Much to our pleasure, our US Airways flight from Philadelphia arrived at Charles DeGaulle airport about an hour before our scheduled arrival.  In the past, Kathie (my wife) had heard me gripe about how I thought CDG was the ugliest, most poorly planned airport - now she understood why!  I think her comment was that she felt like she was back in the fifties or sixties pretty much summed it up.  She almost cracked up laughing when she saw what I had referred to as the "gerbil habitat" in the airport (the glass-enclosed conveyors that carry you from floor to floor).  The upside to arriving at this early hour on Saturday, though, was that there was little air traffic coming through the airport that day, so we were able to get our luggage and make it through customs/passport control fairly quickly.

We made a quick pit stop at the ATM to get some cash (definitely the way to get cash instead of using travelers checks!) and grabbed a cab into the city.  Quick side point - we found the cab to be an easy and inexpensive means of getting into the city.  There was no wait at the cabstand and we had a very clean, comfortable ride into Paris.  The total charge for two of us (with beaucoup luggage!) was about $35 (including 10% tip).  And brought us door-to-door.  One thing to bear in mind regarding the total fare and time was that this was on a Saturday morning with relatively good weather.  Rush hour travel would be considerably more expensive and longer.

After a thirty minute drive into the city (told you there was no traffic!), we arrived at our hotel in the 7th Arrondisment, Hotel Muguet (Website: http://www.hotelmuguet.com , e-mail: muguet@wanadoo.fr).  One of my uncles had recommended this hotel to us, but we still weren't 100% sure we were going to like it - we figured that if it was that bad, we could always leave and go to another.  Boy, were we worried about nothing.  Located blocks away from Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower and ½ block away from the Metro (halfway between La Tour-Maubourg and L'Ecole Militaire on the 8 line) on a little side street, this two-star hotel is a gem.  We got a room on the top floor with a "mini-balcony" and a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower.  Although the room is definitely smaller than what you'd get in the US, we actually found it to be large by European standards. 

In addition to the main room, there was a large bathroom (10' X 6'!) and what could be best described as a sitting room (it had an extra bed that was arranged like a couch).  The room came with a telephone, in-room safe, television, lots of closet/cabinet space, hair-dryer, and a cable system that included CNN Europe, BBC World, and an England-based sports channel to keep us tuned in to the world.  At approximately US$85 per night (off-season), we loved the place and highly recommend it to anyone.  The staff was very friendly and they all spoke at least some English.  Only thing I can't report back is the overall service of the staff, as we never really utilized any of their services.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat for breakfast at a nearby café, we headed back to the hotel to shake off some of the jet lag.  And then (trumpet fanfare, please) we headed off to start exploring Paris.  As we were still pretty wiped out (and didn't have a real clue as to where anything was) we decided to o spend what was left of the day exploring parts of the city near us. 

There are some things in the world that generate an automatic response of awe or excitement when you see them for the first time.  For me, they include the Tower of London, the Coliseum in Rome, even Cinderella's Castle in Disney World.  But none of them created the magical feeling when seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.  It's hard to imagine that people 100 years ago found it to be an eyesore and wanted it removed after the World Fair.  I guess it was kind of like contemporary attitudes about IM Pei's pyramid!  We made the walk from our hotel to L'Ecole Militaire and then up the Mall to the Eiffel Tower and then across the Seine.  Even on an overcast, dreary day, the Tower was absolutely breathtaking against the sky.  From there it was up the hill to l'Arc de Triomphe and then down the Champs Elysses.  Yee-uch, what a walk!  Especially after a nine-hour flight with minimal sleep!!  We decided that we needed to reward ourselves with a quick pit stop in one of the restaurants along the Champs Elysses for hot chocolate and pastries.  Rough life!

By the time we started on our way again, it was starting to get dark and our flight the night before was catching up with us.  We played it safe and took the Metro back to Café Tourville, a little corner restaurant right next to Metro L'Ecole Militaire and a block or so away from the hotel.  Mostly used by locals, it became a bit of a home away from home for us, as we became regulars and greeted on sight as we went there for breakfast every morning.  By the way, the review on it for those dying to know was "thumbs up".  By Parisian standards, it was hardly haute cuisine, but it was definitely the French cuisine we were looking for before we walked back to the hotel and to bed. 

Tomorrow: The Islands