Paris Part I

I write to you all from Paris! Dan had a conference here, so he flew out on Thursday then I followed on Saturday. We are just spending a long weekend. Luckily the weather has amazing: high 70's and sun. We were even a little too warm, wishing we had brought shorts and sandals.

For this trip we decided to use airbnb.com (air bed and breakfast) again. We used it in Rome as well and had a great experience. The deal is that you're usually staying in someone's apartment. It's cheaper, and you get to meet a local person, get their advice on what to do, and just generally have something more personal and local than a big hotel. We've enjoyed it this time as much as Rome, cementing the fact that we LOVE using the website.

Yesterday we had a very relaxing day. Since both Dan and I have been to Paris before, we feel no obligation to climb the Eiffel Tower, visit the Louvre, or take a bus tour. So when our airbnb hosts invited us to a picnic with their friends in the Louvre gardens, we were quick to say yes! They helped us pick out delicious pates, some fresh baguettes, the best cheeses, and of course some wine. We lounged in the sun most of the day. After that, we met Dan's life-long friend Tim, having a drink and mulling around with him and his girlfriend. It was a perfect day, with lots of outdoor time and good food.

Speaking of food... The dinners we've had here have been delicious. For a reasonable price of 20-30€ per person, you can have a three-course dinner including dessert. Everything we've had has been so good and so well presented. For example, last night I had shrimp, spinach, and a cheese fondue on a savory puff pastry for the first course. The second course was a salmon fillet in an almond butter sauce with potatoes. For dessert, a berry sorbet with vanilla-bean whipped cream. I of course had absolutely NO idea what I was ordering, but whatever came out was good!

I'll write more soon on the language barrier, and of course a funny story...