Bienvenue a Paris

The flight to Paris was very pleasant- Premium economy suited us well. We arrived and we're pleased that immigration and customs were so easy. Our driver was waiting for us, and we got to see that I-95 in rush hour has nothing on the Parisians. On our way, I received the confirmation boarding pass for the apartment.

Great! Ready to relax and weather the jet-lag. Until the part where the lock-box where I was supposed to get the key was empty. I called the number on the email, and was told that someone was in the apartment and we couldn't check in until 4 pm. (Only 6 hours...). I was just shy of livid- no offer to help us out in any way- We couldn't even go for a cup of coffee with all our stuff. We sat in the building's vestibule with all our luggage for about half an hour, when a very nice man named François asked what was going on. We told him our sad story.

François is a gem!!! He offered to let us put our things in his apartment, and gave us keys so we could hang out there until our place is available.

We finally got into our "apartment." It's truly an efficiency. And very cozy- although lacking the charm that cozy infers. 10x10 is a generous guess- including the efficiency kitchen and washing machine. We can turn around in the bathroom. It apparently was a pest control business.

We headed out to a restaurant in the block- La Mére Pouches. Open throughout the day. W had onion soup and a cutlet, and fries. I had eggs Benedict with salmon that came with salad. We were tuckered out. After opening the sleeper couch and futilely trying to get the TV to give us anything to watch, we retired early.Read more