its like whatevers: Paris Part Un

My friend Vins picked us up from the airport in Paris. I met Vins while vacationing in New York City years ago. Since then we've kept contact. About 5 years ago Vins came to the US with some friends of his that were in a band, The Hellbats http://www.hellbats.com/index02.html After the Hellbats left Vins stayed a few more days with his then girlfriend Laeti. Ever since then he's been telling me to come to Paris and stay with him. Well the time finally came and Vins put us up in his newly renovated apartment no questions asked. He even went one more step further and even left the place to us for the entire week while he stayed at his girlfriend Natalie's place. Talk about a great host!!!

Our first night was mellow and we really needed it. Vins and Natalie made us a home cooked dinner along with Natalie's friend Helen. We ate cheese and drank wine while Natalie cooked. Everyone was so nice and Vins even gave us a lesson on stinky French cheese. After dinner Helen, Natalie, and Vins all left because it was pretty late so Elaina and I passed out pretty quickly. Mostly because of the long flight, but we couldn't wait to see what was in store for us tomorrow in PARIS!

Here's "our" new kitchen. It may look small but it has everything you need in a kitchen.

OUR view of the city from OUR livingroom

View of the Eiffel Tower from the bathroom

View of the trees from Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise from the bedroom.

First Day out

Step 1: figure out how to get out of the building--Vins gave us the key to his apartment along with the sensor key to gain access to the building. We looked like two idiots because we couldn't hfigure out how to get through the exit door. People outside were walking by staring at us through the glass doors. We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves. It seriously took about 2 minutes before we realized there was a button we had to push to get the door to unlock itself. The button said "porte" which means "door" in French.

Step 2: Figure out the subway--The subway was really confusing at first, mainly because we didn't understand what anything said. After about 10 minutes of walking back and forth, staring at maps, and dodging the rush of people we figured it out... we're pro subway riders now.

Pissers

We've seen 2 people doing the number 1 on public streets in one day. I know, were were excited too. The first was an old man on the steps to La Siene and the other was an angry bum (yelling at the air) near the opera house. Good times.

Cafe Kitty
We ate at a cafe next to Notre Dame. Mike's leg was greeted by a handsome kitty. It must have been the owners cat, he was nice company. That would not happen back home but we liked it.
Notre Dame Cathedral
This church is absolutely gorgeous and the architecture is amazing for its time. We felt blessed to have the opportunity to see such a beautiful structure created for God's purpose. We sat in the center and enjoyed the architecture for a while.

Joan of Ark... I heart her

Checking out the detail in the ceiling
Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise

The largest cemetery in Paris (118 acres), its a monstrosity for any cemetery and its just a short walk from Vins place. All the graves are above-ground graves and each very different depending on the time and style; there were no two alike. We spent 2 hours walking the cemetery studying the tombs like you would art. We still had probably 60% more to see but this place is just too huge.