Our trip to France begins with a little delay at DFW. We boarded the plane at about 6:30 p.m., and so our adventure began. John-Laurent was already heavily drinking before we took off, and on the plane, the drinking continued. Of course, he slept perfectly on Leslie's lap while she tossed and turned on the plane all night. Finally, we arrived in Paris at about 10:30 a.m. and did what everyone should do upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport: sit back down and have a cup of coffee. John-Laurent was ecstatic just to be off the plane. After our first French croissants, we arrived at Nicolas' office at the Ministry of Health to drop off our luggage. We walked around the Montparnasse/Ecole Militaire area, where Leslie got her first view of the Eiffel Tower. 

Wednesday morning, we took the metro into Paris from Nicholas and Didier's flat in Alfortville, just outside of Paris. We began sight-seeing with the magnificent Arc de Triomphe. We thought it was good to see one of Paris' main attractions first. Like any tourist, we took many pictures of the arc. Afterward, we walked ALL THE WAY down the famous Champs-Élysées, a very long and very famous street filled with fabulous Paris shopping featuring shops like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Cartier and so on. Before arriving at the Louvre, we ate lunch in the Tuileries Gardens. There was a huge line to go inside the Louve (that you can see behind John-Laurent), so we just enjoyed the architecture and moved on. We continued our long walk across the river Seine toward Notre Dame, located on the Ile de la Cite. There was a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from the river. There was also a big line to see Notre Dame but Leslie thought it was important to check it out. The chapel was beautiful, but with so many people inside, it was hard to enjoy. Finally, we took the metro to Saint Sulpice to visit a very famous and delicious patisserie called Pierre Herme. It sold desserts almost too beautiful to eat, however, Leslie enjoyed every bite of her cheesecake.

The Montmartre area of Paris is ugly as sin. Supposedly there's a beautiful area, where the French movie Amelia was filmed, but we didn't see it. Instead we hiked up a big hill to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a relatively new church on the outskirts of Paris proper. The church is less popular with the French than it is with tourists, but the inside is much nicer than Notre Dame. The view across Paris is incredible from the steps of Sacré-Cœur. The sea of buildings and homes seems to extend as far as the eye can see.

We visited Place de la Madeleine for lunch. It's a very posh area, much like the Champs-Élysées but you don't have to walk as much. Leslie picked out the engagement ring she wants John-Laurent to buy her. Just kidding! But she would like to own the bracelet in the back, maybe. She'll talk to Keith about Christmas gifts this year.