Bonjour de Paris, Day 1

We arrived in Paris by train and got a cab at the train station to take us to our hotel so we could drop off all of our baggage (we still had all of our luggage for the semester with us).
Our hotel was pretty far from the city, but was nice. Our room was small, but we had our own beds for the first time! So great.
We left our stuff and headed out to explore the city and find some good food. We tried to find the train station which was supposedly nearby, and ended up stumbling across a small bakery that smelled delicious. Starving, we excitedly walked in to buy some bread. We got half a loaf of french bread, so fresh it was still warm, and thoroughly enjoyed it a few moments later.
We asked the cashier at the bakery where the station was, and he didn't know, so he asked some of the workers at the shop. One of them volunteered to walk us to the nearest bus stop, where we could take the bus to the metro into the city center.
And we thought it was going to be complicated - ha.
Well, speaking French with Leslie, we learn that he's only lived here for a couple of weeks, so he's probably not the best person to be showing us around. But we were hungry and ready to start taking in Paris!
We are the only white people on the bus toward the city - so definitely inconspicuous. We're really skilled at just blending in like that. =)
We start by walking toward the Eiffel Tower, stopping at a cafe to eat a late lunch. But finally we come to the incredible monument that so iconic of Paris and France.
It wasn't what I expected. It's beauty is much different from the ornate architecture that exists throughout Europe. But I still stopped in my tracks. The tower's size and design are so unique. You can admire the tower in its entirety, and you can also admire it's detail. Loved it.
So many people were gathered in lines at the legs of the structure. It was truly overwhelming. We wanted to wait to go up, as the weather that day was not the best and the visibility from the top was limited. So we continued onward.
We headed toward the Latin Quarter but never really made it there.
We took pictures at the Grand Palais, built for the universal exhibition in the 19th century, and on the bridge that leads to it, also built for the exhibition.
We got distracted at another cafe, drawn in by the excellent list of desserts and coffee. Yum.
Nearing 8 pm, we decided to head back because the bus service stops at 9 pm.
And then we slept! So well that we slept through the alarm the next day and didn't wake up until almost 10:30. We were really tired.