Ma-DAHM enjoys Paris

From the moment we boarded Air France, I became Ma-DAHM to everyone who addressed me. Bonjour, Madame. Would Madame like something to drink? Beef or pasta for dinner? The flight was luxurious, like a spa at 35,000 feet. The level of attention and courtesy was just what this beaten-down teacher needed. The flight left Atlanta at 8:30 p.m. Monday. Overnight flights have a dream-like quality in which time is muddled. I didn't sleep, but may have dozed here and there for 10 minutes. Then the sky lightened and the sun crept over the horizon. It was 3:30 my time, the cloud cover was splashed with pink rays, and they were serving breakfast and coffee.

We took the subway from the airport, checked into the hotel, took a quickie nap, and then went back to the subway to go to Hard Rock Cafe to pick up our Paris Passes which we had pre-purchased before leaving. We now have entry into all the museums, buses and rails for two days. It was already 5:30 and dark when we reached Hard Rock Cafe, so we stayed for coffee and snacks, and of course bought our Hard Rock cafe T-shirts. We decided to wait until tomorrow to use the Paris Passes so we could get a full day out of them. For our evening entertainment, we took the subway to the world famous Champs de Elysees, which is videod above.

I am ready for bed now. Even though this acer notebook says that it's only 2:39 p.m. my time, the clock here says 8:45. But I only slept about an hour and a half total since Sunday night, and we walked all over and climbed up and down endless stairways in the subway, so I can justify an early (mid-afternoon) bedtime.

Tomorrow, we'll go to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathdral and other attractions that we can fit in. Thursday, we have a prescheduled tour at Versailles.