Living the dream!: Paris, the first three days.

Chelsea and I went to Paris and Rome for a 16-day adventure built around my participation in the 2014 Schneider Electric Marathon De Paris! It was my first time leaving North America, and Chelsea's first time going to Rome. Here's what happened:

4/1/14 - Travel day. We took a direct flight on Air France from LA to Paris. It was about 12 hours, using "the polar route." Paris is eight hours ahead of LA, so we actually arrived the next day…

4/2/14 - …in Paris at around noon, which was 4am LA time. We checked into the apartment we rented through airbnb.com. It was not quite as good as the ad suggests, and I thought it was weird that it was an apartment that someone actually lived in when they weren't renting it, and also the building was under construction which started early every morning... but anyway it was in an amazing location and for a good price.

We had lunch at Cafe Constant, which was ok but not as good as the hype. This is where I first learned that when you order medium in rare in Paris you get rare.

To combat jetlag, we immediately went to the Eiffel Tower and spent a few hours climbing around it and being silly.

And thus begins our lengthy series of two idiots smooching in front of landmarks and artworks.

We also popped over the river to the Trocadero, I'll post those pictures when I find them.

4/3/14- First full day in Paris. Started the day going down Rue Claire and checking out all the little bakeries and delis and shops and picked up a breakfast of fresh baguette, quiche, fromage, salami, and walnut yogurt. Variations on this would be our breakfast for the entirety of our stay in Paris, and this was Chelsea's favorite part of the trip. She stayed in this area of Paris for a few weeks when she was a little girl and she always remembered this street and getting breakfast here every morning, which is why she booked our place in this area too.

Continuing our series of smooching in front of things, here we are at Musee D'Orsay, Chelsea's favorite museum in Paris. It is a renovated train station from 1900, that's why they have all these giant clocks and such. 2.3 million people visit the museum every year, but not all are this dumb. They had a special exhibit about Van Gogh there and while Chelsea wandered around the exhibit, I found myself standing next to Josh Brolin checking out some of Vinnie's self-portraits.

We had lunch at Brasserie Lipp, which was a favorite hangout of Hemingway. We found the lunch unremarkable.

The first of a never-ending series of churches we would visit in Paris and Rome. This is a church in San Germain Depres.

Smooching in front of the famous Odean-Theatre de l'Europe.

The Marriage of Figaro premiered here.

Another church, another offering.

We went to Pierre Herme to try out their famous raspberry macaron thing, which we took to Luxembourg Gardens to eat. I recommend both!

Recommended marathon diet.

Then we went to the big Race Expo where I finally got my official race bib, whew! If you want to run a marathon in Europe, you need a doctor's note with very specific wording, and they are known for rejecting a lot of entrants for not having all their paperwork exactly right, so I was worried. There is no way to do this ahead of time, you just have to go and hope it's alright.

My marathon advice, "First half, don't be stupid. Second half, don't be scared."

We then had an awful dinner at a restaurant near our apartment and immediately crashed on going home because of what a full day we had!

4/4/14- Second full day in Paris, another great fresh breakfast from local artisans.

Place de la Concorde, where they have this Egyptian obelisk.

Smooching in Tuileries Gardens on our way to the Louvre.

Death of Marat (and Word)

We took a break from the Louvre to have lunch at Angelina, a famous tea house nearby. This is one of Audrey Hepburn's favorite places to hang out in Paris.

We got the hot chocolate of course, white hot chocolate, and a mont blanc sundae. Out of this world, and way too much sugars!!!!! We chatted up a nice Jewish family next to us who gave us some good tips on Paris.

As we left Angelina, I almost ran smack into Karl Lagerfeld, who was checking out a bookstore display window next door!

We went into this church on the way back to the Louvre, but I could not tell you which it is.

Palais Royal gardens.

Back at the Louvre, I'm having trouble locating any well known art. Seen anything good?

The Raft of the Medusa

Me with a classic beauty. Also some kind of statue in the background.

My Goddess!

We stayed in the Louvre until close and then they kicked us out, which gave us the stinky face.

After the Louvre, we had what I thought was our best meal in Paris at this little hole in the wall restaurant with four tables and one chef. It's called La Cordonnerie.