A nice lazy morning started with the Scottish breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. We then took a final stroll around the area and found a post office station where we could get some stamps to send postcards from Scotland to Dennis' parents and son (Mike's postcard didn't arrive until 11 days later). We got very lucky as the weather was good the whole time we were in Scotland (which we are told does not happen that often).
Then we packed everything up, had the desk call for a taxi, and we were off to meet our British Airways plane at noon. Lisa, of course, set off the metal detector at the Edinburgh Airport. Two hours and one more time zone change later we arrived at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris! We were surprised that there were no complimentary sodas on the plane. Different expectation of service from what we are used to on American airports.
We had to go through immigration again and pick up our luggage. Lisa was surprised that they had indoor smoking areas in the airport. Again, different than in the United States. We caught a taxi and were off to our hotel. If you are ever going to Paris, you should be aware that the taxi rides from the airport are pretty expensive (a little over 40 Euros).
The taxi's were equipped with a GPS display what showed where to go (although several times the driver went a different way anyway). Also, as we got close to the hotel the driver was zooming down these one-way streets with cars parked on both sides that were inches away from us. We could envision someone opening a car door and being taken off instantly. But it worked out and we were taken to the Paris Hilton.
We joked on our honeymoon registry that we were going to be staying "with Paris Hilton" (we still remember the look on Dennis' niece's face when we told that to the family). We chose the Paris Hilton Hotel for 2 reasons, first we were on our honeymoon so were open to pampering ourselves at a 5-star hotel in the City of Love. Second, the main "must-see" on Lisa's list for Paris was Le Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) and our hotel was right across the street from the park where the tower was!!
We checked in and went to our room. Quite a difference from the room we had in Edinburgh or even at Black River Falls on our wedding night. The room was spacious with a King size bed, couches, large desk, balcony overseeing courtyard, a mini bar refrigerator and even a bidet in the bathroom. Very nice!
We then walked over to see the Eiffel Tower. What an impressive structure! We took some pictures and generally hung around there for a while before returning to the Hotel to dress for dinner. Lisa had wanted to have a picture taken with her Glamour magazine so she could send that in. That was for "Where were you with Glamour Magazine". She thought it would be great to have that printed as France was always her dream trip and she reads that magazine too. We went down to the hotel restaurant, the Pacific Eiffel, and had to relax in the bar while waiting for a table. They offered to let us order our meal in the bar, but we told them we were on our honeymoon and wanted the whole fine dining experience. While we waited we looked at the french side of the menu and tried to guess what each item was. That was a lot of fun.
The wait was not as long as we expected. Lisa tried the veal T-bone with vegetable tian We understand that "tian" is named after the earthenware oven-proof dish from the South of France in which it is cooked. Dennis had a grilled "Irish Angus" rib steak smothered in bearnaise sauce. For desserts we shared something called red fruit delight and also white chocolate ice cream and cookie. The meal was very good. We had some nice french wine to top it off and continued our tradition of toasting to the people who contributed to this fine meal.
After we finished we went outside and saw that the Eiffel Tower lights were on and twinkling. They flash the lights every hour. Maybe this is where Paris get's its name of the "City of Lights"? So, even though we had just been over there, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it up close with the lights on. Mesmerizing and beautiful!
We were not expecting all the pushy street vendors. We can't tell you how many times we were approached to buy a light up miniature tower. One guy came over and gave Lisa a red rose. After she said "thank you" and he stood there, Dennis pointed out that he was selling the rose not just giving them away. But Dennis bought it for Lisa - after all we were on our honeymoon, right?
So, we sat there and talked about how this was the trip of a lifetime. We bought a chocolate crepe and took it down to some steps leading to the banks of the River Seine. As we were watching the boats go by, and looking over our shoulder at the tower which was all lit up, and listening to some street musicians playing jazz on a sax, we were thinking this is the life - to be in love and in Paris! What a romantic setting. Another perfect end to another perfect day!