A big chunk of today was spent in the airport, so this entry shouldn't be too long. We had everything packed and ready to go well before breakfast, and were ready to head to the airport after a quick bite. It's kind of depressing going to meals now. During the convention every single table (there were hundreds) was packed. Now the vast majority are empty, and it's strating to sink in that our little glimpse of paradise is over. The taxi driver that picked us up on our arrival in Dublin had given me his card, and I was hoping to use him again because I really wanted to know if he made it to the Sunday program. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere and we just had to take the first taxi we saw when we walked out of the hotel. In a funny turn of events, the driver turned out to be our first driver's son! No word on if he made it Sunday though. He too had an incredibly thick accent and was really hard to understand. Some of the staff at the hotel at thick accents too, but you could still figure out what they were saying. I loved hearing the compelte lack of the "th" sound. "It's at tree-tirty on tha tird floor" :) I had never noticed that on our last trip, probably because we really didn't spend any time talking to people. It was a fun discovery, and made you feel far from home (in a good way).

We killed some time at the airport after a surprisingly smooth Air France check-in, and Dad was surprised to find that Burger King sells Budweiser. Upgrade your combo meal for only 2 euro! No thanks. After a week of delicious Guinness, a bottle of Budweiser would be a cruel and unjust punishment. Our tiny plane was pretty packed, but I was so glad to hear french right off the bat. There was a group of kids tlaking and I did my best to nonchalantly listen in on them. They talk sooooooo fast! This'll be harder than I thought.

The flight was a two hour turbulence fest, which was no problem for me. Brittany, on the other had, kept a special bag close by...fortunately she never needed it. We landed and again waited in the outrageously long customs line. They didn't ask us a single question, just stamp and go. How could this take so long??? I had a good time pointing out to Mom and Dad how easy the airport was to navigate. There is english everywhere, and I think they are finally starting to believe me when I tell them that they don't need a french speaker (well, learner) with them to survive in the country. Maybe they will feel more comfortable about going it alone next time.

We had a thrity minute taxi ride to the apartment, and as we got closer we started to realize just how good of a location we were in. The weather was perfect, and everything was bustling. Dad couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful old buildings. "Right out of the movies, huh?" I asked him. The taxi drive was very nice and I even worked up the nerve to chat with him about the weather, what things were like in Ireland, and where we were from. I wish I had talked to him more, but...baby steps! It feels so good to use the language and be understood. It makes you want to use it even more, and I got over the intial shyness pretty quickly. Brittany is another story, she is pretty content to just let me lead the conversations. I'm sure that'll change in a few days. Our apartment is only 365 square feet, but it has everything we need as is an a fantastic neighborhood in the 7th, only a ten minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. So of course, once we dropped off our bags, that was the first place we went. Coming from Ireland we don't have to worry about jet lag, so we were ready to go right out of the gate. Mom's camera was clicking away, and I think I'm just going to have to get used to that noise. Click! Click! Click! :) At least I have no doubt that she is having a good time. We think there might be a movie or something being filmed, because there was a big crane with a camera at the end of it hung over the Tower's fountains, and lots of people hooking up sound and video equipment. It could just be for the Tour de France though, which finishes here on Sunday. We will be in Versailles that day, but we think they may go by while we are there so hopefully I can bring back some pictures for Yves.

From the Tower we walked to the Arc de Triomphe, and sat on a bench to marvel at the traffic. No lanes, just hundreds of cars swirling around and around, somehow managing to not crash every other foot. It's actually pretty impressive, and made me absolutely sure that I do not have the skill necessary to drive a car in this city! We were getting hungry by that time, and stopped at a random brasserie for dinner. Their music choice was a little unconventional (Billy Joel, anyone?) but everything else was fantastic. I can't get over how good it feels to speak french! It felt great to get a table, answer the waitresses questions, and order our meals without trudging through hand signals or dumpy old english. We went all out with roast chicken, wine, and various cheeses. It was an absolutely perfect meal, especially for our first night in Paris.

We strolled back by the Eiffel Tower on the way home, and the sunset made the sky burn pink. Standing in front of the Tower is a surreal experience. You are finally seeing a tangible object that you've seen in print ten thousand times. It does exist! I'm so happy to see how much everyone is enjoying their first time here. It's been 7 years for me, so it might as well be my first time too.

Back at the apartment I dug into a guide to Parisian restaurants that the owner left for us, and it's given me some great ideas for places to try. The streets, the sights, the music, the food...this place is amazing! I really love it here, and I think this trip will only get better.

*Side note from July 22nd: It's about 2AM now. I have not had internet access for the past week so I have been writing down my entries. I finally found an internet cafe and am typing it all in now. I still have three days to go to get caught up, but I am way too tired to keep going. I know the pictures are all you really want anyways :) so I'm going to put some of those up for the trip up to today and I will fill everything else in tomorrow, after Versailles. That should get me caught back up!*