night..but it does not get dark until ap 10PM in June..and by that time..I was literally walked out...

You find a caroussel at the Eiffel Tower..and quite a few other places in Paris.I loved looking at them.

We explored the rue Cler market that day..as we had a kitchen..we could eat breakfast and dinners at home..and picnik out at lunch..I will show you around the neighbourhood..we bought wine..Marie Cantin cheese shop is beautiful and was right there..we had a Franprix too and of course the market vendors/shop owners..we bought just enough for that day~

we also witnessed the Seine and the flooding..I have photos but I find it negates the beauty of the Seine..as even the day was so dreary.It's like seeing unflattering photos of yourself and I do all the time..I really want to wait:)
But I do have some that show the resilience of Parisians and how an event like that can bring out the resourcefulness of certain..like these..

Usually you can walk by la Seine..the boat tours were canceled..

Look how this photo needed sepia in my humble opinion..the scene was so charming and old fashioned to me.

Musée d'Orsay was closed for a few days..as well as Le Louvre..

So many scenes are pure poetry.

I will have brighter days and brighter photos..because we did see sunshine..
I'm just writing my thoughts and making order of my photos..which to keep etc..instead of showing the girls photo by photo..they can just peek here..
It may all become boring for you if it has not already:)
I kept a very small jounal in a small spiraled book and drew 7 little images..
Great to write down..then you remember as places and arrondissements become jumbled when you see so much in really such a short time.
The next time I write will be about our second day in Paris..and unfortunately things did not go as planned ..
I'll relay that also because I don't want anyone else to face that situation.
On the way home..there were many people from France coming to visit..a young girl beside me took out a small journal and the same water pen I used and same little paints..I told her I did the same thing..she said she travels a lot..and does that every time..and she loves looking back on them.
I am adding a song I quite like by an artist I quite like too:)

Zaz et La Pluie
♥