Ever since the two of us met nine and a half years ago, we’ve talked about someday traveling to Paris. We’ve been busy traipsing across the globe to other locales and only just now made it to Paris. Both of us have been here before … separately … before we knew one another, but it has been a long time for both of us, so we were very much looking forward to this journey.

There are more direct ways to get to Paris than the route we chose. Using Ryan’s accumulated airline miles on United meant three flights over the course of the day. But we were lucky enough to fly in Business and First, where we could stretch out in seats that lie flat and make into beds.

United First "Suite" (photo credit: unitedairblog.blogspot.com)

United Business Seats (photo credit: unitedairblog.blogspot.com)

But this trip is about the destination, not the transportation … so let’s get on with the details of our first day in Paris …

We arrived at our apartment in the 1st arrondissement mid-morning on Sunday. We were pleased with the apartment we chose over the Internet, especially the central location which cannot be beat.

Our rented apartment near the Louvre in Paris. More photos of the apartment can be seen at http://www.myparisvisit.com/rental-one-bedroom-apartment-louvre-paris-37.html.

The view from our apartment windows.

Even with lie-flat beds across the Atlantic, we were still pretty jet lagged. We wanted to just crash and nap, but we forced ourselves to go out and do a little exploring. Just a block and a half away is the River Seine, a couple blocks further is Île de la Cité, home to Notre Dame, and so it continues. We strolled across Pont Neuf, to Île de la Cité, along Notre Dame, through some markets in the Latin Quarter, and along side streets in St. Germain. Our weather was perfect, really … some sun, pleasant temps, and calm.

The Seine, Pont des Arts, the Eiffel Tower, and fall foliage ... we're happy to be here!

Fall colors along the Seine, taken from Île de la Cité, looking towards Pont Neuf.

Among throngs of tourists in front of Notre Dame.

A picturesque street in St. Germain.

Soon, though, we realized that a) we were pretty hungry; and b) we couldn’t keep going much longer and we were going to need naps. So we picked up some baguette sandwiches in the boulangerie on the main floor of our apartment building and came up and enjoyed our first Parisian meal. Let’s just say that bread in Paris is like no other bread. The first bite was amazing and it just kept getting better.

Open wide! Mmm-mm good!

Filled up, we could only do one thing: sleep. We were both so exhausted, but we set the alarm to wake us in an hour so we could force our bodies to start adjusting to a time zone 9-hours ahead of Pacific Time. It was a chore rousing ourselves after the nap, but we did it.

This evening, we walked around our neighborhood here in the Louvre/Rivoli area of Paris and found a restaurant with the perfect name to match how we were feeling …

Jet Lag Restaurant

We ended up having a great first meal there and we did just fine using our (very rusty) French. We saw steak à cheval on the menu, which initially worried us … because translated literally this means steak at the horse … and we wondered if horse was on the menu. Come to find out, though, this is horseback steak … which is a steak served with a fried egg riding atop it. Still not something we would want to order, but better than horse meat to our easily-horrified American minds. Clint ended up with a risotto and Ryan had a sautéed mushroom steak … and we shared a bottle of Bordeaux. Vive la France!

The evening was pleasant and this is the City of Light, after all, so we ventured back down to the Seine for the view. It’s true … this city is so romantic. It was moving realizing that we’re here together in this great city for a couple weeks, leaving our busy lives behind for just a bit.

The Pont des Arts in the foreground with a glittering Eiffel Tower in the background. A gorgeous night!

The Musée d'Orsay and Eiffel Tower

The Pont des Arts is covered in locks that people have attached to it. On the locks you will couples' names or initials inscribed. There must be thousands of locks along the bridge.

One last glance at the magnificence that is Paris at night.

And finally, click on the link below to view our short video we shot while watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle …

So ends our first day in Paris. Stay tuned for more updates through the coming couple weeks.