Bonjour Paris...and hello my gorgeous crepe of life

It was a gray day in all accounts, and we had just woken up pretty early in London (around 5:00 am) and we had a busy day ahead of us. We washed our faces, changed, and got our stuff ready (passports, money, rain clothing, Eiffel Tower tickets and so forth) and once everything was set, we headed downstairs to the reception at our Hotel (The Pelham) where they had prepared two small breakfast bags for us, and our cab had been called. From here we headed to St. Pancreas Station to meet up with our tour guide and receive our train tickets and general items such as maps and emergency contact information. We waited there for a bit and ate the small breakfast provided by the hotel (it was glorious) and then like an international flight, we were called in and boarded the train and waited for everyone at our seats. It was a smooth ride to be honest, we took a small nap and then after a few hours we opened our eyes and there we were, entering the city of light, Paris.

Paris was no better than London in regard to the weather, but it did offer its own unique charm and grace that was not seen in the other great city. We stepped out and there it was, an unexpected-yet-expected culture shock as we saw everything in the native language, French. I had to scramble within my brain to remember the few words that still remained from my 7th grade days, and this was no easy feat, but I did manage to be able to say hello and a few other words (Bonjour, merci beaucoup, salut, comment ca va?, ou est la.. and a few more) and make myself understood as I asked for directions on a map.

Side Note: Try to learn a few words, do not expect them to know your language, specially if you are American. Put some effort because they already have a not-so great view of us, if they see you try and speak in their own language, then they might let you in on a secret…some do speak English, just not for everyone.

We got to the Eiffel tower and of course we did the obligatory pictures and went up. Since the day was still gray and raining at times, the climb was not that pleasant, but we managed. We got as far as we could since a portion was closed due to the weather (check on this if you are planning on going) and once up there we did what every good tourist does…we bought stuff in the gift shop (overpriced but no one can take away the fact that we bought it on the Eiffel tower). After this, we headed downstairs and took more pictures, we met a lovely older gentleman whose job was taking pictures and decided to get one from him and best decision ever, he knew the angles and how to frame the both of us nicely within the portrait to make for an amazing picture. After this picture we didn’t know what to do and we were quite hungry already (approximately 3-4 hours had passed since breakfast) so we started looking and right there in the corner of Quai Branly and Pont d’lena there was small food stall and lo and behold he had one of the most famous French delicacies available, the crepe.

We walked towards him and asked for one each of this glorious crepe he had that was filled with egg, cheese and fries. With one bite our day got better, and all the grey seemed to dissipate as our hunger was satiated and we finally had a try of something French. The crepe was of pretty good size and by the taste of it you could tell each ingredient was freshly picked and complemented each other perfectly. The crepe was filling and in a way was exactly what we needed to get back our energy and continue our walk through this magical city. It was also served in a way that we could continue walking, which we did towards our next spot. By the way, as a drink to go along with this delicious piece of mundane pleasure, I highly recommend a cold Orangina (highly popular drink that is refreshing and quite delicious personally speaking). We continued our walk and with each bite, our day opened up itself to provide us with some fantastic and memorable experiences. Once we got to that last magical bite, we realized we had reached the boat in which we were going to explore the ancient Seine river and with it the history of this 2000 year old metropolis.